I am a conservation social scientist interested in social and political dimensions of protected areas and landscape planning. With a research focus in Switzerland, I engage with questions of equity and justice in environmental negotiations and participatory processes and how these are intertwined with and influenced by social values. 

Generally, I am interested in human-nature relationships: How do we speak about and engage with our surroundings, and how do we shape and interact with what we call 'nature'? 

Learn more about my research group: Landscape and Conservation Social Sciences

Commissioned by the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), 10/2020–12/2024

Within this transdisciplinary research project, we assess the social values of the ecological infrastructure (EI) and ecosystem services in regional nature parks in Switzerland. Using a mixed-methods approach, we seek to understand locals' perceptions of landscapes and landscape elements and the meanings attributed to them. Furthermore, we analyze how emotions tied to landscape experiences and practices are connected to underlying values. With go-along interviews, such as transect walks, and researcher-generated photography, we will receive an in-depth understanding of people's relations to landscapes and ecosystems and will be able to understand interlinkages over space and time. Additionally, participatory mapping will be used to bring together perceptions, meanings, and emotions with ecological and economic values of EI. 

Project homepage: ValPar.CH

Project supported by SNSF Spark Grant (CRSK-1_220573). Project leader: Dr. Sierra Deutsch
The project coordinates a team of Indigenous stewardship specialists, academics, and Swiss nature conservation practitioners to understand: (1) how critical theory on the core causes of the triple crises can be translated into practical solutions in Transdisciplinary Transformative Change Initiatives (TTCIs)? (2) how TTCIs can center holistic Indigenous understandings of relationality and responsibility in a meaningful way that doesn’t reproduce historical power relations and harms, and what does this mean in the Swiss context; and (3) what the broader transformative impact is of the learning associated with the coproduction of a TTCI that centers holistic worldviews.

Empowering policy relevance of our research

Funded by the URPP Global Change and Biodiversity

Collaborators: Dr. Sierra Deutsch, Dr. Roger Keller, Dr. Cornelia Krug

The impact of our research is often measured in the number of publications or related indices. The impact on policies and practitioners is more difficult to assess and less recognized in academia. With this initiative, we aimed to strengthen the societal relevance of our research by fostering different pathways of science-policy-interfaces.

Find more information and publications here.

Social Acceptance of Protected Areas

Commissioned by FoLAP SCNAT, 2019-2020.

Project partners: Dr. Astrid Wallner, SCNAT & Dr. Annina Michel, UZH

What can the scientific literature tell us about the social acceptance of large-scale protected areas? Which recommendations for practice does it offer, and how can research help to advance our understanding of the social acceptance of protected areas in the future? These questions were investigated in a synthesis study.
Read about the results of the literature review in the Swiss Academies Factsheet 15 (5).

Park Moralities – Social and Political Negotiations in Parc Adula, Switzerland

Dissertation funded by the SNSF project "Morality and the establishment of national parks: Social and political negotiations in Abel Tasman National Park (New Zealand) and in Parc Adula (Switzerland)", 2014-2018.

Project partners: Dr. Tim Tait-Jamieson & Prof. Dr. Olivier Graefe, Université de Fribourg, Dr. Annina Michel & Prof. Dr. Norman Backhaus, Universität Zürich

This project extends a geographical perspective in order to understand social and political negotiations surrounding a national park project in Switzerland – Parc Adula. The study investigates the reasons for the rejection of Parc Adula – and approaches park negotiations by focusing on day-to-day discussions that took place during the park’s planning phase. Moreover, the thesis tries to understand how moralities shaped opinions about and understandings tied to Parc Adula and national parks in general. Regarding a general shift of protected area policies towards more participatory and bottom-up approaches over the last decade, the Parc Adula case study holds important insights into contemporary protected area establishment.

Since 04/2024 Department of Geography, University of Zurich. Oberassistentin.

Since 09/2023 St. Gallen University of Teacher Education (PHSG). Lecturer. (part-time)

Since 11/2021 Department of Geography, University of Zurich. Group Leader Landscape and Conservation Social Sciences.

10/2020-03/2024  Department of Geography, University of Zurich. Postdoc, project ValPar.CH.

01/2019–09/2020  Department of Geography, University of Zurich. Postdoctoral teaching and research associate.

09/2014–12/2018  Department of Geography, University of Zurich. PhD Candidate. 

05/2014–08/2014  Swiss Federal Office of Energy. Specialist Geoinformation. 

11/2013–04/2014  Swiss Federal Office of Energy. Internship, Radioactive Waste Management. 

