Prof. Dr. Martin Welp
Project Lead
Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (HNEE)
Prof. Dr. Martin Welp is since 2006 Chair of Socioeconomics and Communication at the Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development. He is a research professor for Social-ecological Transformations with a regional focus on Asia and Academic Director of the Biosphere Reserves Institute (UNESCO Category 2 Institute). Prof. Welp heads the international Master's degree programme in Global Change Management. His transdisciplinary research focuses on innovations in smallholder farming, agroforestry, conflict and cooperation in natural resource management, climate change mitigation and adaptation. Prof. Welp is project leader and partner in several transdisciplinary research projects in Europe, Central and South Asia.
Research interests
- Agroecological systems
- Socio-economics
- Stakeholder dialogues
- Innovations and diffusion
Work experience
2026 - present
Chair of Socioeconomics and Communication at the
Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (HNEE), Germany
2000 - 2006
Senior researcher at Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Department of Global Change and Social Systems, Germany
Education
1998
Doctor of Science in Agriculture
Technical University of Berlin, Germany
1993
Master of Science in Forestry, Head subject Land Use Economics,
University of Helsinki, Finland
Selected publications
Peng, W., Welp, M., Chen, C., Sieber, S., & Liu, B. (2026). Hotspots in the Wrong Place: Spatial Conflicts between Waterbird Hotspots and Protected Farmland in Poyang Lake Basin, China. Journal of Environmental Management 404, 129636
Kaiser, C., Meuer, K., Welp, M., Hope, K. N., Agyeman, Y. B., & Cremer, T. (2026). Evaluating agroecological practices using the FAO TAPE (tool for agroecological performance evaluation): a case study of the Lake Bosomtwe Biosphere Reserve, Ghana. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 10, 1665695
Spies, M., Alff, H., Missall, S., & Welp, M. (2023). Path dependencies of (un-) sustainable land use in Central Asia. Central Asian Affairs, 10(3), 239-269
Missall, S., Welp, M., Mehta, K., Degembaeva, N., Akmatov, K. & Zörner, W. (2022). In Search for the Optimal Forest Use Behaviour: Riparian Forest Use in Central Asia, Using the Example of Ak-Tal, Naryn, Kyrgyzstan. Forests 13(8): 1254. https://doi.org/10.3390/f13081254
Thevs, N., Aliev, K., Emileva, B., Yuldasheva, D., Eshchanova, G. & Welp, M. (2022). Potential of Agroforestry to Provide Wood Resources to Central Asia. Forests 13(8):1193. https://doi.org/10.3390/f13081193
Rouzi, A., Halik, Ü.; Cyffka, B., Welp, M., Thevs, N. & Tayierjiang, A. (2021). Sustainable land use alternatives for the Tarim Basin. In: Cyffka, B.; Disse, M.; Betz, F. (Eds.) : Sustainable Management of River Oases along the Tarim River/China (SuMaRiO). - Stuttgart : Schweizerbart, 2021. S. 146-159. ISBN 978-3-510-65432-1
Welp, M. & Yiliminuer. (2021). Stakeholder management. In: Cyffka, B.; Disse, M.; Betz, F. (Eds.) : Sustainable Management of River Oases along the Tarim River/China (SuMaRiO). - Stuttgart : Schweizerbart, 2021. S. 27-32. ISBN 978-3-510-65432-1
Spies, M., & Welp, M. (2021). Stakeholder-based knowledge mapping for re-establishing agroforestry systems in Central Asia. In: Schmidt, M., Steenberg, R., Spies, M & Alff, H. (eds.) Beyond Post-Soviet: Layered Legacies and Transformations in Central Asia. Geographica Augustana. Vol 33. 109 p. 38-48. URL: https://opus.bibliothek.uni-augsburg.de/opus4/89035
Ruppert, D., Welp, M., Spies, M. & Thevs, N. (2020). Farmers’ perceptions of tree shelterbelts on agricultural land in rural Kyrgyzstan. Sustainability 12(3):1093. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12031093
Missall, S., Abliz, A., Halik, Ü., Thevs, N., & Welp, M. (2018). Trading Natural Riparian Forests for Urban Shelterbelt Plantations—A Sustainability Assessment of the Kökyar Protection Forest in NW China. Water, 10(3), 343.