Kewan’s research focuses on the links between environmental sciences on the one hand, and mechanisms of environmental action on the other. He studies the extent to which the conceptual and methodological tools of ecology and sustainability sciences shape the environment, as well as how the environment is managed by institutions at the European, French, and local levels. How do these sciences succeed or fail in raising attachments to the environments and in engaging our societies in the face of environmental and biodiversity degradation?
During his postdoctoral work, Kewan has explored this question through various research topics:
Ecosystem Services (Marie-Curie project): What kind of environmental awareness and action do they promote? Kewan studied the development and use of this concept at different levels: in the creation of a sustainability indicator at the European level, as well as through research and action projects in various biosphere reserves. Considered by some a scam and by others as a tool for commodification or capitalization, the concept of Ecosystem Services guides research in a distinctive way that cannot be reduced to a purely ecological epistemology nor to a purely economic approach.
The delineation, monitoring, and control of areas for environmental reasons: What are the consequences for territorial attachments? Kewan studies environmental zoning mechanisms (nature reserves, Natura 2000 sites, etc.) not as mere bell jars, but as means of environmental protection carried out by people who have developed a sensitivity to these issues through their work in ecology or conservation biology. In his research, Kewan demonstrates how different research practices – such as species monitoring, ecological experiments, and transdisciplinary approaches – are associated with specific interpretative frameworks (species and habitats, ecosystems, landscapes) and with appropriate zoning strategies.
Risk management and the hazard of landslides: How do the sciences that study hazards, especially in the Global South, affect local governance dynamics? Before joining the CSI, Kewan used an explicitly decolonial analytical framework to reinterpret the role of research in economics and risk geography in the Global South. Following this work, he also explored how to transform the research relationships cultivated within universities during international collaborations.
Transdisciplinary approaches in ecology: Kewan is currently developing a research program on transdisciplinary approaches and how these may – or may not – simultaneously transform ecological knowledge and territories (in the geographic sense of the term).
Beyond his empirical and conceptual contributions in Science and Technology Studies (STS), Kewan actively participates in ongoing transformations within environmental sciences and biodiversity institutions. He is deeply rooted in inter- and transdisciplinary research networks and institutions. For instance, he recently published a Policy Brief with UNESCO about Biosphere Reserves in preparation for the fifth World Congress of Biosphere Reserves.
As a member of the “Post-doc Academy for Transformational Leadership,” he is part of a network of transdisciplinary researchers in Europe, including at the Stockholm Resilience Center, IRI THESys in Berlin, and the Dutch Research Institute for Transitions (DRIFT) in Delft. He recently appeared in a documentary about a protected area in the Alps – – Chaudun les déshérités de la nature – broadcast on ARTE.
Publications
A complete list of Kewan Mertens’ publications is available here.