Barbara Willaarts

Biography

Barbara Willaarts joined IIASA in January 2017 to become the Project Manager of the Integrated Solutions for Water, Energy and Land (ISWEL) project. Dr. Willaarts work involves coordinating the different research activities that are being developed by the four research programmes involved in ISWEL (Water, Transitions to New Technologies, Energy and Ecosystem services and Management) to ensure project consistency and compliance. She is also participating in the set up and developments of the stakeholder engagement process that will be develop within ISWEL. Communication and outreach are also part of her duties. Dr. Willaarts holds a degree in Environmental Biology from Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain), an MSc in Environmental Sciences from Wageningen University (The Netherlands) and a PhD in Environmental Planning from Universidad de Almeria (Spain). Before joining IIASA, she worked as a researcher for different research organizations, think tanks and also as a consultant for several international organizations. She has experience in biophysical modeling (water, carbon, biodiversity), policy analysis and stakeholder engagement.During the course of her career to date, she has participated in a dozen research projects addressing issues related with land use and ecosystem services planning, the water-food-energy nexus and sustainable diets. She has coordinated several projects and published over 30 publications including peer-review, books and policy briefs.

Research Interest

Environmental Sciences, Sustainable Development