About

I am a researcher in the Planetary Boundary Research Network and one of the theme leaders of the Anthropocene Dynamics theme  at Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Sweden. Broadly speaking, I study the role of water for social-ecological and Earth system resilience. What is the role of land-use for sustaining the water cycle? How does water provide resilience for society and ecosystems at the local to global scale? What are the synergies and trade-offs between land, climate, and water related policy interventions?

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Work

Jan 2019 – present  Researcher, Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm, Sweden. 

• 2020 main research projects: “Earth Resilience in the Anthropocene” (funded by ERC; PI: Prof. Johan Rockström), “Water’s role in climate mitigation” (in collaboration with SIWI, PIK, UNDP, and GIZ; SRC-PI: Dr. Line Gordon), “Governing atmospheric water flows: integrative forest-agriculture solutions for securing rainfall for crop production in Africa” (funded by Formas; PI)
• 2019 main research projects: “Ripples of Resilience: navigating cross-scale SDG interactions of water, land, and climate within planetary boundaries” and “Earth Resilience in the Anthropocene“.

Nov 2017 – Dec 2018  Postdoctoral researcher, Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, Kyoto, Japan. Host professor: Prof. Makoto Taniguchi.

Oct 2017  Postdoctoral researcher, Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University. Earth Resilience in the Anthropocene.

Feb 2010 – June 2012 Environmental consultant, Golder Associates, Stockholm, Sweden. Environmental Impact Assessment, Environmental Due Diligence, Climate accounting services according to GHG Protocol standards, Building inventory with respect to environmentally deleterious materials.

Sept 2009 – Jan 2010 Intern and project research assistant • Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), Stockholm, Sweden. Application of rural biogas policies in Guangdong province. China’s politics in connection with COP15 (the 15th Conference of the Parties).

Education

July 2012 – Sept 2017 PhD candidate, Delft University of Technology / Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University. “Root for rain: towards understanding land-use change impacts on the water cycle“. Supervisors: Prof. Hubert Savenije, Dr. Line Gordon, Prof. Johan Rockström.

Sept 2004 – Sept 2009 M.Sc. Civil Engineering (Specialised in Natural Resources) • KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm. Master’s thesis: “Review of the Strategic Environmental Assessment of the Dali City Urban Master Plan revision 2007-2025”.

March – June 2008 Exchange studies (M.Sc. level) at École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées (ENPC), Paris, France.

Aug – Dec 2007 Exchange studies (M.Sc. level) at National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore.

Teaching

27 Jan – 2 Feb 2021 Lecturer of Module 2 Moisture recycling (6 x 45 min lecture + 3 x 3 hours computer lab) in the course Advanced Hydrology GE8032. (M.Sc. level, course leader: Fernando Jaramillo), Stockholm University.

30 Apr 2020 Guest lecture on the topic Governing land-use change impacts on invisible water resources (2 x 45 min lecture) in the course AE2707 Governance of land and water. (M.Sc. level, course leader: Lina Suleiman), KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

23 Apr 2020 Guest lecture on the topic Climate Science at Stockholm Resilience Centre (2 x 45 min lecture) in the course Climate Science 2 hp – a Climate Research School course for PhD students. (course leader: Otto Hermelin), Stockholm University.

10-14 Feb 2020 Lecturer of Module 3 Moisture recycling (6 x 45 min lecture + 3 x 3 hours computer lab) in the course Advanced Hydrology GE8024. (M.Sc. level, course leader: Fernando Jaramillo), Stockholm University.

13-20 Feb 2019 Lecturer of Module 3 Moisture recycling (6 x 45 min lecture + 3 x 3 hours computer lab) in the course Advanced Hydrology GE8024. (M.Sc. level, course leader: Fernando Jaramillo), Stockholm University.

25 Jan 2017 Guest lecturer on the topic “Water resources and agriculture in the tropics” , 2 x 45 min lecture + 40 min discussion. Management of Aquatic Resources in the Tropics (M.Sc. level, course leader: Johan Eklöf), Stockholm University.

25 Nov 2016 Guest lecturer on the topic: “Water on an intertwined planet“, 2 x 45 min, Course: MJ2659 Technology and ecosystems (course leader: Daniel Franzén), KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

Supervision

PhD candidates

2020-present Main advisor (with Ryan Teuling and Ingo Fetzer) of PhD candidate Agnes Pranindita, Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden. Formas project: “Governing atmospheric water flows: integrative forest-agriculture solutions for securing rainfall for crop production in Africa”.

2018-present Co-advisor (with Ruud van der Ent and Ingo Fetzer) of PhD candidate Chandrakant Singh, Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden. ERC project: “Earth Resilience in the Anthropocene”.

MSc students

2021- present Supervision (with Peter Søgaard Jørgensen) of Tatiana Buile’s MSc thesis on the topic of “Evolution of human water systems: Infrastructure innovations and their impact on the water cycle”, Stockholm, Sweden.

