Borna Fuerst-Bjeliš
Borna Fuerst Bjeliš, senior researcher and full professor at the University of Zagreb. In 2012, she was awarded the “Federico Grisogono” prize for scientific achievement and outstanding contribution to the development of geography in Croatia, in 2021 she was awarded the Croatian Geographical Society Science Prize.
In the period 2017-19 she was Vice President of the European Society for Environmental History. Since 2016, she has been a member of the Steering Committee of the IGU Commission on Marginalisation, Globalisation and Regional and Local Responses, while in 2020 she was appointed Chair of the Commission.
She graduated in geography from the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Zagreb in 1983, obtained her MSc in 1990 and her PhD in 1996. Since then, she has visited several foreign research and educational institutions (St. Gallen, Bern, Madrid and Boston) with the aim of specialising in the field of environmental history, landscape change and regional and local community development. She speaks English (C) and French (B).
Since 1989 she has been working at the University of Zagreb (Faculty of Sciences, Department of Geography). For many years she was involved in the management of the University of Zagreb, the Faculty of Science and the Department of Geography (among numerous other positions, she was Vice Dean for International Cooperation and Chair of the Doctoral Programme in Geography for 8 years).
Her area of specialisation is environmental history and landscape change, with a spatial focus mainly on the Mediterranean karst area, including the development of research methods (historical cartography, GIS), border areas, spatial perceptions and spatial (regional) identities. During 2007-2013, she has been head of a project on environmental changes, cultural landscapes and regional identities funded by the Ministry of Science and the University of Zagreb, project coordinator of two international projects (Swiss Science Foundation) and collaborator in a number of other scientific projects (6). In addition to conference presentations, she has given 11 invited or plenary lectures at conferences and international summer schools in Europe, Canada and the USA. She is the author /co-author and editor of 6 scientific books and author of more than a hundred papers, among which 70 peer-reviewed scientific journal articles and book chapters to date.
She currently teaches Environmental history, Mediterranean studies, Regional concepts and Work in Science and Research methodology in environmental and cultural landscape studies/modules in the PhD programme. She has supervised more than 80 Bachelor and Master theses and 10 PhD theses.
She is co-author of the university textbook „Historical Geography of Croatia“ (University of Split), editor of the open access book "Mediterranean Identities - Environment, Society, Culture" (InTechOpen) and editor of Croatian editions and author of chapters in two books on environmental history: “What is Environmental History” by D. Hughes and “The Global Environmental History” by I.G.Simmons (Disput). She is also author and co-editor of the Springer book series "The perspectives on geographical marginality" and "Environmental History" (volume "Environmental Histories of the Dinaric Karst" ). She is co-author of the scientific monograph "The Historical Geography of Croatia - Territorial Change and Cultural Landscapes" in the Springer series "Historical Geography and Geosciences".
She is a member of a number of international and national scientific organisations, in most of which she was/is a member of the board. She is a member of the editorial boards of the leading Croatian geographical and environmental history journals and a number of other European journals.
She has been the member of scientific committees of many national and international conferences. She was the initiator and chair of the local organizing and scientific commitee of the first IGU conference held in Croatia, in Dubrovnik (2012) as well as the chair of the local organizing committee of the 9. biennial conference of the European Society for Environmental History (ESEH) in Zagreb (2017).
She has been also the representative and coordinator of the Regional Action Center – Croatia of the International Year of Global Understanding (2016), the initiative of the International Geographic Union - IGU.
She is also engaged in popular science (journal editorial, popular science TV shows and interviews, public lectures).
Humanitarian and environmental engagement:
Friend and donor to UNICEF Childhood Guardians Programme, SOS Children's Village Lekenik Croatia and independent, non-profit and non-governmental organizations Greenpeace Croatia and Animal Friends Croatia.
Address: Zagreb, Croatia
In the period 2017-19 she was Vice President of the European Society for Environmental History. Since 2016, she has been a member of the Steering Committee of the IGU Commission on Marginalisation, Globalisation and Regional and Local Responses, while in 2020 she was appointed Chair of the Commission.
She graduated in geography from the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Zagreb in 1983, obtained her MSc in 1990 and her PhD in 1996. Since then, she has visited several foreign research and educational institutions (St. Gallen, Bern, Madrid and Boston) with the aim of specialising in the field of environmental history, landscape change and regional and local community development. She speaks English (C) and French (B).
