Highlights of my work and collaborations

26.1.22 MOTION Handbook - Developing a Transformative Theory of Change - A step-by-step guide on how to develop a Transformative Theory of Change, for innovation projects, programmes and organisations working on systems transformation. You can download this resource here. You can also watch an introductory webinar to learn when, how and why to use a Transformative Theory of Change by looking at real-life cases from EIT Climate-KIC’s projects SATURN, ACT on NBS and SuSMo.

7.10.2021 Scientific Challenges of the Spanish National Research Council - Together with Elisa Oteros-Rozas and Ricardo Díaz-Delgado, I have contributed to this white paper from the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). We have emphasized the importance of considering the tight interrelationship between humans and nature (Challenge A, section 3.4, pp. 120-123). You can download the white paper here.

23.09.2021 Understanding the governance of sustainability pathways: Hydraulic megaprojects, social-ecological traps, and politicized networks of action situations - Work in progress: illustrative methodological development combining resilience thinking, discursive power, the polycentric power typology and the Networks of Action Situations (NAS) approach. You can have a look at the preprint here.

21.04.2021 A Transformative Theory of Change for urban Nature-Based Solutions - We have recently presented a narrative and a Transformative Theory of Change (TToC) reflecting on EIT Climate-KIC’s project ACT on NBS, in the context of MOTION. You can download the narrative and TToC here.

19.2.21 Blue uncertainty: Warding off systemic risks in the Anthropocene - Lessons from COVID-19 - Here, using the COVID-19 pandemic as an example, I propose to understand the response to unexpected systemic threats as instances of reactive policy making driven by radical uncertainty, and advance three notions that could enhance that understanding: modulating contingency, adaptive inference and blue uncertainty. You can have a look at the preprint policy forum here, finally published in Earth System Governance.

9.10.2020 Testing a formative evaluation methodology for observing and learning about transformative change towards sustainability - At EEEN2020, we showcased an application and preliminary results of a methodology on the Transformative Outcomes in an initiative aimed at upscaling Nature Based Solutions for urban resilience against climate change (ACT on NBS).

1.10.2020 Evaluating tourist profiles and nature-based experiences in Biosphere Reserves using Flickr - We suggest that studies based on content analysis or online surveys alone can lead to incomplete information. Instead, the adoption of both content analysis and online surveys should provide complementary perspectives for the monitoring of nature's cultural capital. You can have a look here.

2.6.20 Digital conservation in biosphere reserves: Earth observations, social media, and nature's cultural contributions to people - Our findings suggest that social media and Earth observations can aid in the cost‐efficient monitoring of nature's contributions to people, which underlie many Sustainable Development Goals and conservation targets in protected areas worldwide. You can have a look here.

28.5.20 Evaluating transdisciplinary science to open research-implementation spaces in European social-ecological systems - We report the results of a qualitative, participatory evaluation of several SES projects across Europe using an evaluation methodology tailored to transdisciplinary projects. You can have a look here.

15.11.19 ESA - Copernicus Sentinels improve hydroperiod estimations of Mediterranean wetlands - Seasonal wetlands are common in Mediterranean climates. They flood during rainy seasons in autumn and winter and dry-up in summer. Precipitation changes in these areas have profound effects on the dynamics of wetlands, affecting plants and animals that inhabit them. These wetlands can suffer changes in their hydrology, becoming transformed into permanent lakes or completely drying-up—but Copernicus Sentinels are making a difference. Check out our success story at ESA's news website.

8.7.19 Modulating contingency in explanations of path-dependent rigidity traps in social-ecological systems – The case of Doñana - A contribution, (2nd research iteration) building on previous research (1st iteration) on the Doñana case, about the institutional conditions necessary for successful sustainability transitions in social-ecological systems. We focus on the explanatory potential of political-economic interests, prevailing discourses and power—specifically when the core logic of path dependence (neoclassical economics principles) fails to predict maladaptive outcomes.

