Ole Mertz
Professional Address: Institute of Geography, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 10, DK-1350 Copenhagen K, Tel: +45 35322500, Fax: +45 35322501
E-mail: om@geogr.ku.dk
Occupation: Network Coordinator, Research Network for Environment and Development (ReNED) at Institute of Geography, University of Copenhagen (IGUC)
University degrees: 1990 MSc agronomy, Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University
1997 PhD in geography, IGUC
Employment record:
1992-1994 Junior National Expert, EU-Delegation, Burkina Faso
1994-1997 PhD-scholarship at IGUC
1997-2001 Assistant professor, IGUC (SEREIN and DUCED SLUSE)
2001-2003 Associated professor, IGUC (DUCED SLUSE)
2004-2006 Network Coordinator, ReNED (IGUC)
2006- Associated professor (IGUC)
Recent, selected scientific projects and activities:
1994-1997: Cultivation Potential of Wild Vegetables: Their Role as Cash or Subsistence Crops in Farming Systems of Sarawak, Malaysia (PhD project)
1997-1998: Participation in the Sahel-Sudan Environmental Research Initiative (SEREIN), with responsibility for a sub-project on the importance and development of secondary crops and wild plants for intensification of farming systems in Boulgou Province, Burkina Faso (jointly with Institute of Biology, Aarhus University).
1998-2003: Danish University Consortium for Sustainable Land Use and Natural Resource Management (DUCED SLUSE). Responsible for development of new curriculum at Master’s level in Denmark and Malaysia, conduction of student field courses and research on shifting cultivation dynamics in Sarawak, Malaysia.
2003: Lead organizer of the international conference on Local Land Use Strategies in a Globalizing World: Shaping Sustainable Natural and Social Environments held at the Institute of Geography, University of Copenhagen.
2003-: Editor of three special issues of international journals (see publication list)
2004-: Coordinator of ReNED promoting research use and integration in development assistance, communication of research results and oragnisation of conference on climate change and Ecosystem management
2006: Coordinator of Galathea project on Sustainable resource use or imminent collapse? Climate, livelihoods and production in the Southwest Pacific (CLIP)
Current research areas:
- Shifting cultivation development and dynamics
- Natural resource management, non timber forest products
Current teaching areas:
- Natural resource management and environmental impact assessment
- Farming Systems in the Tropics
Popularization of research
· Main interviewee for television program on DUCED SLUSE field course in Malaysia.
· Public lectures for high school students in association with several Natural Science Festivals
· Several popular papers on DUCED SLUSE
Selected, reviewed publications since 2001
Nielsen, U., Mertz, O. and Noweg, G.T. (forthcoming 2006): The rationality of shifting cultivation systems: labor productivity revisited. Human Ecology 34.
Mertz, O. (Forthcoming 2006): The Potential of Wild Vegetables as Permanent Crops or to Improve Fallows in Sarawak, Malaysia. Chapter 7 in: Cairns, M. (ed.) Voices from the Forest - Integrating Indigenous Knowledge into Sustainable Farming. RFF Press
Pender, J. and Mertz, O. (2006). Soil fertility depletion Sub-Saharan Africa: What is the role of organic agriculture. Pp. 215-240 in: Halberg, N., Knudsen, M.T., Alrøe, H.F. and Kristensen, E.S. (Eds.). Global Development of Organic Agriculture: Challenges and Promises. CABI publishing.
Bruun, T.B., Mertz, O. and Elberling, B. (2006): Linking yields of upland rice in shifting cultivation to fallow length and soil properties. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 113: 139-149.
Hansen, T.S. and Mertz, O. (2006): Extinction or Adaptation? Three Decades of Change in Shifting Cultivation in Sarawak. Land Degradation and Development 17 (2): 135-148.
Mertz, O., Wadley, R.L. and Christensen, A.E. (2005): Local Land Use Strategies in a Globalizing World: Subsistence Farming, Cash Crops and Income Diversification. Agricultural Systems 85 (3): 209-215.
Wadley, R. and Mertz, O. (2005): Pepper in a time of crisis: smallholder buffering strategies in Sarawak, Malaysia and West Kalimantan, Indonesia. Agricultural Systems 85(3): 289-305.
Seidenberg, C., Mertz, O. and Kias, M.B. (2003): Fallow, labour and livelihood in shifting cultivation: implications for deforestation in northern Lao PDR. Geografisk Tidsskrift, Danish Journal of Geography 103 (2): 71-80.
Mertz, O. (2002): The relationship between fallow length and crop yields in shifting cultivation: a rethinking. Agroforestry Systems 55 (2): 149-159.
Lykke, A.M., Mertz, O. and Ganaba, S. (2002): Food consumption in rural Burkina Faso. Ecology of Food and Nutrition 41 (2): 119-153.
Mertz, O., Lykke, A.M. and Reenberg, A. (2001): Importance and seasonality of vegetable consumption and marketing in Burkina Faso. Economic Botany, 55 (2): 276-289.
Editor of three special issues:
Wadley, R.L., Mertz, O., and Christensen, A.E., eds. (forthcoming 2006): Local Land Use Strategies in a Globalizing World – Managing Social and Environmental Dynamics. Special Issue of Land Degradation and Development.
Mertz, O., Wadley, R.L. and Christensen, A.E., eds. (2005): Local Land Use Strategies in a Globalizing World: Subsistence Farming, Cash Crops and Income Diversification. Special Issue of Agricultural Systems 85 (3): 209-364.
Mertz, O., Wadley, R.L. and Christensen, A.E., eds. (2005): Territory, land use, and natural resources - local responses to globalization. Special Issue of Geografisk Tidsskrift, Danish Journal of Geography 105 (1): 1-120.
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