Research interests and projects

I am mainly concerned with social science research on landscape development, landscape services and natural hazards:
Key-topics: life quality, place identity, authenticity of place, outdoor recreation, public participation, risk communication, social learning.

Fur research projects, in which I am currently involved as a project manager, supervisor and/or researcher, see my projects page.

Detailed CV (pdf) and publication list (pdf)

Other Professional Activities

Board member of the journal Naturschutz und Landschaftsplanung

 

Professional Experience

  • Since July 2006: Senior Researcher at WSL, Group Social Sciences in Landscape Research
  • 2002-2007:  Head of module “Societal requirements of local life quality and negotiations of land use decisions” of the WSL Research Program “Land Resources Management in Peri-Urban Environments”. 
  • 1999-2006: Senior Researcher at WSL and deputy head of the section “Landscape and Society”
  • 1992-1994: Collaborator at the consultant firm for forest and landscape “Pan” at Berne.1991-1992: Research assistant at the Laboratory of Hydraulics and Glaciology of ETH Zürich.

Academic Education

  • 1999: Promotion at the Geographical Institute of the University of Berne. PhD-Project under the direction of Prof. P. Messerli and co-supervised by PD Felix Kienast of WSL: Landscape as the lifeworld of the residents: sustainable landscape development by need satisfaction, identification and participation. [PDF]
  • 1991: University diploma in geography (with a focus on land use planning and hydrology) at the University of Berne, Switzerland.

Projects

The project investigates, to what extent residents' interactive involvement in river restoration planning enhances their understanding of biodiversity in local river areas as well as their sense of ownership, and which consequences this has on their support for local river restorations.

An agent-based visitor flow management tool that allows for mitigating the conflict between outdoor recreation and biodiversity conservation will be developed for two riverine environments (lower Wigger valley and upper Glatt valley).

Im Rahmen des Projekts wird das Potenzial eines integrierten regionalen Landschaftsmanagement als Instrument zur Umsetzung der Energiewende erforscht.

This project contributes to a better understanding of the social and institutional barriers of an integrated management as strategy to climate-change related problems in Alpine regions.

Climate change exacerbates drought-related extremes, with significant ecological, economic, and human health impacts. MaLeFiX project is developing an interdisciplinary platform that will provide comprehensive four-week forecasts of drought-related extremes – buying stakeholders valuable time to act.

Dieses SNF Lead Agency Projekt will prüfen, ob eine integrierte Planung in Form einer partizipativen Visionierung der regionalen Entwicklung dazu beitragen kann, die Akzeptanz von Anlagen zur Umsetzung der Energiewende sowie deren Standorte zu fördern.

Publications

Vrhovac B., Müller S., Sun X., Grêt-Regamey A., Buchecker M. (2025) Advancing shared energy transition through strategic regional future developments. Renew. Energy. 240, 122128 (13 pp.). doi:10.1016/j.renene.2024.122128 Institutional Repository DORA

Buchecker M., Fink S., Tobias S., Früh J. (2024) Ein modell-basiertes Besucherlenkungs-Tool zur Vereinbarung von Naherholung und Naturschutz. Concilier loisirs de proximité et protection de l’environnement avec un outil de modélisation des flux de visiteurs. Nat. Paysag. Nat. Landsch. Inside. (1), 18-19. Institutional Repository DORA

Buchecker M., Ertl T., Schulz T. (2024) Integrierte Klimaanpassung: Die Waldwirtschaft als Schlüsselakteur? Bern. Wald. 55(6), 6-7. Institutional Repository DORA

Ertl T., Schmid Y., Heeb J., Buchecker M. (2024) Adaptation aux changements climatiques intégrée au niveau régional: aides à la mise en oeuvre. Notice pour la pratique: Vol. 76. Birmensdorf: Institut fédéral de recherches WSL. 12 p. doi:10.55419/wsl:36110 Institutional Repository DORA

Ertl T., Schmid Y., Heeb J., Buchecker M. (2024) Integrierte Klimaanpassung auf regionaler Ebene: Hilfestellungen zur Umsetzung. Merkblatt für die Praxis: Vol. 76. Birmensdorf: Eidg. Forschungsanstalt WSL. 12 p. doi:10.55419/wsl:36108 Institutional Repository DORA

Gisler L., Björnsen A., Bowman G., Buchecker M., Burg V., Hersperger A., … Seidl I. (2024) Energiewende: kommunale und regionale Handlungsmöglichkeiten. Merkblatt für die Praxis: Vol. 75. Birmensdorf: Eidg. Forschungsanstalt WSL. 12 p. doi:10.55419/wsl:35816 Institutional Repository DORA

