Project: Regional Brands and Large Protected Areas - Branding Processes in Selected Protected Area Regions in Europe in the Context of Sustainable Regional Development

Management: Prof. Dr. Ingo Mose

Employee: Maren Kleinau

Abstract: Area protection in Europe is undergoing a paradigmatic reorientation, whereby a primarily segregative oriented approach has been replaced by an increasingly integrative one. As "living landscapes", protected areas are to become model spaces that demonstrate how regions can shape sustainable development. Stakeholders from politics, business, and civil society, as well as the regional population, associate the establishment of a large-scale protected area (LPA) with a wide range of expectations, which is why LPAs are increasingly being considered as instruments of regional development, especially of peripheral rural areas. In this context, an increasing proliferation of regional brands in diverse LPAs can be noticed, which act as a kind of crystallization core and promise mutual synergies for the LPA and the regional brand. So far, however, there is a lack of a more comprehensive study that focuses on these regional brands for LPA regions.

This project, which is carried out in cooperation with RWTH Aachen University, is intended to identify dissemination paths and crucial contextual conditions of brand development, as well as brand characteristics, actors, and their interaction for selected regional brands in the context of LPAs in Europe, and to point out resulting adaptations of the concept, especially regarding forms of protected area governance. In addition, the potentials for sustainable development associated with these brands will be identified and existing brand concepts will be compared. For this purpose, selected regional brands in LPAs of two groups of countries (France, Spain, Portugal and Austria, Hungary, Romania) will be explored within the framework of a comparative case study investigation.

Duration: 3 years (2022-2025)

Project partner: Prof. Dr. Andreas Voth, Economic Geography, RWTH Aachen University

Funding: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)

Project: Research Network 4N - Northwest Lower Saxony Sustainable New - Transformation and Structural Change in the Rural Areas of Northwest Germany: Real Laboratories in Marsh, Moor, Geest and Mee(h)r
Management: Prof. Dr. Ingo Mose, Dr.-Ing. Peter Schaal

Collaborators: Philipp Heuer

Short description:

The research network 4N pursues the goal of initiating, accompanying and evaluating social, technological and ecological transformations in the regional framework of Northwest Lower Saxony towards future-oriented, sustainable living contexts in response to the current structural change. To this end, technological possibilities (digitalization), agricultural developments, economic fields of activity such as tourism and logistics, as well as topics of education and services of general interest in health and care are examined against their respective sociocultural background and social organization (governance). The conception of regional transformation processes refers to the northwest of Lower Saxony and inspires future-oriented developments in an interdisciplinary way.

The working group is integrated into the research network via subproject 3 Spatial Planning and Regional Development. Against the background of transformative processes (including demographic change, digitalization, climate adaptation, climate and environmental protection), this deals with the need for adaptation and change in spatial planning and regional development. The goal is to examine the future significance of overall spatial planning, specialized planning, regional policy funding instruments, spatial and temporally high-resolution geodata, and the interaction of formal and informal instruments. To this end, building on a research-analytical investigation of existing structures, approaches and solutions relevant to practice and everyday life will be developed in a discursive and co-productive process with local and regional actors.

Duration: four years (2022-2025)

Partners: University of Vechta, Jade University of Applied Sciences Wilhelmshaven/Oldenburg/Elsfleth, Emden-Leer University of Applied Sciences, Georg-August University of Göttingen

Funding: Ministry of Science and Culture of Lower Saxonyd Large Protected Areas - Processes of Branding in Selected Protected Area Regions in Europe in the Context of Sustainable Regional Development
Head: Prof. Dr. Ingo Mose

Project: InDaLe- Innovative approaches to services of general interest in rural areas- learning from the experiences of other European countries for Germany.
Management: Prof. Dr. Ingo Mose

Collaborator: Nathalie Tent

Abstract: The challenges in rural areas with regard to the provision of services of general interest are becoming more and more acute. Many rural regions in Germany are very much affected by demographic change and suffer from the out-migration of young people and the aging of the remaining population. It is often difficult to guarantee basic structures for medical care, education and emergency response (fire department, disaster control). New ideas and solutions must therefore be found. The aim of the project InDaLe is to look for already functioning solutions in neighboring European countries, where rural areas have been affected by these problems for much longer and to a greater extent. On the one hand, the aim is to identify the prerequisites and framework conditions for success and, on the other hand, to test the possible transferability to Germany.  This should also have the goal to better accompany and advise funding projects in rural areas on the way to a continuation.

