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