

Main research areas
- Land use change
- Forest policy
- Inequality and justice
Current research
My research project explores relations between humans and forests and how we can understand the connection between forest policy, decisionmaking and land use change. Specifically, I focus on private forest owners' relations to forests and the effects those may have on forest governance and management. I use a mixed methods approach including walking interviews, geographic information and agent-based social simulation. The project is part of the interdisciplinary research project GreenPole and my position is shared between the Department of Political Science and the Centre for Environmental and Climate Science.
Overall, I have an interest for society’s use of natural resources, land use change and urban/rural dynamics. With a background in Physical Geography and Gender studies, I have earlier studied water availability in rural Nepal, landslides in Uganda, socio-environmental conflicts in Chilean forestry and movements against mining in Sápmi and Ecuador.
Teaching
I take part in teaching around public administration, governing the commons, community planning, environmental problems, and sustainable development in the following Swedish speaking courses:
Publications
Displaying of publications. Sorted by year, then title.
Diverse People, Diverse Forests? : The role of social-ecological interactions in biodiversity governance
Hanna Ekström Pigot
(2026)
Doctoral Thesis (compilation)Now the forests are of value - An everyday historical political ecology from southern Sweden
Hanna Ekström Pigot
(2026) Forest Policy and Economics, 186
ArticleComparing Nordic forest governance : Key informant perspectives
Ayonghe Nebasifu, Dalia D'Amato, Hanna Ekström, Niina Pietarinen, Alexia Fridén, et al.
(2025) Forest Policy and Economics, 170
ArticleToward an intersectional equity approach in social-ecological transformations
Paula A. Sanchez-Garcia, Krisztina Jónás, Kara E. Pellowe, Hanna Ekström, Mary Scheuermann, et al.
(2025) Global Sustainability, 8
ArticleAvoiding Nightmare Forests : Insights From a Co-Creative Workshop
Ayonghe Nebasifu, Hanna Ekström, Bogomil Iliev, Sampo Pihlainen, Stefanie Linser, et al.
(2025) Futures and Foresight Science, 7
ArticleEvaluating transformative policies in complex land-use systems
Nils Droste, Huntley Brownell, Dalia D'Amato, Hanna Ekström, Alexia Fridén, et al.
(2025) Ecological Economics, 238
ArticleMapping two centuries of forest governance in Nordic countries : An open access database
Alexia Fridén, Dalia D'Amato, Hanna Ekström, Bogomil Iliev, Ayonghe Nebasifu, et al.
(2024) Forest Policy and Economics, 160
Debate/Note/EditorialModelling forests as social-ecological systems : A systematic comparison of agent-based approaches
Hanna Ekström, Nils Droste, Mark Brady
(2024) Environmental Modelling and Software, 175
Review articleBarking up the wrong tree? : A guide to forest owner typology methods
Hanna Ekström, Brian Danley, Yann Clough, Nils Droste
(2024) Forest Policy and Economics, 163
ArticleForest policy in Nordic countries : Expert opinions on future needs, uncertainties, and recommendations
Ayonghe A. Nebasifu, Niina Pietarinen, Alexia Fridén, Hanna Ekström, Teemu Harrinkari, et al.
(2024) Trees, Forests and People, 16
ArticleAn outlook on modalities in Nordic forest governance
Ayonghe Nebasifu, Alexia Fridén, Hanna Ekström Pigot, Niina Pietarinen, Teemu Harrinkari, et al.
(2024) Forests Monitor, 1 p.16-38
ArticleDe unga gör helt rätt när de stämmer staten
Christina Moberg, Hervé Corvellec, Anders Lindroth, Manuela Isacson, Linn Nilsson, et al.
(2022) Aftonbladet
Newspaper articleHuman behavior and forestry – a comparison of agent-based models
Hanna Ekström, Nils Droste, Mark V. Brady
(2022)
OtherNon-industrial private forest owner archetypes
Hanna Ekström, Brian Danley, Nils Droste
(2022)
OtherRoot system estimation based on satellite remote sensing : An applied study in Eastern Uganda
Petter Pilesjö, Malin Ahlbäck, Maya Ahlgren, Hanna Ekström, Malin Hansson, et al.
(2018) Geospatial Technologies for All: short papers, posters and poster abstracts of the 21th AGILE Conference on Geographic Information Science. Lund University 12-15 June 2018, Lund, Sweden
Paper in conference proceeding
Introduction
I am interested in human-environment interactions. I hold a MSc in Physical Geography and Ecosystem Analysis, and prior to joining as a PhD, I worked with geographic information (GIS) of water quality and spatial planning.
