Dr. Christian Reichel

Freie Universität Berlin
Institute for Social Anthropology
Lecturer
14195 Berlin, Germany
Research Focus
- Past and current Human-Nature relationships
- Ecosystem services and sustainable natural resource management
- (Trans-) local knowledge and Innovation
- Social-ecological System Analysis
- Community based risk management in the context of climate change
- Social-ecological resilience and adaptive capacities in agriculture- and fishery dependant societies
Regional Expertise
East Africa, in particular Uganda; Southeast Asia, in particular Indonesia; Europe, in particular the Swiss, Austrian and German Alps (models of adaptive governance in montane farming systems)
Education
January 2014 – January 2018
PhD, Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Freie Universität Berlin. Thesis: “Climate change is stealing our Memory.” (Trans-) local Knowledge and Resilience in the Swiss Alps
August 2010
Summer school: Participatory Geographical Information Systems in Development Studies
(PGIS). University of Helsinki
April 2006 – December 2008
Master’s degree (M.A.) Social and Cultural Anthropology and Geography. Freie
Universität Berlin and Humboldt Universität Berlin (Distinction)
Dissertation: Local knowledge for sustainable resource utilization and protection from
natural disasters: Central Java and South Sulawesi, Indonesia
October 2000 – September 2005
Bachelor (B.A.) Social and Cultural Anthropology and Geography at Freie Universität
Berlin and Humboldt Universität Berlin
September 2004
Ethnographic field studies in Romania, Topic: Multiculturalism and ethnicity
June – September 2002
Ethnographic field studies in Mongolia Topic: Reforming land management systems
Scholarships & Grants
October 2016
Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT): Travel Grant: USA/ Germany
October 2009 – April 2010
Excellency Initiative. Bielefeld Graduate School in History and Sociology (BGHS) and
Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Research group: Climate Worlds
Languages
German native
English: fluent
Bahasa Indonesia: good command
French: basic communication
Professional Memberships and Special Appointments
Disaster Network (KatNET)
Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT): USA Ambassador
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Humanökologie (DGH)
Website Update: 17. May. 2018
SoSe 2018
Space & Place: Theoretical Foundations and Methods for Visualization. (with Mike Terry), M.A. Level, Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Freie Universität Berlin.SoSe 2017
Space & Place: Theoretical Foundations and Methods for Visualization. (with Mike Terry), M.A. Level, Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Freie Universität Berlin.SoSe 2016
Space & Place: Theoretical Foundations and Methods for Visualization. (with Mike Terry), M.A. Level, Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Freie Universität Berlin.WiSe 2014/15
M.A. Space & Place: Theoretical foundations and methods for visualization (with Mike Terry)SoSe 2014
M.A. Space & Place: Theories of Perception and Methods for Visualization (with Mike Terry)WiSe 2012/2013
M.A. Methods of Anthropology: Visualization and Participatory Mapping of Local Knowledge. Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology. Freie Universität Berlin.SoSe 2012
Introduction to Environmental Anthropology: Nature, Human, Environment. Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology. Freie Universität Berlin (with Arne Harms)October – November 2017
Consultant: development of adaptive governance approaches to support the adaptation of fisheries practices to climate change and environmental degradation in Uganda’s, Tanzania’s and Kenya’s small-scale fisheries sectors. Research program: The Potential for Aquaculture in Lake Victoria and implication for Wild Fish and Fish Commodity Markets. Funded by the US National Science Foundation (NSF)
April 2012 – today
Lecturer, Freie Universität Berlin. M.A. Environmental Anthropology and Visual & Media
Anthropology.
March 2011 – June 2014
Researcher, Freie Universität Berlin:
Project: Alpine hazards in times of climate change (ANIK). Cluster: Visalization and
mapping of local environmental knowledge about alpine risks. Financed by the Federal
Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) Link to the related multimedia map
April 2010 – March 2011
Research associate, Environmental Anthropology, Freie Universität Berlin
Working Group: Climate and disaster research in a trans-regional perspective (Southeast
Asia and Europe).
October 2009 – April 2010
Young Researcher, Research group Climate Worlds, Bielefeld Graduate School of History
and Sociology (BGHS), BMBF Excellency Initiative Topic: Culture specific practices in the
management of marine dynamics.
February 2009 – October 2009
Graduate teaching assistant, M.A. Visual and Media Anthropology, Freie Universität Berlin
September 2005 – April 2006
Research associate, Leibniz Centre for tropical Marine Research (ZMT).
Project: Science for the Protection of the Indonesian Coastal Marine Ecosystems. Cluster
1: Coral reef-based ecosystems and resources. Cluster 2: Strategies for sustainable use
of resources and marine culture in the Segara Anakan Lagoon
Books:
2019: Mensch – Umwelt – Klima. Trans-lokales Wissen und Resilienz im Schweizer Hochgebirge. Reihe: Sozial- und Kulturgeographie. Transkript Verlag (forthcoming March 2019).
Peer-reviewed articles:
2016: Reichel, Christian and Frömming, Urte Undine: Kartierung von Lokalem
Umweltwissen zur Stärkung der Resilienz gegenüber Naturgefahren im Klimawandel. In:
Fekete, A. and Hufschmied, G. (eds.) Atlas Verwundbarkeit und Resilienz (AtlasVR).