Since 1989 she has been working at the University of Zagreb (Faculty of Sciences, Department of Geography). For many years she was involved in the management of the University of Zagreb, the Faculty of Science and the Department of Geography (among numerous other positions, she was Vice Dean for International Cooperation and Chair of the Doctoral Programme in Geography for 8 years).
Her area of specialisation is environmental history and landscape change, with a spatial focus mainly on the Mediterranean karst area, including the development of research methods (historical cartography, GIS), border areas, spatial perceptions and spatial (regional) identities. During 2007-2013, she has been head of a project on environmental changes, cultural landscapes and regional identities funded by the Ministry of Science and the University of Zagreb, project coordinator of two international projects (Swiss Science Foundation) and collaborator in a number of other scientific projects (6). In addition to conference presentations, she has given 11 invited or plenary lectures at conferences and international summer schools in Europe, Canada and the USA. She is the author /co-author and editor of 6 scientific books and author of more than a hundred papers, among which 70 peer-reviewed scientific journal articles and book chapters to date.
She currently teaches Environmental history, Mediterranean studies, Regional concepts and Work in Science and Research methodology in environmental and cultural landscape studies/modules in the PhD programme. She has supervised more than 80 Bachelor and Master theses and 10 PhD theses.
She is co-author of the university textbook „Historical Geography of Croatia“ (University of Split), editor of the open access book "Mediterranean Identities - Environment, Society, Culture" (InTechOpen) and editor of Croatian editions and author of chapters in two books on environmental history: “What is Environmental History” by D. Hughes and “The Global Environmental History” by I.G.Simmons (Disput). She is also author and co-editor of the Springer book series "The perspectives on geographical marginality" and "Environmental History" (volume "Environmental Histories of the Dinaric Karst" ). She is co-author of the scientific monograph "The Historical Geography of Croatia - Territorial Change and Cultural Landscapes" in the Springer series "Historical Geography and Geosciences".
She is a member of a number of international and national scientific organisations, in most of which she was/is a member of the board. She is a member of the editorial boards of the leading Croatian geographical and environmental history journals and a number of other European journals.
She has been the member of scientific committees of many national and international conferences. She was the initiator and chair of the local organizing and scientific commitee of the first IGU conference held in Croatia, in Dubrovnik (2012) as well as the chair of the local organizing committee of the 9. biennial conference of the European Society for Environmental History (ESEH) in Zagreb (2017).
She has been also the representative and coordinator of the Regional Action Center – Croatia of the International Year of Global Understanding (2016), the initiative of the International Geographic Union - IGU.
She is also engaged in popular science (journal editorial, popular science TV shows and interviews, public lectures).
Humanitarian and environmental engagement:
Friend and donor to UNICEF Childhood Guardians Programme, SOS Children's Village Lekenik Croatia and independent, non-profit and non-governmental organizations Greenpeace Croatia and Animal Friends Croatia.
Address: Zagreb, Croatia
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Books by Borna Fuerst-Bjeliš
By describing how the pandemic has exacerbated pre-existing geographic, social and economic marginalisation, particularly for the most vulnerable places, societies and economic activities globally, this book provides insight into the impacts and implications across the world and reflects on the different experiences.
The book is highly illustrated with maps and figures. It is written by scholars from the region, based on the original research and the vast body of literature. It is one of the only books in English that interprets the overall development of the territory and cultural landscape of Croatia. Its scientific but comprehensive approach makes it of use to scholars, students and anyone interested in historical and geographical processes and features of Croatia and the Balkan region.
