Holger Gerdes

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Holger Gerdes

MSc (Environment and Resource Management)

Coordinator Bioeconomy
Senior Fellow

Team
Topics

Holger Gerdes is a Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute and coordinator of the Institute's bioeconomy activities. He evaluates and applies participatory tools for effective natural resource management in the emerging bioeconomy. Drawing on his background in environmental and resource economics, he also works on the economic valuation of biodiversity and ecosystem services and on the assessment of the socio-economic impacts of environmental change. He is fluent in German and English and has a good knowledge of French and Dutch.

Currently, Holger Gerdes coordinates the project Concepts, Tools and Applications for Community-driven Bioeconomy Development in European Rural Areas (SCALE-UP). Before, he coordinated the projects Bio-based Strategies and Roadmaps for Enhanced Rural and Regional Development in the EU (BE-Rural) and Promoting Stakeholder Engagement and Public Awareness for a Participative Governance of the European Bioeconomy (BioSTEP). He is also responsible for Ecologic Institute's contribution to the long-term research project Sustainable Subsoil Management as Part of the Bioeconomy (Soil³).

In addition to his involvement in national and European research projects, Holger Gerdes has worked on service and framework contracts for a variety of public authorities, including the European Commission's Directorate-General for the Environment, the European Commission's Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, the European Environment Agency (EEA), the EU's Committee of the Regions (CoR), and Germany's Federal Environment Agency (UBA).

Holger Gerdes has also supported the European Research Executive Agency (REA) and the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO) in the evaluation of project proposals, and the University of Hohenheim (Germany) in the periodic evaluation of four environment-related M.Sc. courses. Since 2010, Holger Gerdes has been supporting the Zurich-Basel Plant Science Center (Switzerland) in organizing a PhD course on evidence-based policy-making by developing student assignments on topics related to the valuation of natural capital.

Holger Gerdes holds a bachelor's degree in European Studies from Maastricht University (the Netherlands) and a master's degree in Environment and Resource Management from the Free University of Amsterdam (the Netherlands).

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Recent content by Holger Gerdes

Publication:Policy Brief
 
Cover page of the report titled 'Empfehlungen für die Umsetzung eines nachhaltigen und gesellschaftlich akzeptierten Unterbodenmanagements in Deutschland' (Recommendations for the Implementation of a Sustainable and Socially Accepted Subsoil Management in Germany). Key recommendations are listed, focusing on political frameworks, value chains, collaboration with practitioners, legal clarity, and further research support.
This policy brief outlines recommendations for sustainable and socially accepted subsoil management in Germany. Subsoil, located below the plowed topsoil layer, holds essential nutrients and water reserves crucial for plant growth and sustainable bioeconomy practices. The Soil³ project (2015–2025) investigated methods to enhance subsoil usage, focusing on increasing plant root access to this layer without compromising its ecological functions.

Empfehlungen für die Umsetzung eines nachhaltigen und gesellschaftlich akzeptierten Unterbodenmanagements in Deutschland

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Project
 
Ecologic Institute acts as partner in a consortium led by COWI on a framework agreement (FWA) to support the European Investment Bank's (EIB) Advisory Services on Lot 6: Bioeconomy. Ecologic Institute will provide a range of services within the framework contract, including for example thematic expertise on sector "Natural resources & natural capital management" and horizontal sub-sectors "Capacity building, knowledge creation and dissemination", "Provision of advice on regulatory matters" and "Climate action – adaptation".

Advisory Services on Bioeconomy

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Project:Horizon Europe
 
project logo green label with two leaves as wings
In order to make informed decisions, consumers need information on the sustainability performance of BBPs that is evidence-based, trustworthy, transparent and clear. The Horizon Europe funded project "3-CO" responds to this need by designing a supportive framework for Labels and Certification Schemes (LCS) for industrial BBPs that are sustainable in terms of resources, processes and materials used.

Concise Consumer Communication through Robust Labels for Bio-based Systems (3-CO)

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Publication:Book Section
 
Cover of the book "Zukünfte nachhaltiger Bioökonomie. Kommunikation und Partizipation in neuen Wirtschaftsformen"
A democratic dialogue with a broad spectrum of stakeholders and the society is considered necessary for the transformation to a sustainable bio-based economy. As such, several dedicated bioeconomy strategies across Europe and beyond outline objectives towards broader stakeholder and public engagement. In this book chapter Zoritza Kiresiewa, Laurens Duin and Holger Gerdes address the degree of participation and the role of the individual actor groups and society in strategy development processes and recommend concrete actions for more inclusive and effective stakeholder and public engagement.

Limitations of Stakeholder and Public Engagement in Bioeconomy Strategy Development Processes

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Project
 
Unsustainable use of the oceans and their resources leads to severe problems, like depletion of fish stocks, biodiversity loss, habitat degradation and increased pollution, among other negative impacts. With a scoping study, awarded by the European Environment Agency (EEA), Ecologic Institute, together with Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP), analyses the potential of the blue bioeconomy to become more sustainable by transforming to more sustainable fisheries and aquaculture.

Greening the Blue Bioeconomy and Transition to Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture

Scoping Study

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Project:Horizon Europe
 
SCALE UP Logo
The overall goal of SCALE-UP is to support regional multi-actor partnerships, consisting of private businesses, governments and policymakers, civil society organisations, and researchers in identifying and scaling-up innovative and sustainable bio-based value chains that build on regional resources. Through its approach, SCALE-UP will adapt, implement and evaluate tools to help regional actors to overcome the apparent bottlenecks towards fully exploiting bioeconomy potentials in their region.

Concepts, Tools and Applications for Community-driven Bioeconomy Development in European Rural Areas (SCALE-UP)

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Publication:Book
 
red cover of the Springer book "Novel Developments for Sustainable Hydropower"
This open access book presents (selected) new and innovative developments for sustainable and fish-friendly hydropower. It offers unique insights into the challenges, practices and policies of hydropower developments across 8 European countries, providing examples from on-site studies and European-wide analyses. The case studies throughout the book are practical "real-world" examples, which are intended to serve as inspiration for anyone who would like to know more about how solutions for more sustainable hydropower production can be designed and implemented. The book was co-edited by Ecologic Institute's Dr. Eleftheria Kampa. Authors of the Ecologic Institute contributed to the chapters on "Policy Framework for Hydropower Mitigation" and "Public Acceptance of Hydropower."

Novel Developments for Sustainable Hydropower

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Publication:Book Section
 
red cover of the Springer book "Novel Developments for Sustainable Hydropower"
This chapter provides an overview of public perception of hydropower projects, describes methods for studying public acceptance and presents an application of the Q-methodology in four Europe case studies from hydropower-intensive regions. The chapter, written by Mandy Hinzmann, Holger Gerdes (both Ecologic Institute) and Terese E. Venus is available for download.

Public Acceptance of Hydropower

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News
 
We are thrilled to announce that the ENABLE project has been awarded the BiodivERsA Prize for Excellence and Impact. This award recognizes the excellent research performed in ENABLE and the impacts that were achieved for both policy and society. As a project partner, Ecologic Institute lead the work assessing the socio-cultural perceptions and preferences of citizens for different forms of green and blue infrastructure and supported the policy and institutional analysis in the project cities as well as the formulation of policy options.
 

ENABLE Project Wins the BiodivERsA Award for Excellence and Impact

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