A special feature of the project is the cooperation with the other project partners of the research network. While at the University of Oldenburg the focus is on projects in Scotland in the area of after-school education, at the TU Dresden the focus is on projects from Sweden (area of health and care) and at the Thünen Institute in Braunschweig the focus is on Austria (area of non-police hazard prevention). The Academy for Spatial Development in the Leibniz Association in Hanover is researching model projects in Germany to which the knowledge gained from neighboring European countries is to be transferred. Finally, at Leibniz Universität Hannover, the background to project continuation and the strategic approach to projects will be worked out in particular.

Duration: 2.5 years (2020-2022)

Project partners: Leibniz Universität Hannover; Dresden University of Technology; Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institute, Braunschweig; Academy for Spatial Development in the Leibniz Association, Hannover.

Funding: German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture

KLEVER - Climate-optimised drainage management in the operation area emden

Prof. Dr. Ingo Mose, Dr.-Ing. Peter Schaal, Sipl.-Ing. Jan Spiekermann

The KLEVER-project works on a conzept to adjust the drainage management of the lower saxony lowlands to the upcoming difficulties of climate change. Big parts of the inland of the region Emden are below mean sea level, therefor a well working drainage system is is the main precondition for settlement. Together with the Jade Hochschule Wilhelmshaven/Oldenburg/Elsfleth the research group will work on solutions for the region. The period of the project is from 2015 to 1018. It is funded by the BMUB. 

Project "Green Ring Bremen"

Prof. Dr. Ingo Mose, Dr.-Ing. Peter Schal, Christian Aden, Jonas Zimmermann

The Green Ring is a three-part circular cycling path system through Bremen's surrounding area. The project aims to maintain the status quo of the Green Ring and to search for potential improvement measures. Furthermore the research group wants to identify potentials for further development to an areal concept of securing open and green spaces as well as recreation planning. The procet has a period from 2014 to 2015 and is funded by the muncipal association Niedersachsen-Bremen e. V. and the research group intself.

Professor Dr. Ingo Mose

• Follow up and evaluation of the "North Sea Rural Project" in the context of Interreg IIIb.
• New regional development concepts for peropheral rural regions in the European Union (DFG project).
• Image analysis of the Wesermarsch.
• Perspectives for local authorities for the city of Nordhorn.
• Tourism potential in the Lathen Region.
• LEBEN 2014- Perspectives for regional development in the Hohe Tauern/ Oberpinzgau National Park (Austrian Ministry for Science and Education).
• Enviromental education in national parks (DFG project).
• Analysis of the commercial infrastructure in the city of Twistringen.
• Local development concepts for the Brinkum/ Stuhr municipality.
• Potentials for a camping area in the Dammer Berge.
• Potentials for river activities in the Hasetal.
• Acceptance of the Wattenmeer National Park in Lower Saxony.

Dr. Ing. Peter Schaal

• Dissertation follow up and evaluation of the Interreg IIIb "North Sea Rural Project" www.erhverv.viborgamt.dk/sw5254.asp.
• "Strategies for implementation of decentralized power supply systems based in new common theories" (in cooperation with Verena Greve) - requested by the Research Promotion Department of the University of Oldenburg.
• "Perspectives for wind power use considering conflicting energy-political objectives and planning restrictions - analysis of the situation and necessary adjustments with special consideration of the Repowerings", project in co-operation with DEWI (Wilhelmshaven) and ARSU GmbH (Oldenburg).
• "Analysis of the development tendencies of fermentation gas use in Northwest Germany", study project in Environmental Sciences of the University of Vechta in co-operation with Institut für Strukturforschung und Planung in agrarischen Intensivgebieten (ISPA) and the Kompetenzzentrum Nachwachsende Rohstoffe 3 N in Werlte.
• Comparative analysis between the extent and organisation of regional fundraising for environmental and nature protection projects in rural regions of Germany and the international scenario (in cooperation with Pia Steffenhagen).
• Structure of a knowledge management platform for validating, standardising and spreading GIS based methods in landscape planning. Co-operation partner: University of Potsdam - chair for landscape planning; Hochschule Anhalt - Fachbereich 1 Landwirtschaft, Ökotrophologie und Landschaftsentwicklung, Planteam Mittelhessen, Kerkrader Straße 9, 35394 Gießen and the Bundesverband Beruflicher Naturschutz e.V.
• "Successes of the regional development of rural areas - an example of the northwest region", requested by the Research Promotion Department of the University of Oldenburg.

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