Dr. Larissa Koch
Research assistant / PostDoc
Member of the resource management working group
The defining questions of our time – biodiversity loss, water scarcity, land use conflicts – require responses that transcend disciplinary boundaries. As a social scientist, I examine the complex connections between political processes, communication dynamics, and spatial contexts to advance collaborative environmental governance and sustainability transformations. My research toolkit draws from both qualitative and quantitative research methods, focusing on human behavior, relationships, and interactions.
Research Interests
- Social dynamics in collaborative resource management approaches
- Narratives and their role in shaping meaning and identity
- Social structures and network analysis
- Relational approaches to power and agency
- Coordination, collaboration, and conflict in sustainability transformations
- Co-production of knowledge and learning processes
Short Profile
Rural areas face significant challenges – and simultaneously offer vital opportunities for sustainable development. I explore the narratives told by actors within these landscapes – stories of people and nature, of conflict and cooperation, of change and preservation. My research, grounded in the methods and insights of human geography, communication studies, and political science, investigates how these narratives shape our actions and enable transformative change. I analyze collaborative processes, conflicts, and individual life contexts, as well as the formation of trust and social identities. I critically examine systemic relationships with questions such as:
How do narratives influence the course of sustainability transformations and the interaction between human and non-human actors? What functions do conflicts serve in transformation processes? How do individual agency and power dynamics shape our responses to environmental change? What factors determine the transformative capacity of rural regions?
These and other questions drive my research, which I conduct in close cooperation with practitioners and within interdisciplinary teams.
De Vos, A., Quinlan, A., Biggs, R., Bennett, E.M., Martín-López, B., Norström, A., Peterson, G., Schoon, M., Allen, C.R., Andersson, E., Baird, J., Balvanera, P., Berbés-Blázquez, M., Berkes, F., Calderón-Contreras, R., Carpenter, S.R., Castro, A.J., Cumming, G.S., Falardeau, M., Fick, W.L., Folke, C., Galang, E.I.N., Gelcich, S., Gordon, L.J., Grimm, N.B., Hamilton, J., Hodbod, J., Koch, L., Kosanic, A., Lembi, R., Locatelli, B., Malmborg, K., Manyani, A., Mathison Slee, M., Norström, A.V., Ocampo-Melgar, A., Psiuk, K., Queiroz, C., Quinlan, A., Riechers, M., Schultz, L., Selomane, O., Sherren, K., Speranza, C.I., Spierenburg, M., Trimble, M., Turkelboom, F., Wallington, C. (2025). Welcome home! Introducing SocSES: A Society for Inclusive and Impactful Social-ecological research. Ecology & Society. doi: 10.5751/ES-16164-300232. Koch, L. (2024). "Us versus them" mentalities in co-managing a Natura 2000 forest: Narratives, identities, and a culture of conflict. Environmental Policy and Governance.
Gorris, P., & Koch, L. (2024). Building trust in environmental co-management: Social embeddedness in a contested German biodiversity conservation governance process. Environmental Science & Policy. 154, 103695.
Koch, L., Gorris, P., Prell, C. & Pahl-Wostl, C. (2023). Communication, trust and leadership in co-managing biodiversity: A network analysis to understand social drivers shaping a common narrative. Journal of Environmental Management. 336, 117551. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.117551.
Koch, L. (2022). The social dynamics of collaboration in environmental governance and management. PhD Thesis submitted to the University of Osnabrück. https://doi.org/10.48693/263.
Koch, L., Gorris, P. & Pahl-Wostl, C. (2021). Narratives, narratives and social structure in environmental governance networks. Global Environmental Change. 69, 102317. doi: 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2021.102317
Pahl-Wostl, C., Gorris, P., Jager, N., Koch, L., Lebel, L., Stein, C., Venghaus, S. & Withanachchi, S. (2020). Scale-related governance challenges in the water-energy-food nexus: Towards a diagnostic approach. Sustainability Science. 16, 615-629. doi: 10.1007/s11625-020-00888-6.
Schenuit, F., Koch, L. & Jakob, M. (2019): Markets for Public Attention at the Interface of Climate Science and Policy Making. Environmental Communication. 14(1), 1-5. doi: 10.1080/17524032.2019.1688370
Chabay, I., Koch, L., Martinez, G. & Scholz, G. (2019). Influence of Narratives of Vision and Identity on Collective Behavior Change. Sustainability. 11 (20), 5680. doi: 10.3390/su11205680
Garard, J., Koch, L., & Kowarsch, M. (2018). Elements of success in multi-stakeholder deliberation platforms. Palgrave Communications. 4, 129. doi: 10.1057/s41599-018-0183-8