AdaptInfra Subproject 7: Expansion, conversion, and adaptation of green infrastructure in rural-peripheral areas - a socio-technical-ecological analysis of adaptation processes using the example of Natura 2000 and peatlands in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Volker Beckmann
• Subject Area: Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Policy, Agricultural Sociology ; Human Geography ; City Planning, Spatial Planning, Transportation and Infrastructure Planning, Landscape Planning
• Term: since 2026
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 547031340

Rural and peripheral areas are increasingly at the center of transformation processes. EU strategies such as the Green Deal have significantly intensified society's demands on these regions to contribute to solving the climate and biodiversity crises while ensuring a reliable supply of food, raw materials, and energy. Natura 2000 protected areas and rewetted peatlands are defined in the project as green infrastructure that provides a wide range of ecosystem services as near-natural systems. At the same time, the expansion of these areas often leads to local conflicts of use. Particularly in rural and peripheral areas, tensions arise between local interests, political objectives, and ecological necessities. This brings questions of social acceptance, institutional adjustments, and planning control options into focus. Against this background, the central research question of the project is: What characterizes Natura 2000 and peatlands as green infrastructure for public services in rural and peripheral areas, and how can adaptation processes be understood, evaluated, and designed on different spatial and temporal scales in the multi-level system of the European Union? The subproject combines theoretical approaches from social-ecological systems research, system dynamics, and governance research to develop a broader understanding of green infrastructure as socio-technical-ecological infrastructures. Methodologically, a mixed-methods approach is pursued that integrates document analysis, GIS-based analysis, and qualitative case studies. The investigation is carried out in six work packages along the multi-level model of the research group. This involves developing the conceptual foundation through macro and meso analyses, through to microanalysis based on three case studies in the Vorpommern region. In addition, the subproject is dedicated to the cross-cutting theme of "planning and participation processes" within the AdaptInfra research group. The project thus closes research gaps in the characterization and development of green infrastructure in rural and peripheral areas. It contributes both theoretically and empirically to the understanding of governance, adaptation, and transformation pathways of green infrastructure in the European multi-level system. The findings are incorporated into the research group's overarching synthesis and modeling and provide recommendations for the effective, conflict-free, and adaptive design of green infrastructure in rural and peripheral regions.

• DFG Programme: Research Units
• Subproject of: FOR 5893: Adaptation processes of infrastructures for services of general interest in rural peripheral areas (Adaptlnfra)