Uno

Svedin

PhD

Senior research fellow

uno.svedin@su.se

+ 46 8 775 40 00

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Profile summary

  • Systems analysis and thinking approaches
  • Interplay socio-cultural and natural science aspects
  • Regional applications
  • European agriculture research strategy
  • The role of culture in sustainability science
  • Governance
  • Future studies approaches to forward look

Uno Svedin is a senior researcher, dealing with different aspects of sustainability and resilience topics, with special application to systems, agriculture and urban issues

Svedin is involved in research projects that match his varied interests in sustainability issues. Examples of his latest involvement are in “the sense of place,” and an EU 4-year project (COMPLEX) dealing with “the transition of the Stockholm-Mälar region to a non-fossil situation by 2050” (SU and SLU collaboration). Earlier, he was involved in the initial article on “Planetary boundaries” (2009).

Svedin started as a PhD student in physics (elementary particle) in collaboration with CERN providing a thorough knowledge of “big science.” He recived his PhD in 1974 from Stockholm University. Over the decades, his line of thinking developed across a number of topics: physics-energy-other raw materials and their associated environmental issues, sustainability systems issues, governance, research policy, grand challenges, urban, regional and agricultural realms of application - and issues facing us in the period of the Anthropocene.

Svedin has a number of different positions during his career:

  • Professor(adjunct) 10 years at TEMA/Linköping University from 1994
  • Rehired (retired) Professor Stockholm University 2012-2016 in connection with the EU Project COMPLEX (affiliation to SRC and the Institution of Computer and Systems Sciences)
  • Senior researcher at the SRC (continued)
  • Former Chair (and earlier Board member) of the EU Consultative Forum on Sustainability and the Environment
  • Former chair (and earlier board member) of IGFA (The International Group of Funding agencies in Gobal change research)
  • EURAGRI Board member
  • Member of the Foresight Advisory Board (FAB) for the ICT- oriented EU CHIST-ERA research program

Svedin’s combination of interest over the years, starting from his Master’s studies (1967) until today, has included an array of scientific interdisciplinary practices involving, both natural science, social science and the humanities aspects. All of these coming together is what today is called sustainability challenges.

His wide interests between academic research and research policy, informed his role at FRN (The Swedish Council of Planning and Coordination of Research) from 2001-2010, and as the International Director at the Formas Research Council.

Awards and achievements:

  • Doctor honoris causa Linköping University 2010, with special reference to the promotion of interdisciplinary research in Sweden and internationally
  • Elected chair of the EU Consultative Forum for Sustainability and Environment
  • Elected chair of IGFA (The International Group of Funding agencies in Gobal change research).
  • Co-author of a number of internationally renowned and influential articles e.g. Kates et al., Sustainability science (In Science, 2000), andRockström et al, Planetary boundaries. (In Nature 2009)
  • One of the founding members of the EU agriculture research strategy platform SCAR
  • Rapporteur (and active member of the planning committee) of the EU Lund Conference during the Swedish EU Presidency 2009, laying the ground to the later “Grand Challenges” approach in parts of “Horizon 2020”
  • Member of the senior Swedish-Norwegian evaluation group 1979 of the United Nations University, with HQ in Tokyo. Later Leader of the evaluation team of the UNU Institute for Advanced Research, Tokyo

Publications by Svedin, Uno

An Earth system law perspective on governing social-hydrological systems in the Anthropocene

Journal / article | 2021

Ahlström, H., Hileman, J., Wang-Erlandsson, L., García, M., Moore, M., Jonas, K., Pranindita, A., Kuiper, J., Fetzer, I., Jaramillo, F., Svedin, U.. 2021. An Earth system law perspective on governing social-hydrological systems in the Anthropocene. Earth System Governance. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.esg.2021.100120

The global hydrological cycle is characterized by complex interdependencies and self-regulating feedbacks that keep water in an ever-evolving state of flux at local, regional, and global levels. Increasingly, the scale of human impacts in the Anthropocene is altering the dynamics of this cycle, which presents additional challenges for water governance. “Earth system law” provides an important approach for addressing gaps in go...

Learning from generations of sustainability concepts

Journal / article | 2020

Downing, A., S., Chang, M., Kuiper, J.,J., Campenni, M., Häyhä, T., Cornell, S., Svedin, U., Mooji, W. 2020. Learning from generations of sustainability concepts. Environmental Research Letters, Accepted Manuscript

Background: For decades, scientists have attempted to provide a sustainable development framework that integrates goals of environmental protection and human development. The Planetary Boundaries concept (PBc) – a framework to guide sustainable development – juxtaposes a 'safe operating space for humanity' and 'planetary boundaries', to achieve a goal that decades of research have yet to meet. We here investigate if PBc is suf...

Stewardship, care and relational values

Journal / article | 2019

West., S., Haider, J.L., Masterson, V. et al. 2018. Stewardship, care and relational values. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability. Available online 5 November 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2018.10.008

Stewardship is a popular term for describing action in pursuit of sustainability. There is growing interest in how relational values, such as care, animate stewardship action. In this paper we develop relational understandings of care in stewardship, in so doing infusing the relational values literature with modes of ‘relational thinking’ increasingly adopted in sustainability science. We use three theoretical perspectives — d...

Stewardship as a boundary object for sustainability research: Linking care, knowledge and agency

Journal / article | 2018

Enqvist, J.P., West, S., Masterson, V., Haider, J.L., Svedin, U., Tengö, M. 2018. Stewardship as a boundary object for sustainability research: Linking care, knowledge and agency. Landscape and Urban Planning, Volume 179, November 2018, Pages 17-37

Current sustainability challenges – including biodiversity loss, pollution and land-use change – require new ways of understanding, acting in and caring for the landscapes we live in. The concept of stewardship is increasingly used in research, policy and practice to articulate and describe responses to these challenges. However, there are multiple meanings and framings of stewardship across this wide user base that reflect di...