09/2008–10/2013  University of Zurich. Master of Science. Major Geography, Minor Biology. 

Current Teaching

Fall semester:
GEO361 - Advanced Human Geography (Research Seminar A). Sustainable Mountain Development.
Forschungskollquium "Space, Nature and Society". (See www.mountainapp.net)

Spring semester:
GEO425 - Political Ecology (guest lecture on Environmental Justice).
Forschungskolloquium "Space, Nature and Society".

Teaching Activities

Supervised Bachelor Theses

2015  Sara Schälchli: Partizipation der Maasai in der Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tansania

2016  Eliane Brändle: Der Kormoran (Phalacrocorax carbo): Ein Grenzgänger in vielen Bereichen. Akteure und Massnahmen in der Schweiz begrifflich und umweltethisch untersucht

2018  Florian Sturzenegger: Wissenschaftliche und umweltpolitische Aspekte gebietsfremder und invasiver Arten am Beispiel der Schweiz und Neuseeland

2019  Sophie Hauller: Die Rolle von Werten für Projekte zur Gewinnung erneuerbarer Energien am Beispiel der Windkraft

2019  Jeannine Suremann: CO2-Zertifikate und Neoliberalisierung

2020  Selina Gattiker: Nature-Needs-Half in the Light of Environmental (In)Justice

2021  Lou Lena Pfister: Affekt und Emotionen im Umwelt-Aktivismus

2022  Annika Gebhardt: Convivial Conservation im Vergleich zur neuen Governance Regionaler Naturpärke in der Schweiz

2023 Madleina Dreier: Mensch-Natur-Beziehungen in 'mehr-als-repräsentationalen' Landschaften und dem Naturschutz

Supervised Master Theses

Haggenmacher, Monika (2017) Landwirtschaft und Naturschutzprojekte: Eine Untersuchung zur Wahrnehmung der Landwirtinnen und Landwirte am Beispiel des Nationalparkprojekts Parc Adula.

Schneiter, Rebecca (2022) Die Bedeutung von Mensch-Natur-Beziehungen in der Bewertung von Natur und Landschaft.

Gattiker, Selina (2023) Back to ‘Nature’? Exploring Perceptions and Values of Nature and Wild(er)ness in the Swiss National Park during the Covid-19 Pandemic

09/2023    5. Tagung Parkforschung Schweiz, Lausanne, Switzerland.

06/2023    Biodiversity Convention: From Science to Implementation, Ascona, Switzerland.

12/2022    UZH Ringvorlesung "Sprache(n) und Räume: Sonderfall Schweiz?"

09/2022    3. Schweizer Landschaftskongress, Rapperswil, Switzerland.

02/2022    Stakeholder Workshop ValPar.CH (online).

11/2021    19th Swiss Geoscience Meeting, Geneva, Switzerland (online).

10/2020    18th Swiss Geoscience Meeting. Zurich, Switzerland (online). (Session chair)

11/2019     3. Tagung Parkforschung Schweiz. Bern, Switzerland.

09/2019     German Congress for Geography (DKG). Kiel, Germany. (Presented by N. Backhaus)

07/2019     Environmental Justice Conference. Transformative connections. University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK. 

05/2018     Module 'Practice of Nature Conservation'. Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, Germany. (Guest lecture)

03/2018     19th Student Conference on Conservation Science. Cambridge, UK. (Poster presentation)

11/2017     6th International Symposium for Research in Protected Areas. Salzburg, Austria. 

06/2017     2. Tagung Parkforschung Schweiz. Bern, Switzerland. 

01/2017     Workshop 'Park Governance, Ethics, and Morality'. Zurich, Switzerland. 

09/2016     27th session of the Permanent European Conference for the Study of the Rural Landscape (PECSRL). Innsbruck and Seefeld, Austria.

04/2016     Annual Meeting of the American Association of Geographers (AAG). San Francisco, USA.    

10/2015     German Congress for Geography (DKG). Berlin, Germany.

10/2014     High alpine photovoltaic installations workshop. Bern University of Applied Sciences, Burgdorf, Switzerland.        

Deplazes-Zemp A., Michel, A. H., Oliveri, T., Schneiter, R., Thaler, L., Backhaus, N. (2024). Natural processes and natureculture – a relational understanding of nature amongst local stakeholders in Swiss parks. Ecosystems and People, 20(1): 2421306.

Salukvadze, G., Michel, A.H., Backhaus, N., Gugushvili, T., Dolbaia, T. (2024). From tradition to innovation: the pioneers of mountain entrepreneurship in the lesser Caucasus. Mountain Research and Development, 44(3): R14-R21.