Pilotausgabe zu Deutschland, Österreich, Lichtenstein und der Schweiz.
2014: Reichel, Christian and Frömming, Urte Undine: Participatory Mapping of Local
Disaster Risk Reduction Knowledge.: An Example from Switzerland. In: Fekete, A. and
Hufschmied, G. (eds.) The Usefulness of Resilience and Vulnerability for Disaster Risk
Management. International Journal of Disaster Risk Science,
Volume 5: Special Issue. Springer.
2009: Reichel, Christian; Frömming Urte Undine; Glaser Marion: Conflicts between
stakeholder groups affecting the ecology and economy of the Segara Anakan region. In:
Jennerjahn, T. and Yuwono, E. (eds.) Regional Environmental Change. Springer.
Book Chapters:
2012: Reichel, Christian; Martens, Sophie; Harms, Arne: Conflicting Frames of
Reference: Environmental Changes in Coastal Indonesia. In: Hornidge, A.-K. and
Antweiler, C. (eds.) Environmental Uncertainty and Local Knowledge. Southeast Asia as a
Laboratory of Global Ecological Change. Transcript Verlag.
2011: Frömming, Urte Undine and Reichel Christian: Vulnerable Coastal Regions:
Indigenous People under Climate Change in Indonesia. In: Bergmann, S. and Gerten, D.
(eds.) Religion in Environmental and Climate change. Suffering, Values, Lifestyles.
Bloomsbury Publishing.
Media
Tagesspiegel: Der Berg ruft: Wissenschaftler der Freien Universität erforschen die Ursachen von Naturgefahren in den Alpen.
Deutsche Welle: We’re no longer able to understand our world.
Austertraum: Kompendium für eine Kultur der Zukunft. Interview by Stefan Saffer and
Birgit Schneider. London, Lost Books.
Selected Guest Lectures and Presentations
02. October 2018: Fribourg: “Climate Change is Stealing our Memory”. (Trans-) local
knowledge and resilience in the swiss alps. Geographical Colloquium. Université de
Fribourg
13. September 2018: Potsdam: Cultural Landscapes and Ecosystem Services: An Environmental Anthropology Perspective. Potsdam Summer School: The Skin of Our Earth – The Earth surface system. IASS
04. February 2016: Denver, Local environmental knowledge in the time of the Anthropocene: Participatory mapping of human - nature interaction in Switzerland and Indonesia” Geographical Colloquium. University of Denver
14. May 2014: Denver, Mapping Climate change related risks: participatory mapping as
a strategy for stakeholder engagement. Josef Korbel School for International Studies.
University of Denver
13. March 2014: Salzburg, Climate change and local population: Analysis and use of
local knowledge to improve natural hazard management. Final conference: ANiK. Messe
Acqua Alta Alpina
25. September 2013: Zürich, Visualization and mapping of local environmental
knowledge about alpine risks. Workshop: Alpine Hazards in times of Climate Change
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL)
24. March 2013: Berlin, Climate change in Indonesia – Local Frames of reference and
patterns of action. Embassy of Indonesia
17. November 2012: Hamburg, Die Visualisierung und Kartierung von Lokalem
Umweltwissen. Institute of Social- and Cultural Anthropology. University of Hamburg
16. November 2012: Bonn, Resilience and vulnerability. What usage of these concepts
for disaster management? KatNET - catastrophe network. University of Bonn
17. October 2012: Jakarta, Environmental anthropology and climate Change.
Department of Anthropology, University of Indonesia
27. August 2012: Cologne, Participatory mapping and visualization of local knowledge
about climate change related natural disasters. International Geographical Congress
(IGC) 2012
6. July 2010: Cologne, Indigenous people under climate change. Colloquium. Institute
of Social and Cultural Anthropology. University of Cologne
13. January 2010: Potsdam, Indigenous people under climate change. Workshop
Religion in Global Environmental and Climate Change. Institute for Climate Impact
Research (PIK)
17. December 2009: Bielefeld, Climate Change and Local Knowledge. Workshop
KlimaWelten Graduate School in History and Sociology (BGHS)
12. December 2007: Bremen, Aspects of, and conflicts in marine resource use in the
Segara Anakan Lagoon, Central Java and the Taka Bonerate Atoll, Sulawesi, Indonesia.
Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT)
04. December 2006: Berlin, Aspekte und Konflikte maritimer Ressourcennutzung in der Segara Anakan Lagune, Central Java und dem Taka Bonerate Archipel, Sulawesi/Indonesien. Colloquium: Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology. Freie Universität Berlin
16. November 2006: Denpasar, Science Meets Policy for Coast Management and
Capacity Building. Southeast Asia Coastal Governance and Management Forum, ZMT/
LOICZ
23. January 2006: Purwokerto, Social-ecological analysis of stakeholder conflicts in the Segara Anakan Lagoon, Central Java. Workshop: Science for the protection of Indonesian coastal ecosystems. Faculty of Biology – Jeneral Sudirman University