2020- 8 Feb 2021 Supervision (with Yoshihide Wada, Agnes Pranindita, and Agatha de Boer) of Cristina Passet’s MSc thesis on the topic of “The contribution of groundwater abstraction and depletion to precipitation”, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.

2019-2020 Supervision (with Zahra Kalantari and Arie Staal) of Molly Suurna’s MSc thesis on the topic of “Moisture recycling in the Amazon forest during recent extreme droughts”, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.

2018-2019 Co-advisor (with Ryan Teuling and Ingo Fetzer) of Agnes Pranindita’s Master’s thesis on the topic of “Moisture recycling during European heatwaves”, Wageningen University & Research, the Netherlands.

2016/2017 Co-advisor (with Saket Pande) of Ajar Sharma’s Master’s thesis on the topic of “Moisture recycling and land cover change in South America”, Water Management Department, Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands.

2016 Co-supervision (with Line Gordon, Patrick Meyfroidt, Patrick Keys) of Daniele Crimella’s Master’s thesis on “Exploring future land system change in Central and Eastern Africa”, Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.

Grants and awards

Research grants

• Co-applicant (PI: Michael Lathuillière, SEI), Formas, “Water use and impacts of Brazilian agricultural production and consumption: from global supply chains to regional rainfall”, 1 Jan 2021 – 31 Dec 2024, 2.4 MSEK.
• Principal investigator, Formas research grant, “Governing atmospheric water flows: integrative forest-agriculture solutions for securing rainfall for crop production in Africa”, 1 May 2020 – 30 April 2022, 3 MSEK.
• Co-applicant (PI: Line Gordon), Formas planning grant, “Ripples of resilience: navigating cross-scale SDG interactions of water, land, and climate within planetary boundaries”, 1 Feb 2019 – 31 Jan 2020, 2 MSEK.
• JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship for Overseas Researchers (standard), Nov 2017 – Dec 2018.

Awards and scholarships

• Best Oral Presentation award, 2016, Global Land Programme Open Science Meeting.
• Scholarship for academic excellence, General study scholarships of KTH, 2009.
• Scholarship for sustainable development studies abroad, Erik och Göran Ennerfeldts fond, 2007/2008.
• Scholarship for academic excellence, General study scholarships of KTH, 2008.
• Scholarship for academic excellence, General study scholarships of KTH, 2007.
• Scholarship for academic excellence, Henrik Göranssons Sandviken stipendiefond, 2007.

Other

Other commitments

• Jury member for  the Swedish nominations of the Stockholm Junior Water Prize 2019 and 2020.
• Referee for Nature Sustainability, Scientific Reports, PNAS, Geoscientific Model Development (GMD), Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (HESS), Earth System Dynamics (ESD), Earth System Science Data (ESSD), Hydrological Processes, Urban Science, Environmental Research Letters, Climate Dynamics, Journal of Climate, and Science of the Total Environment.

Invited talks

• “Planetary boundaries and tipping points, Achieving the Paris agreement mitigation targets through water, 24 August 2021, World Water Week, Stockholm, Sweden.
• “How integrating water into forest management and landscape contributes to climate change mitigation”, Panel presentation related to Design and Planning of Nature-Based Solutions to Address Climate Change, 4 November 2021, Climate Pavilion at COP26 26th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, Glasgow, Scotland, UK.
• “Towards a water planetary boundary for Earth resilience“, Water as the bloodstream of the biosphere – the 200th Stockholm seminar, 22 March 2019, Beijer hall, the Royal Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden.
• “Terrestrial moisture recycling: a land-atmosphere process with governance appeal“. 27 March 2019, Bolin Centre Seminar Series, Stockholm, Sweden.
• Talk on the role of the Amazon for the water cycle in the workshop “Should we worry about the Brazilian Amazon” at Stockholm Resilience Centre, Feb 2019.
• “Root for rain: towards understanding land-use change impacts on the water cycle“, 10 June 2017, Earth system seminar, University of Gothenburg.

In the news

• “The world’s major climate zones — polar, temperate and tropical — are transforming as we watch“, 27 Nov 2020, by Amanda Buckiewicz, CBC.
• “Weather Makers“, 19 June 2020, by Fred Pearce, Science.
• “Earth’s most important rivers are in the sky – and they’re drying up”, 30 October 2019, by Fred Pearce, in New Scientist.
• “Bolsonaros skövlingspolitik kan slå tillbaka mot honom själv – i form av torka och regnbrist“, 7 September 2019, SVT Nyheter.
• “Water in the sky“. TU Delft Stories of Science.
• “Complexiteit watercyclus te vaak genegeerd of verkeerd begrepen“, 7 Feb 2019, H2O Actueel.

Recorded presentations

• “The importance of the Amazon to the water cycle“, Feb 2019.