Press release 2019-01-10 at 14:57
Dr Eeva Primmer, PhD in Agriculture and Forestry, Docent (Adjunct Professor) in Environmental Policy at the University of Helsinki, has been appointed as the new Research Director of the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE). She will take up her five-year office at the beginning of February.
Eeva Primmer has been working at SYKE since 1997, her latest position being Research Professor. She has strong experience in Finnish and international science and research policy.
Furthermore, at SYKE she has acted as Head of Unit, Research Coordinator, and researcher. In addition to the University of Helsinki, she has worked in universities and research institutes outside Finland, e.g., in Germany and Australia.
Primmer had her doctoral dissertation on integrating biodiversity conservation into forestry in 2010. Her substantial research focus has been on natural resources, nature and ecosystem services as well as energy systems. She has studied policy implementation, institutions and governance. She is one of the leading European researchers in the field of the governance of ecosystem services.
Primmer has held several national and international expert positions and positions of trust. Last year, she was chosen as a member of the United Nations International Resources Panel (UN-IRP) that examines resource efficiency and sustainable use of natural resources.
Significant environmental research for studying societal changes
“Environmental challenges are often clustered under overarching headings, such as climate change or sustainable development. Yet, finding solutions requires an understanding of the very complex phenomena and impact chains,” Eeva Primmer points out.
“High-quality environmental research is needed for informing the steering of states, companies and individuals, away from harmful practices toward less harmful ones. Giving significance to this kind of mitigating action is also a central part of future environmental research.”
“Being an organisation that pulls together and practices wise self-criticism, SYKE responds to major challenges of our time with a combination of targeted analyses and long-term research. Committed to open science, we will continue the profiling and internationally promoting these competencies. I highly value the integration of multi-disciplinary research and practice. Such an integrative approach has been at the heart of my own work and I want to further enhance it at SYKE as well,” Primmer describes her policy.
More information
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, Director General, Finnish Environment Institute, tel. +358 295 251 700
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Eeva Primmer
, Research Professor, Finnish Environment Institute, tel. +358 295 251 521