Nikolai Friberg is Professor of freshwater ecology at Aarhus University and Centre Manager of AU’s Centre for Nature-based Solutions (C-NBS). He has worked with stream restoration for several decades and has recently focused his research on nature-based solutions (NBS) related to streams and their catchments. Additionally, he has researched the effects of climate change on freshwater ecosystems and incorporates his experiences into the use of NBS.
Jóna Ólavsdóttir holds a Master’s degree in administration (cand.scient.adm.) and has worked as a political advisor (2017-2021) and as a coordinator for the Nordic Council of Ministers’ programme on nature-based solutions (2021-2024). In this role, she oversaw six main projects and eight sub-projects in seven Nordic countries through all project phases, gaining solid experience in the implementation and evaluation of nature-based solutions. Additionally, she has several years of experience in communication and dissemination.
Through Jóna’s work with nature-based solutions, in close collaboration with biologists from various fields, she has gained a deep understanding of how nature can support both climate stability and human health.
In her PhD project, Jóna researches the administrative frameworks and examines how these can promote or hinder the implementation of nature-based solutions in Danish municipalities. The project focuses on whether the Assens model can be used as an implementation strategy to strengthen the spread of nature-based solutions as part of the green tripartite agreement.
The goal is for the research to contribute to a broader application and scaling up of nature-based solutions, so they can become an integrated part of future sustainable development.
Daniel Spelling Clausen holds a Master’s degree in geography and geoinformatics and is employed at the Department of Ecoscience. Since 2022, he has been the centre coordinator for AU’s interdisciplinary centre for water technology, WATEC (watec.au.dk). At WATEC, he helps coordinate daily operations and is responsible for planning WATEC’s annual summer school course ‘Advanced Water Cycle Management’. In Ecoscience, he works with GIS and environmental data and provides environmental consultancy to the Greenlandic government.
I am a molecular ecologist specialising in biodiversity and microbial evolution, with a focus on understanding how environmental stressors such as warming, pollution and habitat loss interact and cascade through ecosystems. My research supports the Centre for Nature-Based Solutions (C-NBS) by advancing rapid biodiversity assessments and microbial restoration to enhance ecosystem resilience and sustainability.
Sofia Biffi is a researcher with a background in agroecology, soil science and landscape ecology. Her research focuses on how nature-based solutions can support biodiversity, climate mitigation and resilient agricultural landscapes. She has particular expertise in hedgerows and other semi-natural habitats, investigating their role in carbon sequestration, biodiversity conservation, soil health and the delivery of ecosystem services. Her work combines field-based ecological research with spatial analysis and considers how nature-based solutions can be implemented and scaled up in real-world landscapes.
I am an evolutionary ecologist with a PhD from the University of Aberdeen. I investigate how organisms adapt to environmental change by understanding the interactions between hosts, their gut microbiomes, and ecological niches. Integrating molecular tools with statistical modelling, my work quantifies the physiological and fitness drivers of climate resilience and inform conservation decisions.
I’m a student assistant working at C-NBS, besides my master studies. My tasks range widely from datacollection and management and assessments of scientific articles, to assistance in setting up conferences and other arrangements, as well as doing smaller administrative tasks such as booking meetings. Projects I’ve contributed to include NAT-AGRI, City Blues as well as the Transformative Governance for NBS conference which took place in 2026.
