Maria Brockhaus

Maria Brockhaus is a Professor in the Department of Forest Sciences at the University of Helsinki, affiliated with the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry. Her research focuses on international forest policy, global politics, and sustainability science. She is part of the Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science and the Helsinki Inequality Initiative, emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches to environmental governance challenges.

Her work critically examines historical and contemporary patterns of forest governance, including the political economy of deforestation, equity in resource rights, and the role of international agreements. She investigates how policies address socio-environmental justice, gender inequality, and the interplay between global trade, finance, and local communities.

Recent publications analyze EU forest strategy implementation, Nordic governance models, and REDD+ policy dynamics in countries like Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. She emphasizes the need for transformative governance frameworks that balance ecological, economic, and social dimensions of sustainability.

Her research also explores discourses in Finnish forest policy, climate policy networks, and the integration of adaptation and mitigation strategies. Despite no explicitly listed awards, her contributions to critical policy analysis and sustainability science are well-recognized in academic circles.