Dan van der Horst

My interest lies in sustainable use of natural resources, and especially in 'how to do' multi-functionality, adaptive management and conflict mitigation in crowded spaces. Thematically, my work focuses on energy and ecosystem services, either together (notably by examining sustainable bioenergy systems; by examining landscape-energy conflicts) or separately.

With regards to ecosystem services, I have published papers on the spatial heterogeneity in the production and consumption of ecosystem services and governance of multi-functionality. By combining spatial analysis with environmental economics, I have developed new quantitative spatial tools for the evaluation of multi-functional land use and agri-environmental policies. Ongoing work focuses on patterns of resource ownership as barriers for appropriately scaled interventions to deliver ecosystem services, and on reviewing business cases for ‘creating shared value’ between local communities and external businesses.

With regards to energy, I have published critical evaluations of sustainable energy policies and reviewed the role of location in public opposition to renewable energy projects. Ongoing work focuses on public perceptions of and responses to the smart metering of energy services (i.e. self-measurement and micro-monitoring of intangible resources) and on the production of (geographical, cultural, institutional) spaces for diffusion of socio-technical energy innovations.