Håkan Berg Universitetslektor, docent

Håkan has a professional background in aquatic ecology, ecotoxicology and natural resource management. He has worked with research and management of aquatic resources in tropical countries for more than 25 years in Africa, Asia and Central America. Håkan finished his PhD in aquatic ecotoxicology at the department of System Ecology at Stockholm University in 1996, and became an associate professor at the Royal Institute of Technology in 2004, were he was senior lecturer in ecology and environmental sciences. 

Håkan has set up and helped to coordinate several regional research networks in the Indian Ocean (MASMA, CORDIO), Lake Victoria (VicRes) and in the Greater Mekong Region (The Wetland Alliance), when he worked as a senior research advisor to the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency. He as worked as associated professor at the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand with research and management of tropical wetlands. As senior environmental expert at the Mekong River Commission in Laos, he helped to coordinate environmental monitoring activities the Mekong River. Håkan has also been involved in several global processes related to biodiversity and ecosystem services (IPBES), while he was working at the Resilience and Development programme at the Stockholm Resilience Centre.

In recent years, Håkan has coordinated research on sustainable management of wetlands in Southeast Asia with a specific focus on the impact of pesticides and aquaculture on biodiversity and ecosystem services. He has also worked in close cooperation with WWF and the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources in Vietnam with research on ecosystem based adaptation to climate change and biodiversity conservation.

Håkan’s current research focus on the relationship between humans and the environment and how these interlinked systems can be designed to provide options for sustainable livelihoods. The research is based on project in Southeast Asia (Vietnam) Africa (Tanzania) and Southern Europe (Greece), and includes:

• Safeguarding ecosystem services for sustainable wetland management and aquaculture development in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam (1 PhD student).
• Integrated aquaculture systems for diversified livelihoods in the Usangu Basin, Tanzania. (1 PhD student).
• Management of Mangrove Ecosystems for sustainable development and climate change adaptation in Tanzania. (1 PhD student).
• Co-adaptive management of ecosystem services for sustainable use and conservation of the Gialova Lagoon, Messinia, SW Greece. (1 PhD student).