Gisler L., Björnsen A., Bowman G., Buchecker M., Burg V., Hersperger A., … Seidl I. (2024) Transition énergétique: possibilités d’action aux niveaux communal et régional. Notice pour la pratique: Vol. 75. Birmensdorf: Institut fédéral de recherches WSL. 12 p. doi:10.55419/wsl:35818 Institutional Repository DORA

Gottwald S., Kołodyńska I., Buchecker M., Di Masso A., Fagerholm N., Frąckowiak M., … Raymond C.M. (2024) Bridging senses of place and mobilities scholarships to inform social-ecological systems governance: a research agenda. Appl. Geogr. 167, 103286 (13 pp.). doi:10.1016/j.apgeog.2024.103286 Institutional Repository DORA

Müller S., Buchecker M. (2024) More than deliberation is needed: potential for agonistic moments in community wind energy planning. Environ. Plan. C. doi:10.1177/23996544241278855 Institutional Repository DORA

Osae I.B., Mardiste P., Stober D., Eiter S., Buchecker M., Suškevičs M. (2024) Access to information and public participation: evaluating the implementation of the Aarhus Convention in Europe. Eur. Plan. Stud. 32(12), 2449-2472. doi:10.1080/09654313.2024.2371508 Institutional Repository DORA

Sun X., Maidl E., Buchecker M. (2024) Dynamics of natural hazard risk awareness: panel analysis insights from Switzerland. J. Environ. Manag. 368, 122009 (14 pp.). doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.122009 Institutional Repository DORA

Buchecker M. (2023) Die Revitalisierung von Gewässern aus der Sicht der Erholungssuchenden. Ingenieurbiol. Mitt.bl. (4), 34-43. Institutional Repository DORA

Buchecker M., Fankhauser M., Gaus R. (2023) Finding shared solutions in landscape or natural resource management through social learning: a quasi-experimental evaluation in an Alpine region. Landsc. Ecol. 38, 4117-4137. doi:10.1007/s10980-021-01274-y Institutional Repository DORA

Gaus R., Ejderyan O., Grêt-Regamey A., Leach W.D., Buchecker M. (2023) How previous experiences shape actors' current perspectives in integrated natural resource management. People Nat. 5(6), 2048-2060. doi:10.1002/pan3.10541 Institutional Repository DORA

Garcia X., Müller S., Buchecker M. (2022) Valuation of ecosystem services to assess river restoration projects. In B. Morandi, M. Cottet, & H. Piégay (Eds.), Advancing river restoration and management. River restoration. Political, social, and economic perspectives. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell. 210-232. doi:10.1002/9781119410010.ch10 Institutional Repository DORA

Müller S., Flacke J., Buchecker M. (2022) Participatory mapping and counter-representations in wind energy planning: a radical democracy perspective. Case Stud. Environ. 6(1), 1561651 (18 pp.). doi:10.1525/cse.2022.1561651 Institutional Repository DORA

Müller S., Weber M., Buchecker M. (2022) Wie soll die Energiestrategie 2050 lokal umgesetzt werden? Umfrage zur Energiewende und Mitwirkung bei der Umsetzung. WSL-Berichte: Vol. 117. Birmensdorf: Eidg. Forschungsanstalt für Wald, Schnee und Landschaft WSL. 71 p. Institutional Repository DORA

van den Born R., van Heel B., Böck K., Buijs A., Buchecker M. (2022) Public perspectives of river restauration projects. In B. Morandi, M. Cottet, & H. Piégay (Eds.), Advancing river restoration and management. River restoration. Political, social, and economic perspectives. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. 233-252. doi:10.1002/9781119410010.ch11 Institutional Repository DORA

Affolter A., Buchecker M., Müller S. (2021) Der integrierte Planungsansatz als Instrument zur lokalen Umsetzung der Energiewende. Welchen Beitrag könnte dazu das Instrument Energieregion leisten? Wasser Energ. Luft. 113(1), 9-16. Institutional Repository DORA

Gaus R., Grêt-Regamey A., Buchecker M. (2021) Eliciting actors' perspectives in integrated watershed management: exploring a practical tool based on a mental model approach. J. Environ. Plan. Manag. 64(8), 1352-1374. doi:10.1080/09640568.2020.1823343 Institutional Repository DORA

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