Juan Felipe Ortiz-Riomalo

Dr. Juan Felipe Ortiz-Riomalo is a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Environmental Economics, Department 9 - Economics, University of Osnabrück, Germany. He works under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Stefanie Engel and is actively involved in research on participatory governance, collective action, and pro-social behavior in natural resource management. His research integrates insights from environmental economics, political economy, institutional analysis, and behavioral science.

His research interests include:

• Participatory governance in environmental policy
• Collective action and cooperation in social dilemmas
• Behavioral mechanisms in natural resource management
• Institutional design for socio-ecological systems
• Economic experiments (lab and field) to study policy interventions
• Political economy of environmental conflicts, particularly in Latin America

His recent publications reveal a strong trend in using integrative frameworks such as IAD, NAS, and SES to analyze participatory interventions. His work combines theoretical modeling with empirical validation through experiments and case studies, focusing on how communication, perspective-taking, and participatory processes can foster cooperation and sustainable outcomes. Much of his fieldwork is conducted in Colombia and Peru, reflecting a deep engagement with socio-ecological challenges in the Global South.

His scientific contributions include multiple peer-reviewed articles in high-impact journals such as Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Sustainability Science, and World Development, as well as book chapters and policy guidelines. He has been involved in several funded research projects, including a DFG-funded project on participatory vision building and initiatives supported by USAID, GIZ, and Universidad de los Andes.

Dr. Ortiz-Riomalo advises on methodological design and has coordinated multi-stakeholder workshops in Peru and Colombia. He has not supervised formal students yet, but has played key roles in collaborative research teams. He is also a contributing author to methodological assessments on the values of nature, demonstrating engagement with interdisciplinary policy-relevant science.

He is affiliated with research centers including the Institute for Environmental Systems Research at the University of Osnabrück and has collaborated with the Institute for Nature, Earth, and Energy (INTE) at Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP). His work often involves transdisciplinary teams and international partnerships, particularly with scholars from Colombia and Germany.