I conduct research on how we can manage landscapes more sustainably, using transdisciplinary, qualitative, and spatial research methods, with a foundation in resilience thinking. I am intrigued by processes of translation, between languages, disciplines, and ways of knowing. Teaching and leading processes of knowledge co-production excites me.

I currently work as a postdoctoral fellow in the project BIOSPHERE. The project is led by Inger Elisabeth Måren, UNESCO Chair on Sustainable Heritage and Environmental Management. I also work closely with the other researchers and students in her team. The focus of the BIOSPHERE project is to, in collaboration with the Nordhordland UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and Alver municipality, explore strategies and practical land management innovations that have the potential to improve sustainable management of lands under pressure in Nordhordland, north of Bergen. We will do this by trialing participatory methods such as PPGIS, the Seeds of Good Anthropocenes methodology, and tools from resilience practice.

I hold a PhD in Sustainability Science from Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University (2021). My PhD thesis focused on exploring ways in which to operationalize the ecosystem service concept for local decision-making, in support of sustainable landscape management and stewardship. The study area for my PhD thesis was the Helge å catchment in Southern Sweden, and the project was done in collaboration with the Kristianstad Vattenrike UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. In addition to having engaged in knowledge co-production in biosphere reserves, I have also done research on multifunctionality in smallholder farming landscapes in Burkina Faso and Ghana, West Africa.

I lecture about sustainability science in the course SDG215: "UN Sustainable Development Goal 15: Life on land".

I also supervise master thesis students at the Department of Biological Sciences.

Academic literature review

• Katja Malmborg; Jacqueline Hamilton; Carolin Seiferth (2025). Leveraging place-based identities and senses of belonging to mobilize for action-oriented research in UNESCO sites. (external link)

Non-fiction book chapter

• Katja Malmborg; Julia Fries (2025). 17. Provocation: Co-creating a poem about the future. (external link)
• Katja Malmborg (2025). 20. Provocation: Reflecting on biodiversity loss. (external link)

Conference lecture

• Katja Malmborg (2023). Transdisciplinary collaboration in the Nordhordland UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, Norway. (external link)
• Katja Malmborg (2024). UNESCO Biosphere Reserves and World Heritage as test sites for innovative research and knowledge co-production. (external link)
• Katja Malmborg (2022). How on Earth? Exploring the uses of the ecosystem service concept together with a UNESCO biosphere reserve. (external link)
• Katja Malmborg (2024). How can Biosphere Reserves be Places of Environmental Justice?. (external link)
• Katja Malmborg (2023). Using applied drama in sustainability teaching in higher education: A performance art exercise about biodiversity. (external link)

Lecture

• Katja Malmborg (2024). Kva gode gjev naturen oss? Og kva betyr naturen for oss menneske? Verdier i kulturlandskapet i Nordhordland. (external link)
• Katja Malmborg (2023). Att kartera landskapsvärden i Kristianstads Vattenrike: En virtuell enkätundersökning. (external link)
• Katja Malmborg (2024). Panelist. (external link)
• Katja Malmborg (2025). Arealplanlegging på lag med naturen: Døme frå Alver kommune - korleis få med seg berekrafta i arealplanlegginga?. (external link)
• Katja Malmborg (2023). Naturgode i Nordhordland Biosfære. (external link)
• Katja Malmborg (2023). BIOSPHERE / BIOSFÆRE: Projekt inom "Arealer under press". (external link)
• Katja Malmborg (2024). Biokulturelle verdier i vest-norske landskap – synergier for planarbeid. (external link)
• Katja Malmborg (2024). Få med deg berekraften i arealplanlegginga. (external link)
• Katja Malmborg (2024). Technology, Innovation, and Digitalization in UNESCO Biosphere Reserves. (external link)
• Katja Malmborg (2024). Future visioning in Biosphere Reserves: intergenerational pathways for change. (external link)
• Inger Elisabeth Måren; Katja Malmborg; Ieva Rozite-Arina et al. (2024). Nature and local communities. (external link)
• Katja Malmborg (2023). Kva gode gjev naturen oss? Og kva betyr naturen for oss menneske? Naturgode i Nordhordland. (external link)
• Inger Elisabeth Måren; Katja Malmborg; Kari Natland et al. (2024). Berekraftig bruk og bevaring av natur – korleis gjer vi det eigentleg?. (external link)

Media interview

• Katja Malmborg; Lars Ursin (2024). Bærekraft som ettertanke i arealpolitikken. (external link)

Academic article

• Alta de Vos; Allyson Quinlan; Reinette Biggs et al. (2025). Welcome home! Introducing SocSES: a society for inclusive and impactful social-ecological research. (external link)
• Katja Malmborg; Elin Enfors-Kautsky; Lisen Schultz et al. (2022). Embracing complexity in landscape management: Learning and impacts of a participatory resilience assessment. (external link)
• Katja Malmborg; Ida Wallin; Vilis Brukas et al. (2022). Knowledge co-production in the Helge å catchment: a comparative analysis. (external link)
• My M. Sellberg; Steven J. Lade; Jan J. Kuiper et al. (2024). Operationalizing pathway diversity in a mosaic landscape. (external link)

See a complete overview of publications in Cristin.

Postdoctoral Fellow in "BIOSPHERE: Activating local resources; cultivating regional cooperation for sustainable land-use", funded by the Research Council of Norway (NFR), under the “Areas under pressure”-call. The project is running from 1st June 2021 to 31st May 2025.