Mario Torralba is an Assistant Professor at the Environmental Geography department of the Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM) of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
He is a landscape ecologist that works at the intersection of natural and social sciences working on advancing knowledge towards sustainable transitions in food systems. With his research he contributes to advance the understanding of the complex relationships between agriculture, forestry, nature conservation and other areas of natural resource management. In particular, his interest lays on the use landscape inter- and transdisciplinary research approaches to evaluate the effects that those relationships have on biodiversity, ecosystem services and human well-being.
Selected projects:
emBrace (2025-2028, Project coordinator) is an action-oriented research programme that supports the development of multifunctional protected areas as Nature-based Solutions (NbS). It integrates biodiversity protection with sustainable food systems through systematic data collection, social learning, knowledge co-production, action-oriented research, cross-cultural exchange, and knowledge synthesis across four case studies: The Zwinstreek (Flanders), Alpujarras (southern Spain), Cœur de Condroz (Belgium), and Kristianstads Vattenrike (Sweden). emBrace is funded by Biodiversa+ under the 2023–2024 BiodivNBS joint call.
RESHAPE (2026-2029, PI) is a transdisciplinary research programme that tackles the societal disconnection from food caused by industrialized and globalized food systems. Through five Living Labs across Europe (Spain, Netherlands, Denmark, Turkey), the project analyses economic, socio-cultural, and governance dimensions of key value chains (berries/wild greens, Gouda cheese, grass-fed meat, artisanal fish). Using mixed methods and participatory approaches, RESHAPE co-designs and tests innovative reconnection strategies with farmers, processors, chefs, consumers, policymakers, and artists. RESHAPE is funded through FutureFoodS in the 2023-2024 joint call.
Expertise
Sustainable landscape management, Social-ecological systems, Landscape multifunctionality, Human-nature relationships, Knowledge integration, Participatory research methods.
Education
2018: PhD in Landscape Architecture and Planning, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
2013: MSc in Ecology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain.
2011: BSc in Biology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain.
