Kari Lehtila

Kari Lehtila is a Professor at the Department of Natural Sciences, Environment and Technology, Södertörn University. Their research spans interdisciplinary environmental science, focusing on ecology and natural resource management.

• Key research areas include forest biodiversity in the Baltic Sea region, landscape ecology (studying plant community dynamics and habitat overgrowth), urban ecology, and coastal carbon sink mitigation in climate compensation.
• They investigate socio-environmental impacts of development projects in rural Africa, community-based ecotourism, socio-ecological justice, and wetland management practices.
• Current projects: ClimScape (climate change mitigation in Baltic coastal zones), Engage4wet (wetlands as nature-based solutions), and studies on hydro-territorial rights in the Global South.

Projects aim to address global sustainability challenges through climate adaptation strategies and environmental governance frameworks.