Scientific staff

Dr. Jochen Dürr

Research Group Leader

Jochen Dürr is an agricultural economist and has been working as a senior researcher at the Center for Development Research (ZEF) since 2016 in projects in Argentina, Brazil, Ethiopia, Madagascar and Myanmar. His research focuses on value chains of smallholder products, territorial development, and the transition towards a sustainable bioeconomy.

E-mail: jduerr[at]uni-bonn.de

Dr. Karen Siegel

Research Group Leader

Karen Siegel’s research focusses on the politics of sustainable development and sustainability transitions, natural resource governance in the global political economy, and regionalism with a geographical focus on South America. As head of the research group on political science at the University of Münster, she is particularly interested in researching to what extent and in which ways bioeconomy transformations may contribute to fostering inclusive, peaceful and equitable sustainable development taking into account a variety of perspectives and actors.

E-mail: Karen.Siegel[at]uni-muenster.de

Junior Researchers


Carol Bardi

Junior Researcher

Carol Bardi is a Brazilian ecofeminist researcher. She is currently a doctoral researcher at University of Münster and lives in Florianópolis, Brazil. She has finished her master’s degree in Environmental Sciences at the Copernicus Institute for Sustainable Development at Utrecht University in 2022. In her thesis, she investigated the role of the state in agroecological transitions in Brazil through an ecofeminist lens. Carol brings 14+ years of professional experience in various contexts, both in for-profit and non-profit organizations and initiatives, including 7+ years of experience working professionally and academically on food system just transitions. She is also engaged in feminist activism and agroecology movements and practice in Brazil.

E-mail: carol.bardi@uni-muenster.de


Maria Eugenia Silva Carrazzone

Junior Researcher

María Eugenia Silva is an Economist from Universidad de la República of Uruguay and Master from the University of Belgrano, Argentina. She is a consultant in the Project “Towards Sustainable Bioeconomy Guidelines” at FAO Rome and previously, at the Ministry of Agriculture and as a researcher in different projects. She worked in natural resources economics, climate change and sustainable development, particularly on the topics Bioeconomy, Circular Economy, Nexus approach, SDGs monitoring and climate change. She participated in inter-institutional boards related to Climate Change, Bioeconomy, and Circular Economy at the national and international levels. She was a member of the delegation of Uruguay in the Climate Change negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in agriculture and climate finance.

E-mail: msilvacarrazzone[at]gmail.com


Daniela Gomel

Junior Researcher

Daniela Gomel is a PhD candidate at the University of Münster. She is a political scientist and holds an MSc in Energy Policy. She has professional experience in environmental policy and participatory processes at national and international levels within positions at NGOs and the public sector in Argentina. Her main research interests are related to sustainability transitions at the food and energy sectors, their politics and public policies and the associated social impacts.

E-mail: daniela.gomel@uni-muenster.de


Pablo Mac Clay

Junior Researcher

Pablo Mac Clay is an economist with research background in the Argentine agribusiness sector. His academic experience has been related to the dynamics of agri-food value chains and the analysis of farmers’ behavior and strategies. In this project he aims to study the opportunities and challenges of the transition towards a bio-based economy in Argentina. His focus will be on the analysis of vertical coordination, technology transfer and equity in local bio-based value chains, the development of new value webs and the impacts of the bioeconomy at a regional level.

E-mail: PMacClay[at]austral.edu.ar


Serena Olivera

Junior Researcher

Serena Olivera is an agri-food economist with experience in development policies including sustainable agri-food systems and territorial development. Her professional trajectory includes institutions such as the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). She is also teaching and research assistant at the Chair of Rural sociology and extension of the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Buenos Aires. She holds a Master of Science in Agricultural and Food Economics from the University of Bonn (Germany), a Master in Agricultural Sciences and Bio-industries from UCLouvain (Belgium), and a Bachelor of Sciences in Agrarian Economics and Management from the University of Buenos Aires (Argentina).

E-mail: olivera[at]uni-bonn.de


Laura Rojas

Junior Researcher

Laura is a doctoral researcher in the Center for Development Research (ZEF) at the University of Bonn. She is an economist from the University of Los Andes in Colombia and holds a Master of Science degree in Development Economics from the University of Göttingen. With professional experience as an economist at the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Tourism in Colombia and research experience on agricultural development, technology adoption, and food security. Laura’s primary research interests encompass bioeconomy, biodiversity, agricultural development, and agri-food systems.

E-mail: lrojasbe[at]uni-bonn.de


Trevor Tisler

Junior Researcher

Trevor Tisler is investigating economic, social, and environmental trade-offs related to Brazil’s bioeconomic development. He is using spatial modeling and analysis to identify and quantify potential bioeconomy impacts on deforestation and land use change; biodiversity conservation; ecosystem services; national commitments to the CBD, Paris Agreement, and UN SDGs; and indigenous and tribal community livelihoods and land rights. He is a geographer with experience in transportation infrastructure development, wind energy development, feasibility and socio-environmental impact assessments, and GIS and spatial modeling.

E-mail: trtisler[at]gmail.com

Senior Researchers


Prof. Dr. Jan Börner

Senior Researcher

Jan Börner is an agricultural and environmental economist with research and working experience in Latin America, Africa, and Europe. His research focuses on (1) land use and land use change, (2) economic evaluation of environmental and conservation policies, and (3) sustainability assessment in the bioeconomy.

E-mail: jborner[at]uni-bonn.de


Prof. Dr. Thomas Dietz

Senior Researcher

Thomas Dietz is Professor for International Relations and Law. Before coming to Münster he was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Institute of European and Comparative Law at the University of Oxford and a member of Wolfson College. Thomas holds an MA in political science from the University of Bonn and a PhD in law from the University of Bremen, where he also worked as a research fellow at the Collaborative Research Center 597 “Transformations of the State”. His research is focused on the areas of International Politics, International Law and Sustainable Development.

E-Mail: thomas.dietz[at]uni-muenster.de