David Harnesk

Research Interests

I am interested in what causes environmental problems, how these can be addressed, and how social movements seek to address them. Analytically, I focus on how prevailing social structures and institutions interact with natural systems and landscapes to generate concrete environmental problems and sustainability challenges, and how social movements mobilize collective action to address such social and environmental harms. My research analyzes multi-scalar dynamics of land-use change, climate change and social movement mobilization, and also covers methodological development in sustainability science. To develop use-inspired research outcomes, I approach these diverse and intertwined nature-society interactions through problem-driven interdisciplinary research where I draw on ecology and energy research as well as political economy, radical geography, social movement theory and social theory.

I am the principal investigator for the 3-year project called Embracing extreme weather and compound events in landscape planning: the case of reindeer husbandry in Northern Sweden. The project is funded by Formas, and includes Umeå University, Stockholm University, and the Stockholm Environment Institute.

I am the principal investigator of the 3-year international post-doc project called Sámi social movements – indigenous mobilization around the ecological conditions of reindeer husbandry under climate emergency. The project is funded by the Swedish Research Council and I will be based at Lund University, the Norwegian University of Life Sciences and Copenhagen University.

I am a researcher in the 4-year project called Overstocking or Encroachments? Interrogating the political ecology of land use conflicts on Sámi lands. The project is funded by Formas, and is hosted by the Stockholm Environment Institute.

I was part of the now concluded project Climate Change Resilience in Small Communities in the Nordic Countries (CliCNord), coordinated by University College Copenhagen. I was the case leader of the Lund University division, where we focused on how reindeer herding communities can build capacity to deal with basal ice formation. The project was funded by Nordforsk and more information can be found on this website.

Teaching

Since 2012 I have taught and supervised master - and bachelor students at Lund University. I coordinated, and taught extensively at, the courses Social Movements and Sustainability, Gender and Sustainability in Theory and Everyday Life, Sustainability and Popular Culture and Sustainability and Sustainable development from a local, regional and global perspective. I also teach at the PhD course on Philosophy of science for the social sciences at the Social Science Faculty, and I am responsible for the social science component of the course Climate, Science and Society. I have also supervised many students taking the course Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science: Master’s Thesis. Other courses where I have taught include: Urban & Rural Systems and Sustainability; Economy and Sustainability; Energy and Sustainability; Governance of Sustainability; Social Movements and Sustainability; Deciphering Landscape; Historical Aspects of Development; Gender, Global Development, and Postcolonialism; Forest & landscape biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services; Political Ecology; Social Science Lab; Methods for Climate Risk Management; Environmental Science: Industrial Environmental Economics, and; Environmental Science: Instruments for preventative environmental protection.

Outreach and Workshops

Harnesk, D., Brännström, M., Östlund, L. 2022. Samiska skogslandskap under förändring. Arjeplog, June, 2022. Lead organizer of combined conference and workshop.

LUCSUS News Letter 2021 Historical perspectives and mobilization important for the future of reindeer winter pastures. Lund, February, 2021

Lunds Universitet Nyheter & Press 2021 Historiska processer viktiga när vinterbetesmarkernas framtid diskuteras. Lund, February, 2021

Lunds Stadsbibliotek 2020 Gruvkonflikter i norr/Sápmi. Lund, February, 2020. Presentation.

Moderna Museet 2020 Sensing Nature From Within, Theme 3: Nature as a (legal) subject. Malmö, January, 2020. Presentation and panel member.

Lunds Universitet 2019Fighting Climate Change – Mapping the pathway with social movements (public event) Lund, March, 2019. Panel member.

Lunds Universitet News & Press Releases 2019 ”What local people?” Sveriges största gruvkonflikt visar på samers möjlighet att göra motstånd. Lund, February, 2019.

Lunds Universitet News & Press Releases 2018 EU biofuel regulation is not sustainable long-term. Lund, May, 2018.

Lunds Universitet Nyheter & Press 2018 EU:s biodrivmedelspolitik är inte hållbar. Lund, Maj, 2018

Nyhetsbrevet Apropå 2017Storsatsningar på biodrivmedel skapar svårigheter för småjordbrukare. Lund, October, 2017.

Harnesk, D., Brogaard, S., Sjöberg, Ö. & Tambang, G. Y. 2017. Workshop om global handel med biomassa, Stockholm, September, 2017. Lead organizer.