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.
