Suzanne van der Meulen
Program manager and Specialist Ecosystem Services
+31(0)88335 7730
Suzanne.vanderMeulen@deltares.nl LinkedIn profileSuzanne van der Meulen is senior researcher/advisor Ecosystem Services and Natural Capital.
As project leader and part of the research team, Suzanne is involved in national and international applied research projects related to:
- Optimization of the applicability of the Ecosystem Services concept in soil and water management and regional development. Suzanne has experience from several national and transboundary pilot studies and is trained by the World Resources Institute in the application of the Corporate Ecosystem Services Review tool.
- Quantification of changes in ecosystem services as a result of changes in the ecosystem, for example after river restoration and construction of Building with Nature (nature based) solutions.
- Mapping of ecosystem services in the context of water management, urban (re)development and the Dutch National Ecosystem Assessment (with contributions to the Atlas Natural Capital).
- Development of design principles for green and blue infrastructure for healthy and resilient cities.
Suzanne is involved in several knowledge dissemination projects and education programs for academic students and professionals in the field of ecosystem services. Besides, she is co-organizer of the large and prestigious bi-annual AquaConSoil conference on management of soil, sediment and water resources. Suzanne is co-leader of the Fresh Water Systems Biome Expert Group of the Ecosystem Services Partnership (ESP) and active in the Dutch Community of Practice Ecosystem Services.
Suzanne holds a master degree in Physical Geography and has formerly worked as program manager and specialist in the field of in situ soil and groundwater remediation.
Working experience
| 2008-present | Deltares | researcher/advisor/program manager Ecosystem Services |
| 2007-2008 | TNO | researcher/advisor/program manager Soil management and in situ soil and groundwater remediation |
| 2004-2007 | BK Ingenieurs | Consultant soil surveys |
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Digital Atlas Natural Capital (DANK)
The Netherlands, 2014-2015
Development of ecosystem services maps related to water and soil systems for the atlas that will be developed by a consortium of Dutch knowledge institutes in the context of the National Ecosystem Assessment of the Netherlands.
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TEEB pilot projects related to the Delta program Flood Safety
The Netherlands, 2014-2015
Testing and optimizing the applicability of TEEB knowledge and tools
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VECHT-PES
Germany and The Netherlands, 2013-2014
Development of a Payment for Ecosystem Services scheme to balance costs and benefits of floodplain restoration and to finance additional measures to optimize societal benefits.
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Ecosystem services framework for balancing exploitation and protection of groundwater resources
The Netherlands, 2013-2015
Development of a method for assessment of the dependence of and impact on ecosystem services for several economic activities and relations between activities
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Towards practical implementation of the ecosystem services concept in transboundary water management
Germany and The Netherlands, 2011-2012
Case study in part of the Vecht river basin
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EU FP7-SoilTrEC
Europe, 2011-2014
Explorative study on the impact of soil threats on ecosystem services
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MERITE
The Netherlands, 2011
Assessment of the potential of the concept of ecosystem services to improve Environmental Impact Assessments.
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Ecosystem services for soil management
The Netherlands, 2010-2012
Development of a framework for sustainable use of soil and the subsurface based on ecosystem services. The framework has been tested in three case studies
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Sustainable use of Ecosystem Services
The Netherlands, 2008-2011
Research program to assess the added value of the ecosystem services concept for natural resources management; literature review, workshops and case study with water managers.
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Abiotic flows should be inherent part of ecosystem services classification
Van der Meulen, E.S., Braat, L.C., Brils, J., 2016. Abiotic flows should be inherent part of ecosystem services classification. Ecosystem Services 19, pp 1-5.
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Do You Have 5 Minutes To Spare? – The Challenges Of Stakeholder Processes In Ecosystem Services Studies
Lars Koschke, Suzanne Van der Meulen, Susanne Frank, Anna Schneidergruber, Marion Kruse, Christine Fürst, Esther Neubert, Bettina Ohnesorge, Claudia Schröder, Felix Müller, Olaf Bastian. 2014. Do You Have 5 Minutes To Spare? – The Challenges Of Stakeholder Processes In Ecosystem Services Studies. Landscape Online, Volume 37, 2014, Pages: 1-25, DOI:10.3097/LO.201437, Published: October 2nd, 2014
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Ecosystem Services and River Basin Management
Brauman K, van der Meulen E.S., Brils J., 2014. Ecosystem Services and River Basin Management. In: Brils J, Brack W, Müller D, Negrel P, Vermaat J (Eds.) Risk-Informed Management of European River Basins, The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry Volume 29, 2014, pp 265-294. Springer Verlag 2014
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Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) in support of river restoration
Van der Meulen, Brils, Borowski-Maaser, Sauer, 2013. Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) in support of river restoration, Water Governance, No 4, November 2013
Activities
| 2014 | Radboud University | Lecturer, lecture Ecosystem Services with a focus on water management for Bachelor students of Radboud University |
| 2014 | Climate-KIC education program The Journey | Lecturer, lecture Ecosystem Services with a focus on green infrastructure for international students (master students and PHD’s) |
| 2013-present | co-leader of the ESP-Biome Expert Group Fresh Water Systems | |
| 2011-2014 | Lecturer, lecture Ecosystem Services as part of the ICZM course of UNESCO-IHE | for international master students and professionals |
| 2010-present | Member of the Dutch Community of Practice Ecosystem Services |