Human Geography

Dr. Yvonne Kunz

Areas of expertise

  • Human-environment interactions
  • Legal pluralism and access to land
  • Regional foci: South East Asia and East Africa.



Current publications

Hein, J. & Kunz, Y. (forthcoming). Adapting in a carbon pool? Politicising climate change at Sumatra's oil palm frontier. In: Kleep, S. & L.C. Rodríguez (Ed.): Critical Approach to Climate Change Adaptation: Discourses, Policies and Practices. Routledge. (Accepted for publication)

Hein, J., Faust, H., Kunz, Y. (forthcoming).Sozialökologische Folgen von Ölpalmboom und Naturschutzpolitik in Indonesien: Die doppelte Exklusion lokaler Bevölkerungsgruppen in Jambi, Sumatra. Geographische Rundschau. (Accepted for publication)

Hein, J., Faust, H., Kunz, Y., Mardiana, R. (2017). "The transnationalization of competing state projects – carbon offsetting and development in Sumatra’s coastal peat swamps. Antipode. (Accepted for publication).

Keller, A. & Kunz, Y. (2017). Dafür sorgen, dass etwas wächst. Graswurzelrevolution 420 Sommer 2017. http://www.graswurzel.net/420/gunarti.php

Steinebach, S., & Kunz, Y. (2017). Separating sisters from brothers: Ethnic relations and identity politics in the context of indigenous land titling in Indonesia. Austrian Journal of South-East Asian Studies, 10(1), 47-64. https://aseas.univie.ac.at/index.php/aseas/article/view/1142

Kunz, Y., Steinbach, S., Dittrich, C., Hauser-Schäublin, B., Rosyani Ir., Soetarto, E. & Faust, H. (2017): 'The fridge in the forest': Historical trajectories of land tenure regulations fostering landscape transformation in Jambi Province, Sumatra, Indonesia. Forest Policy and Economics, 81, 1-9. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1389934116303173.

Kunz, Y., Hein, J., Mardiana, R., & Faust, H. (2016). Mimicry of the legal: Translating de jure land formalization processes into de facto local action in Jambi province, Sumatra. ASEAS - Austrian Journal of South-East Asian Studies, 9(1), 127-146. https://aseas.univie.ac.at/index.php/aseas/article/view/1027

Kunz, Y. (2016). Landscape transformation in Jambi province, Sumatra. An analysis of land tenure regulations under translational dynamics. Dissertation. https://opac.sub.uni-goettingen.de/DB=1/FKT=1016/FRM=kunz/IMPLAND=Y/LNG=DU/LRSET=1/SET=1/SID=713f938c-2/SRT=YOP/TTL=1/SHW?FRST=2

Schwarze, S., Euler, M., Gatto, M., Hein, J., Hettig, E., Holtkamp, A. M., Izhar, L., Kunz, Y., Lay, J., Merten, J., Moser, S., Mußhoff, O., Otten, F., Qaim, M., Soetarto, E., Steinebach, S., Trapp, K., Vorlaufer, M. und H. Faust (2015): Rubber vs. oil palm: an analysis of factors influencing smallholders' crop choice in Jambi, Indonesia. GOEDOC: Dokumenten- und Publikationsserver der Georg-August-Universität Göttingen= EFForTS Discussion Paper No. 11, 29 S.



Projects

  • Collaborative Research Centre 990 (CRC 990): Ecological and Socioeconomic Functions of Tropical Lowland Rainforest Transformation Systems (Sumatra, Indonesia)
    Subproject: Political and institutional impacts on cultural landscape transformation in Jambi province, Sumatra (PhD project).



Education

  • April 2016:
  • Since April 2012: Research Associate at the Department of Human Geography at the Georg-August-University Göttingen, Germany
  • 2001 - 2009: Graduation in Geography (Magister) University Trier, Germany.
    Minor Subjects: Cultural Anthology, Pedagogy.



Working Experience

  • December 2010 – December 2011:
    Consultancy with UN-Habitat/Kenya (Urban Transport Section)
    o Information Sharing and Knowledge Dissemination for the GEF funded project “Sustainable Transport in East African Cities”
    o Member of the coordinating team on United Nations Advisory Committee of Local Authorities (UNACLA) work programme focusing on the annual theme "Sustainable Urban Transport"
    o Coordination and implementation of a training on "Sustainable Urban Mobility" at the International Urban Training Centre, North Korea (in cooperation with GIZ)

  • August 2010– December 2010: Consultancy with UN-Habitat/Kenya (Transport and Energy Policy Section)
    o Coordination of the establishment of the Global Energy Network for Urban Settlements (GENUS) with 3 regional (Latin America, Asia, Africa) and 3 thematic focuses (access to transport, slum electrification, energy from waste)
  • December 2009 –March 2010: Consultancy with UN-Habitat/Kenya (Urban Design and Planning Service Unit)
    o Report on "UN-HABITAT"s approach to Participatory Slum Upgrading "The case of Kagabiro/Muleba (Tanzania)"
  • November 2009: Consultancy with UN-Habitat/Kenya (GLTN Secretariat/Land Tenure and Property Administration Section)
    o Documentation of the Global Land Tool Network Partners' Meeting "Enriching Partnership and Increasing Land Reform"
  • June 2008 –October 2008: Consultancy with UN-Habitat/Kenya (Human Settlements Financing Division)
    o Background-Study on ?Insurance and Guarantee Mechanisms for Low-Income Housing Finance?
  • April 2007 – August 2007: Internship with UN-Habitat/Kenya (Human Settlements Financing Division)
  • September 2003 to May 2004: Voluntary Year of Ecological Engagement at "Hunsrückhaus am Erbeskopf",Deuselbach/Germany.