Diplom-Landschaftsökologin (eq. M.S. in landscape ecology)
Dr. Christine Schmitt

Research interests

• Survey and evaluation of forest biodiversity, esp. in the tropics, sustainable forest management (focus: Ethiopia)
• Priority setting in nature conservation, protected area planning and management
• International environmental policy, Convention on Biological Diversity, REED+

Current research projects

• Floristic composition and affinities of the Ethiopian coffee forest vegetation
• Organisation of the symposium "Climate change and African mountain ecosystems: modelling ecological change at different scales", INTECOL Congress London, 18-23 Aug 2013
• The protection of forests under global biodiversity and climate policy
• Participation in the Global Forest Expert Panel ( GFEP) on Biodiversity, Forest Management and REDD+
• Opportunities and challenges for biodiversity assessment in the national REDD+ strategy of Ecuador

Completed research projects

• Research associate, project: "Conservation of forest biodiversity under the CBD: Options for a global network of forest protected areas" (sponsored by the Federal Agency for Nature Protection, BfN and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, BMU), Institute of Forest and Environmental Policy, University of Freiburg (2006-2009)
• Commissioning and supervision of the study "Global ecological forest classification and forest protected area gap analysis" in the framework of a consultancy agreement with UNEP-WCMC, WRI und WWF International, Institute of Forest and Environmental Policy, University of Freiburg (2007-2009)
• PhD thesis: "Montane rainforest with wild Coffea arabica in the Bonga region (SW Ethiopia): Plant diversity, wild coffee management and implications for conservation", with the project " Conservation and use of wild populations of Coffea arabica in the montane rainforests of Ethiopia” (CoCE) , Center for Development Research, University of Bonn (2002-2006)

Teaching

• Landscape Management (B.Sc.)
• Theories and Concepts in Nature Conservation (B.Sc.)
• Management of Protected Areas (B.Sc.)
• Forestry and Nature Conservation (M.Sc.)
• Sustainable Development of Rural Areas (M.Sc.)
• Geography, Natural Systems and Environmental Problems in Europe (M.Sc.)

Supervised theses

• Janssen, Alina (2013, B.Sc.):
  CO₂ - angepasstes Waldmanagement im Raum Freiburg
• de Morais Rego Franco de Oliveira, Priscila (2012, M.Sc.): Social linkage for biodiversity conservation: an analysis in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest hotspot
• Almeida, Iulia (2012, B.Sc.):
  Auswirkungen von Entwaldung auf die Biodiversität tropischer Wälder am Beispiel der Provinz Esmeraldas - Ecuador.
• Wendt, Veronika (2012, M.Sc.):
  Connecting REDD+ and Conservation in Ethiopia - consideration an possible application of biodiversity protection measures and monitoring in the national REDD+ process
• Ancel, Vanessa (2011, M.Sc.):
  Biotopverbundsystem im Biosphärenreservat Pfälzerwald / Nordvogesen: Bestandsaufnahme und Empfehlungen für ein grenzüberschreitendes Verbundsystem für den Wald