Papers by Borna Fuerst-Bjeliš
Europe. This research aims to identify how experts perceive the different causes of forest fires as
defined in the classification proposed by the European Commission in 2013. A panel of experts
(N = 271) was gathered from the EU Southern Member States (France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and
Spain) and from Central (Switzerland) and south-eastern Europe (Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Republic of North Macedonia, and Turkey). Experts were asked to answer a questionnaire to
score the importance of the 29 fire causes using a five point (1–5) Likert Scale. Agricultural burnings
received the highest score, followed by Deliberate fire for profit, and Vegetation management. Most of
the events stem from Negligence, whereas malicious fire setting is arguably overestimated although
there are differences among the countries. This research demonstrates the importance of different
techniques to enhance the knowledge of the causes of the complex anthropogenic phenomenon of
forest fire occurrence.
the characteristics and changes in land use on their own households/farms at the turn of the 20th and
21st century (after the 1990s) as well as their perception of landscape development. The survey was conducted
by a combined (quantitative and qualitative) survey method on a sample of anonymous respondents
selected by a simple random sample method on the spot (in situ) in several settlement groups
that differ in terms of their location (proximity to roads, altitude, etc.). The survey questionnaires were
analyzed by the IBM SPSS Statistics computer program. The results of the survey questionnaire were
analyzed by descriptive statistics procedures, while individual relationships were analyzed by inferential
statistics procedures, i.e., by the Hi-square (χ2) test. The analysis was conducted at the level of Central
Lika region as a whole, and at the intraregional level of three groups of settlements in Central Lika
region. One of the obtained important results of the research is that the respondents of the most rural,
southeastern area perceive the landscape of Central Lika region more forested, as they have been much
more engaged in the connection with the environment (working the land), and thus aware of changes in
the landscape and the process of extensification and reforestation, unlike the urban population of Gospić
and the population of larger settlements in the northern area, whose perceptions of afforestation were
very heterogeneous. //
U ovom radu prikazana je analiza rezultata anketnog istraživanja o percepciji stanovništva Srednje
Like o obilježjima i promjenama načina korištenja zemljišta na vlastitim poljoprivrednim posjedima
na prijelazu 20. u 21. stoljeće (nakon 90-ih godina prošlog stoljeća) te njihovoj percepciji o razvoju
krajolika Srednje Like. Anketno ispitivanje provedeno je kombiniranom (kvantitativnom i
kvalitativnom) metodom anketnog ispitivanja na uzorku anonimnih ispitanika koji su odabrani
jednostavnim slučajnim uzorkom metodom “na licu mjesta” (in situ) u više odabranih naselja
koja se razlikuju s obzirom na svoj položaj (blizina prometnica, nadmorska visina i sl.). Anketni
upitnici analizirani su računalnim programom IBM SPSS Statistics. Rezultati anketnog upitnika
analizirani su procedurama deskriptivne statistike, dok su pojedini međuodnosi analizirani
procedurama inferencijalne statistike, preciznije testom Hi-kvadrat (χ2). Analiza rezultata ovog
istraživanja provedena je na razini Srednje Like u cijelosti te na unutarregionalnoj razini tri grupe
naselja Srednje Like. Jedno od važnijih rezultata istraživanja je da ispitanici najruralnijeg,
jugoistočnog područja percipiraju krajolik Srednje Like sve pošumljenijim, dakle uključeni su
mnogo više u odnos s okolišem (zemljoradnja) i time mnogo više svjesni promjena krajolika i
procesa ekstenzifikacije i reforestacije, za razliku od gradskog stanovništva Gospića i stanovništva
većih naselja sjevernog područja, čije su percepcije o pošumljenosti bile vrlo heterogene.
U okviru knjige eseja o značenjima pejzaža, u radu se promišlja o konceptu kulturnog pejzaža u geografiji, polazištima proučavanja, institucionalnim okvirima te konceptualnim poveznicama s drugim disciplinama. Također se kritički raspravlja o uporabi drugih termina u novije vrijeme, primjerice krajobrazu i krajoliku i posebnom značenju termina pejzaž kao terminološke baštine geografske struke. Tekst ovog poglavlja, kao i ostalih poglavlja u knjizi, pripremljen je na temelju održanog intervuja s autoricom u radio serijalu Značenja krajolika
Hrvatske radiotelevizije.
By describing how the pandemic has exacerbated pre-existing geographic, social and economic marginalisation, particularly for the most vulnerable places, societies and economic activities globally, this book provides insight into the impacts and implications across the world and reflects on the different experiences.
The book is highly illustrated with maps and figures. It is written by scholars from the region, based on the original research and the vast body of literature. It is one of the only books in English that interprets the overall development of the territory and cultural landscape of Croatia. Its scientific but comprehensive approach makes it of use to scholars, students and anyone interested in historical and geographical processes and features of Croatia and the Balkan region.
