Professor Art&Sustainability, Minerva Art Academy, Hanze University Applied Sciences
We live in the Anthropocene, the age in which the effects of human activity on the planet are becoming visible. Our society has become so complicated that it has given rise to a new kind of nature, made by humans. Ecological research at the end of the 20th century has given us insight into the functioning of complex dynamic systems in which we as human beings are embedded. This is what we call Panarchy, the structure of human, natural and human-natural systems connected in a continuous adaptive cycle of growth and change. By looking at this complex system through processes that originate in nature we can expose changes in the system and try to influence them. The ultimate objective being to make human actions subservient to a more natural world.
Rob van Haren is responsible for the research theme 'nature-based solutions' in the research group Art & Sustainability from Minerva Art Academy Groningen Netherlands
Key research Interests: Panarchy, transformative learning, biobased design
