Kathleen Hermans

Dr. Kathleen Hermans is a Research Associate at the Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO), affiliated with the Department of External Environment for Agriculture and Policy Analysis (Agricultural Policy). She joined IAMO in June 2022, following her role leading the MigSoKo junior research group on environmental migration at UFZ Leipzig. She holds an MSc from the Technical University of Dresden and a PhD from Wageningen University.

Her interdisciplinary research integrates geography, environmental science, and social dynamics to analyze interactions between climate change, land use, and human migration. Key themes include:

• Climate-driven migration in drylands and highland regions (e.g., Ethiopia, Central Asia)
• Land degradation and livelihood transitions
• Social-ecological resilience across local to global scales
• Mixed-method approaches combining qualitative fieldwork and quantitative modeling

Recent publications (2019–2024) focus on environmental mobility, climate adaptation, and resource conflicts, with emphases on policy applications and interdisciplinary frameworks. She co-leads projects including AG-InstitutionsNaturalResources, CARe, and CAWAMNET.

Hermans contributes to scientific discourse as an editor for Regional Environmental Change and Sustainability Science and was a lead author of the IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Land Systems (2019).