MY PhD

I hold a PhD in sustainability science from Stockholm Resilience Centre. I defended my PhD thesis “How on Earth: Operationalizing the ecosystem service concept for sustainability” in October 2021.

My doctoral research investigated the role of ecosystem services as a boundary concept for collaborative landscape governance. Using participatory and transdisciplinary approaches, I explored how ecosystem services can facilitate dialogue, social learning and knowledge co-production among diverse local and regional actors involved in managing multifunctional agricultural and forest landscapes in the Helge å catchment in southern Sweden. The research contributes to understanding how collaborative processes can strengthen governance for sustainability and resilience in production landscapes.

I conducted my PhD research in collaboration with the Kristianstad Vattenrike UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in southern Sweden.

The thesis resulted in 4 published peer-reviewed papers:

  • Malmborg, Katja, Elin Enfors-Kautsky, Cibele Queiroz, Albert V. Norström and Lisen Schultz. 2021. Operationalizing ecosystem service bundles for strategic sustainability planning: A participatory approach. Ambio 50: 314–331. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-020-01378-w
  • Malmborg, Katja, Elin Enfors-Kautsky, Lisen Schultz and Albert V. Norström. 2022. Embracing complexity in landscape management: Learning and impacts of a participatory resilience assessment. Ecosystems and People 18 (1): 241-257. https://doi.org/10.1080/26395916.2022.2061596
  • Malmborg, Katja, Ida Wallin, Vilis Brukas, Thao Do, Isak Lodin, Tina-Simone Neset, Albert V. Norström, Neil Powell and Karin Tonderski. 2022. Knowledge co-production in the Helge å catchment: a comparative analysis. Ecosystems and People 18 (1): 565-582. https://doi.org/10.1080/26395916.2022.2125583
  • Malmborg, Katja, Johan Enqvist, Erik Andersson and Lisen Schultz. 2026. Narratives of ‘home landscapes’ guide stewardship practices among Swedish forest owners. People and Nature 00, 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.70378

You can download the Kappa (introductory chapter, including summaries of each paper) here: DiVA archive.