Carolin

Seiferth

MSc

PhD candidate

carolin.seiferth@su.se

+46 8 674 78 81

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Profile summary

  • Knowledge co-production
  • Transdisciplinary research
  • Water governance
  • Wetland restoration
  • Education for Sustainable Development
  • Sustainable destination development

Carolin Seiferth investigates the role of knowledge co-production in strengthening collective efforts to address sustainability challenges, like water scarcity, in inclusive and equitable ways.

As part of her PhD studies, Seiferth conducts research on Öland, Sweden. The island has experienced extreme weather events over the past years, leading to low groundwater levels, recurring droughts, and water shortages. To address these challenges, she initiated and facilitated a workshop series to ensure an inclusive, community-based approach to managing water in the landscape, for example, through wetland restoration. Different actors contributed their respective knowledge on climate change and resource governance, which allows Seiferth to explore how knowledge co-production can strengthen collective efforts and support the implementation of novel solutions. Drawing on place-based and relational learning theories, her research sets out to understand the learning that occurs in carefully designed processes. Based on a case study comparison, Seiferth also investigates the potential of walking workshops as a method for weaving different knowledges to advance the theory and practice of knowledge co-production.

Seiferth holds an MSc in Sustainable Destination Development from Uppsala University with a focus on nature-based tourism and cultural heritage studies. Before her studies in Sweden, she completed her B.A. in Leisure and Tourism Management at the University of Applied Sciences Stralsund in Germany.

Seiferth is an active member of the working group Transdisciplinarity for Transformation, which is part of the Programme on Ecosystem Change and Society (PECS). She is also involved in the Working Group on Tourism Research (AKTF).

As part of the Baltic Sea Festival Science Lab, Seiferth performed the piece “Dialogues” to raise awareness about water scarcity issues on Öland. With an interest in combining research with music, she is currently exploring new ways to inspire different audiences to address challenges related to a changing climate.

Supervisors

Maria Tengö
Erik Andersson

Key publications

Katja Malmborg, Jacqueline Hamilton, Carolin Seiferth, Leveraging place-based identities and senses of belonging to mobilize for action-oriented research in UNESCO sites, Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, Volume 74, 2025, 101536, ISSN 1877-3435. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2025.101536

Seiferth, C., Tengö, M. & Andersson, E. Designing for collective action: a knowledge co-production process to address water governance challenges on the island of Öland, Sweden. Sustain Sci19, 1623–1640 (2024). https://doi-org.ezp.sub.su.se/10.1007/s11625-024-01531-4

Seiferth, C., Tengö, M., Andersson, E., & Cunningham, C. (2023). Dialogsamtal om vatten, landskap och klimat på Öland. Stockholms Resilienscentrum, Stockholms Universitet. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14006144

Publications by Seiferth, Carolin

Leveraging place-based identities and senses of belonging to mobilize for action-oriented research in UNESCO sites

Journal / article | 2025

Katja Malmborg, Jacqueline Hamilton, Carolin Seiferth. 2025. Leveraging place-based identities and senses of belonging to mobilize for action-oriented research in UNESCO sites. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2025.101536

With increasing land-use pressures on landscapes, it is critical to improve their governance while being inclusive of those living there. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage sites and Biosphere Reserves play a crucial role in protecting both social and ecological values in designated landscapes, making them interesting sites for action-oriented research. The designation and ...

Towards exclusively inclusive visitor experience

Book chapter | 2023

Agnes M. Nowaczek, Carolin Seiferth. 2023. Towards exclusively inclusive visitor experience. The Routledge Handbook of Nature Based Tourism Development. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003230748-23

Visitor experience lies at the epicentre of the tourism industry, regardless of the ever-evolving array of tourism niches, destinations, and products. Although tourism literature is quite abundant with theory and practical insights on visitor experience, it tends to isolate differently abled visitors. One of the better examples of holistic travel, sustainable tourism, seems to omit equity and inclusion from its philosophical u...