We combine climate-ecological-economic modelling, game theory, and discrete choice analysis to inform policies for sustainable landscapes that support biodiversity, climate goals, and rural livelihoods – guided by public preferences and aiming for cost-effective solutions.
Information about the research group MOTION-CB can be found here.
Here you can find thesis topics.
News
- Retreat (2026/06): We spent four days together in Bohemian Switzerland. Besides hiking in this unique landscape, we used the Group Canvas to gain a better understanding of our team and discussed and advanced our first joint paper.
- Nomination: Charlotte Gerling has been nominated for the shortlist of the Joachim Herz Prize 2026 (Link)
- Policy Brief: Mit Passivem Akustischem Monitoring Biodiversität in der Landwirtschaft honorieren (Rewarding biodiversity in agriculture through passive acoustic monitoring) (Link)
- Working Paper: Mai Nusir, Amani Abdullah Alassaf, Charlotte Gerling, Fank Wätzold: Deteriorating Ecosystems: Traditional Knowledge-Based Rangeland Governance in the Jordanian Southern Badia. (Link)
- Seminar presentation: "Relative performance payments: improving result-based compensation for biodiversity conservation in uncertain times" by Christopher Stapenhurst at the Scottish Economic Society Annual Conference 2026 (program) on 13 April and at the Berlin School of Economics Research Seminar on Microeconomics on 17 April.
- Seminar Presentation: "The promise and pitfalls of adaptive conservation for farmers and biodiversity: a climate-ecological-economic modelling approach" by Charlotte Gerling in the seminar at UFZ, 16.4.26
- Presentation in a living lab: "Design of ground-mounted photovoltaics: opinions from society" at the living lab "Energy*landscape*Lusatia" in Drebkau, Germany (26.3.26)
- Working Paper: Charlotte Gerling, Nick Hanley, Anna Bartczak: Sharing the benefits and costs of conservation: public preferences for transboundary lynx conservation. (Link)
- Paper: Charlotte Gerling, Martin Drechsler, Payal Shah, and Frank Wätzold (2026). The Economics of Policies to Conserve Biodiversity in a Changing Climate. Review of Environmental Economics and Policy. (Link)
- Paper: Charlotte Gerling, Payal Shah (2026). Policies to Conserve Biodiversity: Challenges and Opportunities. Review of Environmental Economics and Policy. (Link)
- Podcast: Zia Audible Woman in Science, Episode #31: Dr. Charlotte Gerling "How economics can contribute to the protection of nature", (Link)
- Working Paper: Tobias Nowakowski, Charlotte Gerling, Tsvetelina Krachunova, Frank Wätzold (2025) "Quantifying farmers’ preferences for on- and off-field climate change adaptation: Insights from a discrete choice experiment in Lower Lusatia, Germany" (Link)
- Working Paper: Anthony Higney, Charlotte Gerling, Claire Buchan, Simon Butler, Liam Crowther, Melissa Marselle, Eleanor Ratcliffe, Konrad Uebel, Nick Hanley (2025) "Willingness to pay for birdsong" (Link)
- Prize: Charlotte Gerling will be awarded the "Emerging Scholar Plenary Award" at the World Conference of Natural Resource Modeling 2026
- Working Paper: Nonka Markova-Nenova, Ryo Ogawa, Astrid Sturm, Charlotte Gerling, Anna Cord, Frank Wätzold. 2025. Cost-effectiveness of Agri-environment Payments to Incentivise a Spatially Even Allocation of Habitats -Evenness Payments, Evenness Bonus or Homogeneous Payments? (Link)
- Working Paper: Gerling, C., Cord, A.F., Drechsler, M., Hölting, L., Markova-Nenova, N., Ogawa, R., Sturm, A., Wätzold, F.: “From Models to Decisions: A Software Tool for Evaluating Action-and Result-Based Conservation Payments”. (Link)