Cracco, M., Michel, A. H., Komossa, F., Kong, I., Backhaus, N., Thaler, L., Oliveri, T., Walters, G. (2024). Where is the wolf? A multi-method comparison of social values and perceptions in a Swiss park. Wildlife Biology e01267.

Komossa, F., Castro, D. M., Michel, A. H., Purves, R. S. (2023). Find the one you like! Profiling Swiss parks with user-generated content. Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism: 100673.

Wipf, S., Michel, A.H., Walder, D., Poelsma, F., Anderwald, P., Cruickshank, S. S., Jaroszynska, F., Rossi, C., Backhaus, N. (2023). Boost in visitor numbers post COVID-19 shutdown: Consequences for an Alpine National Park. Mountain Research and Development, 43(2): R12-R21.

Deutsch, S., Keller, R., Krug, C., Michel, A. H. (2023). Transdisciplinary transformative change: an analysis of some best practices and barriers, and the potential of critical social science in getting us there. Biodiversity and Conservation, 32(11): 3569-3594.

Schneiter, R., Michel, A. H. (2022) Natur & Landschaft sind wichtig in unserem Alltag. In: Jurapark-Zytig, 40, October 2022, 17.

Michel, A. H., Pleger, L. E., Von Atzigen, A., Bosello, O., Sager, F., Hunziker, M., Graefe, O., Siegrist, D., Backhaus, N. (2021). The role of trust in the participatory establishment of protected areas – lessons learnt from a failed national park project in Switzerland. Society and Natural Resources, 35(5): 487–505.

Michel, A. H., Wallner, A. (2020). Wie kann die lokale Bevölkerung für Pärke gewonnen werden? Akademien der Wissenschaften Schweiz. Factsheets, 15(5): 1–7.

Michel, A. H., Wallner, A. (2020). How can the local Population be won over to Protected Areas? Swiss Academy of Science. Factsheets, 15(5): 1–7.

Michel, A. H., Wallner, A. (2020). Comment gagner l’adhésion des populations locales à un parc ? Académie des sciences naturelles. Factsheets, 15(5): 1–7.

Michel, A. H., Bruggmann, A. (2019). Conflicting discourses: understanding the rejection of a Swiss national park project using data analysis triangulation. Mountain Research and Development, 39(1): R24-R36.

Michel, A. H. (2019). Park Moralities – Social and Political Negotiations in Parc Adula, Switzerland. University of Zurich, Faculty of Science. Dissertation.

Michel, A. H., Backhaus, N. (2019). Unravelling reasons for the non-establishment of protected areas: justification regimes and principles of worth in a Swiss national park project. Environmental Values, 28(2): 171–190.

Michel, A. H. (2019). How conceptions of equity and justice shape national park negotiations: The case of Parc Adula, Switzerland. Eco.mont, 11(1): 25–31.

Buchecker, M., Michel, A. H. (2017). Passen Solaranlagen in den alpinen Raum? GeoAgenda 5/2017: 24–28

Michel, A. H. (2016). Negotiations and Modes of Justification in the Swiss National Park Project ‘Parc Adula’. In: Bender, O., Baumgartner, J., Heinrich, K., Humer-Gruber, H., Scott, B. & Töpfer, T. (Hrsg..): Mountains, uplands, lowlands. European landscapes from an altitudinal perspective. PECSRL 2016. IGF-Forschungsberichte 7: 62. Austrian Academy of Sciences Press.

Michel, A. H., Buchecker, M., Backhaus, N. (2015). Renewable energy, authenticity, and tourism: Social acceptance of photovoltaic installations in a Swiss Alpine region. Mountain Research and Development, 35(2): 161–170.

Hunziker, M., Michel, A. H., Buchecker, M. (2015). Landschaftsveränderungen durch erneuerbare Energien aus Sicht der Bevölkerung. Forum für Wissen 2014: 43–49.

Michel, A. H. (2018). What is a national park for? Principles of worth in a Swiss national park project. In: Salzburger Nationalparkfonds (Ed.): 6th Symposium for Research in Protected Areas. Conference Volume. Salzburg, 425–427.

Michel, A. (2014). Wahrnehmung und gesellschaftliche Akzeptanz von Photovoltaikanlagen Eine praxisrelevante Studie am Beispiel des Pilotprojektes „Photovoltaikanlagen an Lawinenverbauungen“ in Bellwald, VS. GeoAgenda 5/2014: 24–29.