Europe. This research aims to identify how experts perceive the different causes of forest fires as
defined in the classification proposed by the European Commission in 2013. A panel of experts
(N = 271) was gathered from the EU Southern Member States (France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and
Spain) and from Central (Switzerland) and south-eastern Europe (Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Republic of North Macedonia, and Turkey). Experts were asked to answer a questionnaire to
score the importance of the 29 fire causes using a five point (1–5) Likert Scale. Agricultural burnings
received the highest score, followed by Deliberate fire for profit, and Vegetation management. Most of
the events stem from Negligence, whereas malicious fire setting is arguably overestimated although
there are differences among the countries. This research demonstrates the importance of different
techniques to enhance the knowledge of the causes of the complex anthropogenic phenomenon of
forest fire occurrence.
the characteristics and changes in land use on their own households/farms at the turn of the 20th and
21st century (after the 1990s) as well as their perception of landscape development. The survey was conducted
by a combined (quantitative and qualitative) survey method on a sample of anonymous respondents
selected by a simple random sample method on the spot (in situ) in several settlement groups
that differ in terms of their location (proximity to roads, altitude, etc.). The survey questionnaires were
analyzed by the IBM SPSS Statistics computer program. The results of the survey questionnaire were
analyzed by descriptive statistics procedures, while individual relationships were analyzed by inferential
statistics procedures, i.e., by the Hi-square (χ2) test. The analysis was conducted at the level of Central
Lika region as a whole, and at the intraregional level of three groups of settlements in Central Lika
region. One of the obtained important results of the research is that the respondents of the most rural,
southeastern area perceive the landscape of Central Lika region more forested, as they have been much
more engaged in the connection with the environment (working the land), and thus aware of changes in
the landscape and the process of extensification and reforestation, unlike the urban population of Gospić
and the population of larger settlements in the northern area, whose perceptions of afforestation were
very heterogeneous. //
U ovom radu prikazana je analiza rezultata anketnog istraživanja o percepciji stanovništva Srednje
Like o obilježjima i promjenama načina korištenja zemljišta na vlastitim poljoprivrednim posjedima
na prijelazu 20. u 21. stoljeće (nakon 90-ih godina prošlog stoljeća) te njihovoj percepciji o razvoju
krajolika Srednje Like. Anketno ispitivanje provedeno je kombiniranom (kvantitativnom i
kvalitativnom) metodom anketnog ispitivanja na uzorku anonimnih ispitanika koji su odabrani
jednostavnim slučajnim uzorkom metodom “na licu mjesta” (in situ) u više odabranih naselja
koja se razlikuju s obzirom na svoj položaj (blizina prometnica, nadmorska visina i sl.). Anketni
upitnici analizirani su računalnim programom IBM SPSS Statistics. Rezultati anketnog upitnika
analizirani su procedurama deskriptivne statistike, dok su pojedini međuodnosi analizirani
procedurama inferencijalne statistike, preciznije testom Hi-kvadrat (χ2). Analiza rezultata ovog
istraživanja provedena je na razini Srednje Like u cijelosti te na unutarregionalnoj razini tri grupe
naselja Srednje Like. Jedno od važnijih rezultata istraživanja je da ispitanici najruralnijeg,
jugoistočnog područja percipiraju krajolik Srednje Like sve pošumljenijim, dakle uključeni su
mnogo više u odnos s okolišem (zemljoradnja) i time mnogo više svjesni promjena krajolika i
procesa ekstenzifikacije i reforestacije, za razliku od gradskog stanovništva Gospića i stanovništva
većih naselja sjevernog područja, čije su percepcije o pošumljenosti bile vrlo heterogene.
U okviru knjige eseja o značenjima pejzaža, u radu se promišlja o konceptu kulturnog pejzaža u geografiji, polazištima proučavanja, institucionalnim okvirima te konceptualnim poveznicama s drugim disciplinama. Također se kritički raspravlja o uporabi drugih termina u novije vrijeme, primjerice krajobrazu i krajoliku i posebnom značenju termina pejzaž kao terminološke baštine geografske struke. Tekst ovog poglavlja, kao i ostalih poglavlja u knjizi, pripremljen je na temelju održanog intervuja s autoricom u radio serijalu Značenja krajolika
Hrvatske radiotelevizije.