Clara Luxardo is an associate researcher at the Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM) at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU), affiliated with the Environmental Policy Analysis Department. She holds her MSc in Environment and Resource Governance with a specialisation in Global Sustainable Futures, graduating from the VU in 2024.
Her Master’s thesis focused on the socio-environmental dynamics shaping pastoral communities and rangeland ecosystems with implications for sustainable resource governance in the trans-Himalayan region of Mustang, Nepal. As part of the fieldwork, she also collaborated with a team to portray these themes through documentary filmmaking. The thesis received the Best Master’s Thesis Award of 2024, and Faculty of Science Beta Award 2024. Currently extending her research through a PhD, Clara examines pastoralist and rangelands landscapes in the Himalayan region, and the unfolding of local socio-ecological issues within broader socio-economic and political structures.
Alongside her research, she works for the EU Horizon RETOUCH Nexus project as the case study leader for the Netherlands. Together with an international consortium, the project addresses the hydro-climatic crisis in Europe through the water-energy-food-ecosystem (WEFE) nexus approach. Clara supports a Dutch water authority in developing a freshwater availability programme for the North Holland region. Her major focus is on stakeholder participation and engagement.
