Dr. Luise Porst
Principal Investigator (WP 3, Organisational Innovations) & Project Coordinator
Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (HNEE)
Trained as a human geographer, Luise has rich experience in transdisciplinary research on human-environment interaction in the context of adaptation to climate change, rural-urban connections, innovation in agri-food systems, and regional transformation. She has conducted research in Thailand, Mali, and Germany, mainly following qualitative methodological approaches. As one of the principal investigators in SMALLPAK, she focuses on organizational innovations in smallholder systems, specifically contract farming. Luise also serves as the general coordinator of the SMALLPAK project.
Research interests
- Climate-resilient land use
- Sustainability transitions in agricultural landscapes
- Agroecological and agri-food systems
- Rural development in the context of socio-economic transitions
- Regional embedding of sustainability and innovation
Work experience
2026 – present
Principal investigator & Project coordinator of SMALLPAK, Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (HNEE), Germany
2023 – 2026
Project coordinator & Postdoc researcher in the field of land use and governance, Leibniz Center for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Germany
2019 – 2022
Advisor & Project Manager in the field of vulnerability and adaptation to climate change, adelphi consult GmbH, Germany
2013 – 2018
Research Associate, Department of Geography, University of Bonn, Germany
Education
2020
PhD Human Geography
University of Bonn, Germany
2015 – 2019
Doctoral Studies, Development Geography
Faculty of Maths and Natural Sciences, Department of Geography
University of Bonn, Germany
2010 – 2012
M. Sc. Area Studies & Spatial Planning (focus on developing and transition countries)
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany
2006 – 2009
B. Sc. Geography
University of Leipzig, Germany & University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Selected publications
Schlaile, M.; Friedrich, F.; Porst, L.; Zscheischler, J. (2025): Bioeconomy innovations and their regional embeddedness: Results from a qualitative multiple-case study on German flagship innovations. Progress in Economic Geography, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.peg.2025.100044
Kahlenborn, W.; Voß, M.; Porst, L.; Zebisch, M.; Renner, K.; Schauer, I. (2025): Integrated risk analyses as part of national climate risk assessments – lessons learnt from the Climate Risk Assessment for Germany. International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management
Sakdapolrak, P.; Sterly, H.; Borderon, M.; Bunchuay-Peth, S.; Naruchaikusol, S.; Ober, K.; Porst, L.; Rockenbauch, T. (2024): Trans-local social resilience dimensions of migration as adaptation to environmental change. PNAS, 121 (3) e2206185120, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2206185120
Kahlenborn, W.; Porst, L.; Voß, M. et al. (2021): Klimawirkungs- und Risikoanalyse für Deutschland 2021. Summary. In: Umweltbundesamt (Ed.): Climate Change | 26/2021. Dessau-Roßlau
Porst, L. (2021): Translocal resilience in a changing environment: Rural-urban migration, livelihood risks, and adaptation in Thailand. Bonn. Dissertation, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn.
Porst, L.; Sadapolrak, P. (2020): Gendered translocal connectedness: Rural–urban migration, remittances, and social resilience in Thailand. In: Population, Space and Place, 26(4), e2314.
Porst, L.; Sakdapolrak, P. (2018): Advancing adaptation or producing precarity? The role of rural-urban migration and translocal embeddedness in navigating household resilience in Thailand. In: Geoforum 97 (2018), 35-34. doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2018.10.011
Sakdapolrak, P., S. Naruchaikusol, K. Ober, S. A. Peth, L. Porst, T. Rockenbauch & V. Tolo (2016). Migration in a changing climate. Towards a translocal social resilience approach, Die Erde 147 (2), 81-94.