1.12.18 Continuous improvement of the science-policy interface in Doñana - Here, we propose “continuous improvement” as a strategy to innovate incrementally at Doñana's science-policy interface, in an ongoing collaborative effort with the diverse set of stakeholders. You can download the poster here.

1.1.15 Facilitating sustainability transitions in the Doñana region - Just another PhD thesis out there in the world: here. More importantly, I produced a series of policy recommendations (see Chapter 9) for improving water management and wetland conservation in Doñana and the Guadalquivir Estuary. The program was supported by preparatory research on adaptive management approaches in British Columbia (Canada), where they were designed and implemented for the first time at large scale during the 1970s.

14.11.13 Adaptive management of kelp forests - Participatory process on the Adaptive Management of Kelp Forests in collaboration with the Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research (Porto, Portugal), as part of the Marine Biodiversity case study of KNEU Project. You can download our policy brief here.

14.11.10 Evaluation of the Environmental Repercussions of mooring facilities over two special protection sites in Formentera Island - Entrusted by the local environmental authority, in this study I led an assessment of the environmental impact of ecological moorings in two locations at Formentera Island with a special conservation status (Ses Illetes beach and Estany d'Es Peix, Mallorca, Spain) as a previous step to a full Environmental Impact Assessment.

14.10.10 Environmental sustainability in organisations - Social Media Day Palma de Mallorca 2010 - In this series of interviews, the event's participants told us how they incorporate environment and sustainability criteria in their organisational policies, as well as how they use social media to promote their environmental values, turning them into a competitive advantage.

10.10.10 The European Platform for Biodiversity Research Strategy (EPBRS) - Watch some of the mini-interviews that I made to some of the participants at the 2010 meeting of the European Platform for Biodiversity Research Strategy (EPBRS) in Palma de Mallorca. Questions asked:

1. Why are evolutionary processes important for biodiversity?

2. How can they be incorporated into better management practices?

3. Which kind of research can help achieving that goal?

20.11.09 Structured Decision Making - Environmental sustainability and climate change for the Playa de Palma Project - Structured Decision Making process for catalysing synergies among the participating researchers and accelerating a general diagnosis of environmental problems at Playa de Palma in several areas: water quality, conservation of the coastal ecosystems, climate change adaptation, urban ecosystems. Mini-documentary above or at CIENCIATK, the citizen outreach platform of the Spanish Research Council. Additionally, you can watch a second documentary including more specific policy recommendations.

10.6.09 Innovative developments in the management of coastal fisheries in Canada and Spain: from participatory management to adaptive management - Conference-workshop, organised within the framework of the "Understanding Canada" program (through the Canada Foundation), where we explored the lessons and mutual synergies between participatory management strategies (Galicia, Spain) and adaptive management (British Columbia, Canada) of coastal fisheries. Funding: "Understanding Canada" Program (through the Canada Foundation).

14.11.07 TRANSAM Project - Project aimed at documenting the Canadian experience with adaptive management, with an emphasis on British Columbia. We assessed several cases in which particular institutional developments allowed for the implementation of adaptive management initiatives for natural resources management and nature conservation. Technical publication available here. Funding: International Council for Canadian Studies through the Canada-Europe Awards.

25.5.08 Action-research and adaptive management in the Doñana region - Supported by the TRANSAM Project and institutional analysis, I coordinated an action-research program to evaluate its instrumentality for proactively introducing adaptive management tenets at the research-management interface of the Doñana Nature Reserve. For a detailed description of the program, its context and the institutional analysis carried out for supporting it, please see this article in Ecology and Society or my PhD thesis.

1.8.04 Habitat suitability study for the Bewick's swan during its wintering stage in the Netherlands - Technical publication as part of my Bachelor's thesis available here (with apologies for my bad use of English; at the time of the study, back in 2004, I was a less skilled speaker/writer than I am nowadays, but it is still worth having a quick look :)