Working to unite
ecology and economy
by treating nature as the foundation
for the way we measure wealth
and develop society
There is no human wealth or wellbeing without nature - we are nature, and we depend on Earth’s biodiversity and functional ecosystems. Living, growing, and developing are biological traits and we need to understand and integrate biodiversity in decisions and budgets that shape the future human society.
Oiko is from oikos, the greek word for eco which means house, household or managing the resources of the house. Eco is in ecology and in economy, implying the discipline to manage the resources of both nature and finances.
Kristine Kjørup Rasmussen
Founder, Ph.d. in Ecology
Oiko is a platform to help stakeholders make decisions based on knowledge about biodiversity. Everything we do have impact on biodiversity directly or through resource use. We therefore all, as individuals, companies, and institutions need to face the consequences, act, and head for a Nature Positive future. For decades we have been overspending, creating debt to nature and it is time to pay back. This means no more business as usual but rather give more and take less.
Knowledge sharing
With around 20 years of experience working with ecology I am happy to share my knowledge with students and professionals. I teach at Aalborg University, at post-training courses on biodiversity and urban development, and I also enjoy acting as external examinator on relevant student projects and theses. I am part of the organizing group of the Danish Network for Biodiversity and Ecosystems Services under IPBES, where we meet to share experience an learn about valuing nature also for the non monetary and cultural benefits it gives to humans.
New ways
Biodiversity is a new issue for many people and disciplines outside the natural sciences. However, it is especially the economists, planners, architects, managers etc. who need to integrate biodiversity in decisions and actions. New methods and indexes are therefore needed to ‘translate’ biodiversity between disciplines and into diverse decisions supporting biodiversity.
Currently I am part of a group developing a new national method for survey and assessment of urban biodiversity in Denmark. The method has been published as a pilot and is currently tested by users all over the country and for different purposes. Read more about this work here.
Consulting
For me consultancy is helping others understand biodiversity and creating the needed foundation for acting with and not on behalf of the diversity of life on earth. Currently I am working as external consultant for PensionDenmark on the implementation of their Biodiversity Strategy called ‘Investments for life’. Together we are aiming to make the investments in construction and urban areas Nature Positive by integrating biodiversity into all phases of development, management, and evaluation.