Rate My Professor Wieteke Willemen

Professor Wieteke Willemen is a Full Professor in the Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation at the University of Twente, holding the chair of Spatial Dynamics of Ecosystem Services and serving as Head of the Department of Natural Resources since September 2024. She earned her PhD in spatial modelling of multifunctional landscapes from Wageningen University and an MSc in Tropical Land Use studies, specializing in plant production systems and GIS, also from Wageningen University. Before joining the University of Twente in 2014, she held positions at Bioversity International in Colombia, the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre in Italy, and Cornell University in the USA. Willemen has served as a board member of JA@UT, the young academy of the University of Twente, and chaired the Reflection Group that advised on the university's mission, vision, and Shaping 2030 strategy.

Her research centers on generating quantitative spatial information on ecosystem services to aid multi-objective decision making. Current efforts include remote sensing-based ecosystem service mapping and monitoring, impact assessments of integrated restoration initiatives, integration of citizen science in impact research, and prioritization of investments for land degradation neutrality. She is Coordinating Lead Author of the IPBES Land Degradation and Restoration assessment and Lead Author of the Business and Biodiversity assessment. Willemen sits on the Board of the Executive Committee of the Ecosystem Services Partnership and acts as Co-Editor in Chief for the journal Ecosystem Services by Elsevier. Notable publications encompass highly cited works such as "Challenges in integrating the concept of ecosystem services and values in landscape planning, management and decision making" (De Groot et al., 2010, Ecological Complexity), "Mapping ecosystem services for policy support and decision making in the European Union" (Maes et al., 2012, Ecosystem Services), "A blueprint for mapping and modelling ecosystem services" (Crossman et al., 2013, Ecosystem Services), and recent contributions like "Mapping and quantifying nature’s contributions to people underpinning international food trade: the case of the Brazilian coffee and soy supply-chains" (Rabeschini et al., 2026, Sustainability Science) and "Unmanaged wild and alien plants in semi-natural landscapes support livelihoods of low-income households in southern Java, Indonesia" (Aji et al., 2026, Trees, Forests and People). Her work significantly influences science-policy interfaces in biodiversity and sustainable land management.