Publications
from FRIDA database
Background
Ph.D., Botanical ecology, Department of Biology, University of Oslo 2006
Cand scient, Botanical ecology, Department of Biology, University of Oslo, 1996
Fields of interest
● ecology
● biodiversity
● tropical rainforest
● ethno-botany
● land use and natural resource management
● poverty alleviation
Regional focus
Latin America
(Africa)
Teaching
Research Methods (SUM4011A), a course covering interdisciplinary research methods. The aim of this course is to explore the ways in which interdisciplinary studies are defined, how they formulate particular research problems, and what kinds of research tools and methods are applicable.
Research projects:
Agro-pastoral production under climatic variation in Africa
(post doc project still not funded).
The project (lead by N.C. Stenseth) is interdisciplinary and aims to increase our understanding on how climate effects agro-pastoral production at broad and fine spatial scales in general and more specifically in Africa. Africa is particularly vulnerable to global climate change as its economies are largely based on weather-sensitive agro-pastoral production systems. How does climate affect agro-pastoral production across Africa based on large scale data collection? At local scale, how does climate affect agro-pastoral productivity and market prizes? How does the rural population respond to climate change with respect to agro-pastoral production strategies? Climate scenarios predict increased frequencies of extreme climatic events, ranging from large-scale effects (e.g. flooding and drought) to more local indirect effects (e.g. insect pest outbreaks). Natural disasters affect farmers first and hardest, and it is predicted that between 145 and 220 million more people will fall under the poverty limit of 2 US $ a day (Stern review final report 2006). Poor farmers have few alternative livelihood choices and climate change may thus be detrimental. It is therefore of prime importance to develop effective agro-pastoral strategies in response to climate change.
STRIVER, Strategy and methodology for imporved IWRM – An integrated interdisciplinary assessment in four twinning river basins.
STRIVER will develop interdisciplinary methods to assess and implement communities. (IWRM). Based on the development of a multidisciplinary base assessment, policy, social and natural sciences in all case studies Glomma, Tejo/Tagus, Sesan, Tunga Bahdra, and an early stage development of IWRM conceptual framework, the project will undertake IWRM in the four selected twinned catchments covering six countries in Europe and Asia. The project is lead by Stig A. Borgvang and Per Stålnacke at NIVA, Norwegian Institute for Water Research. The project started July 2006 and SUM will primarily contribute to aspects related to biodiversity and land use. Specifically SUM is responsible for the development of an IWRM assessment methodology, including evaluation with stakeholders of alternative decision-support. Nesheim participates in the project.
Publications:
Nesheim, Ingrid. WP 5 - Initial IWRM assessment and conceptual framework [Vitenskapelig foredrag]. STRIVER Workshop; 26.10.2006 - 29.10.2006
LUPIS, Land use and sustainable development in Developing Countries
The project will provide assessment procedures that enable documentation and understanding on impacts of land use polices on sustainable development, taking into account multi-functionalities and European policy options on biodiversity, climate and trade. This integrated project is a coalition of researchers from 15 different countries in Africa, Latin America, Asia and Europe. Floor M. Brouwer at the Agricultural Economics Research Institute (LEI) in the Netherlands is the coordinating person in the project. The project start is January 2007 and SUM’s responsibility within the project is on subjects related to biodiversity and natural resource management, and more specifically; to develop an analytical framework for the various parts of the project, and publish two books and organize several workshops. Nesheim will participate in the project.
PhD thesis: Vascular plant diversity and its use in a neotropical rain forest inhabited by migrants (2000- 2006)
Ingrid Nesheim's doctoral thesis aimed to study the impact of new settlement on the vascular plant diversity in a rain forest area with regard to environmental knowledge. Lack of adequate ecological knowledge in rural development may lead to increased risks regarding sustainable use of natural resources. The study compared the vascular plant diversity in an exploited forest and in a primary forest in the Lacandona jungle in Peten, Guatemala and described the inhabitants' use of vascular plants. The project was affiliated to the program "Forced migration and social reconstruction among returned refugees in Petén, Guatemala" co-ordinated by Prof. Stølen at the Centre for Development and the Environment SUM.
View abstract (Norwegian) (English)
Selected publications:
Nesheim, Ingrid. Vascular plant diversity and its use in a Neotropical Rain Forest Inhabited by migrants [Poster]. Third International Congress of Ethnobotany 2002
Nesheim, Ingrid. Vascular plant diversity and its use in a neotropical rain forest inhabited by migrants [Vitenskapelig foredrag]. 9th Meeting on Nordic botanical research in the neotropics 2001
Nesheim, Ingrid; Dhillion, Shivcharn S.; Stølen, Kristi Anne. What happens to traditional knowledge and use of natural resources when people migrate?. Human Ecology 2006;34(1):99-131
Nesheim, Ingrid; Dhillion, Shivcharn; Stølen, Kristi Anne. Traditional knowledge of plant resources in a resettlement community, la Quetzal, Petén, Guatemala. Oslo, Norge: Senter for Utvikling og miljø 2003. 31 s.
Master's thesis: Plants and landscape elements in the Ecuadorian páramo zone (1994-1996).
During her Master Nesheim studied landscape elements and plant diversity in a steep valley slope of elevation 2799-4000 m. The study site was situated in the province of Imbabura, Cantón Otavalo in Ecuador, covering traditional subsistence agriculture at lower altitudes and páramo grasslands at higher altitudes. The study revealed high species diversity in landscape elements of the agricultural areas, the crop fields, fallow hedges and roads, with a specifically high diversity in the crop fields. Different types of cultivates had a varying companying species number. Traditional farming provides for this diversity by lack of pesticides, no artificial fertilizers, rotation of crops, fallowing and multi-cropping.
