Harrij van Velthuizen

Senior Research Scholar Ecosystems Services and Management

+43(0) 2236 807 558

velt@iiasa.ac.at

BIOGRAPHY
IIASA PUBLICATIONS

Harrij van Velthuizen is a land resources ecologist by education. He was a member of the working group that developed the FAO's Agro-Ecological Zones Methodology (AEZ), and he was intensively involved in AEZ applications at country and regional levels in the fields of agriculture, forestry and livestock development planning.

In 2001 van Velthuizen was invited to IIASA to join the Land Use Change and Agriculture (LUC) Program as Research Scholar. Together with his IIASA colleagues and colleagues from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, he conducted and published a number of world wide agro-ecological zones studies, each providing unique bio-physical databases and spatially detailed inventories with global coverage, as well as agricultural production potentials, and evaluations of agricultural yield and production gaps. This work has been the basis for various major studies e.g., a special report on "Climate Change and Agricultural Vulnerability", prepared for the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg (IIASA, 2002), a report on Biofuels and Food Security (IIASA, 2009), and a World Bank report on "Rising Global Interest in Farmland - Can it Yield Sustainable and Equitable Benefits", (World Bank, 2010).

Since 2001, van Velthuizen has also served as advisor to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and participated in an FAO/Italian Government project in Bosnia: "Inventory of Post War Situation of Land Resources" as well as producing a report on "Geophysical factors that influence agricultural production and rural vulnerability" with the FAO’s Sustainable Development Department.

From 1995 to 2001, he participated as an IIASA guest researcher in the FAO/IIASA/ECU/UNEP/SOW-VU Project on "Climate Change and Global Agricultural Potential". His involvement focused particularly on country studies for Kenya, Bangladesh and Nigeria. He coordinated the ILRI/FAO/IIASA Project on "Potential of Forage Legumes in Land-Use Intensification in West Africa", served as land resources ecologist in an FAO/UNDP project concerned with "Utilization of Agro-ecological Zones Databases" at the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council, was advisor for agro-ecological zoning in a DANIDA/World Bank project on "Environmental Information Systems Development" in Ghana, and provided land potential assessments of developing countries for the FAO perspective studies "World Agricultural: Towards 2010" and "World Agriculture: Towards 2015-2030".

Prior to 1995, Harrij van Velthuizen was responsible for the compilation of crop production system zonation for the IGAD countries in East Africa (1993-1995), served as Chief Technical Advisor/Team Leader (1989-1992) in the FAO/UNDP Agro-ecological Zones Project of China, and provided long term inputs as land resources ecologist in national studies concerned with agro-ecological assessments for agricultural development planning for Kenya (1984-1989), Bangladesh (1983-1988) and Mozambique (1981-1984).

Last update: 05-JAN-2011

Teixeira,E. Fischer,G. van Velthuizen,H. Walter,C. Ewert,F. (2013)

Global hot-spots of heat stress on agricultural crops due to climate change ... More

Fischer,G. Winiwarter,W. Ermolieva,T. Cao,G.-Y. van Velthuizen,H. Klimont,Z. Schoepp,W. van Veen,W. Wiberg,D. Wagner,F. (2012)

Sustainable agriculture in China: Estimation and reduction of nitrogen impacts ... More

Borodina,O. Borodina,E. Ermolieva,T. Ermoliev,Y. Fischer,G. Makowski,M. van Velthuizen,H. (2012)

Sustainable agriculture, food security, and socio-economic risks in Ukraine ... More

Teixeira,E. Fischer,G. van Velthuizen,H. van Dingenen,R. Dentener,F. Mills,G. Walter,C. Ewert,F. (2011)

Limited potential of crop management for mitigating surface ozone impacts on global food supply ... More

Fischer,G. van Velthuizen,H. (2011)

Political will is the only way to end hunger ... More

Fischer,G. van Velthuizen,H. (2011)

Grains of sense from Ghana scientists ... More

Fischer,G. van Velthuizen,H. (2011)

Bangladesh: Then and now ... More

Eliasson,A. Jones,R.J.A. Nachtergaele,F. Rossiter,D.G. Terres,J.-M. Van Orshoven,J. van Velthuizen,H. Boettcher,K. Haastrup,P. Le Bas,C. (2010)

Common criteria for the redefinition of Intermediate Less Favoured Areas in the European Union ... More

Londo,M. Lensink,S. Wakker,A. Fischer,G. Prieler,S. van Velthuizen,H.T. de Wit,M. Faaij,A. Junginger,M. Berndes,G. Hansson,J. Egeskog,A. Duer,H. (2010)

The REFUEL EU road map for biofuels in transport: Application of the project's tools to some short-term policy issues ... More

Fischer,G. Prieler,S. van Velthuizen,H.T. Berndes,G. Faaij,A. de Wit,M. (2010)

Biofuel production potentials in Europe: Sustainable use of cultivated land and pastures, Part II: Land use scenarios ... More

Fischer,G. Prieler,S. van Velthuizen,H.T. Lensink,S.M. Londo,M. de Wit,M. (2010)

Biofuel production potentials in Europe: Sustainable use of cultivated land and pastures. Part I: Land productivity potentials ... More

Fischer,G. Prieler,S. van Velthuizen,H. (2010)

Eastern Europe's biofuel potential ... More

Gumeniuk,K. Mishchenko,N. Fischer,G. van Velthuizen,H. (2010)

Agro-ecological Assessment for the Transition of the Agricultural Sector in Ukraine: Methodology and Results for Baseline Climate ... More

Borodina,O. Borodina,E. Ermolieva,T. Ermoliev,Y. Fischer,G. Makowski,M. van Velthuizen,H. (2010)

Integrated modeling approach to the analysis of food security and sustainable rural developments: Ukrainian case study ... More

Teixeira,E. Walter,C. Ewert,F. Dentener,F. Mills,G. Fischer,G. van Velthuizen,H. van Dingenen,R. (2010)

Threats for Global Food Supply of Increasing Surface Ozone - Spatial Assessent of Impacts and Adaptation Options ... More

Shah,M. Fischer,G. van Velthuizen,H. (2009)

Food security and sustainable agriculture: The challenges of climate change in Sub-Saharan Africa ... More

Nachtergaele,F. van Velthuizen,H. Verelst,L. (2009)

Harmonized World Soil Database ... More

Fischer,G. van Velthuizen,H. Hizsnyik,E. Wiberg,D. (2009)

Potentially obtainable yields in the semi-arid tropics ... More

Fischer,G. Hizsnyik,E. Prieler,S. Shah,M. van Velthuizen,H. (2009)

Biofuels and Food Security ... More

Teixeira,E. Fischer,G. van Velthuizen,H.T. Ewert,F. van Dingenen,R. Dentener,F. Mills,G. (2009)

Surface ozone impact on global food supply: Potential damage and adaptation for soybean crops (Abstract) ... More

Fischer,G. van Velthuizen,H. Shah,M. (2009)

Biofuels & climate change: Challenges to food security in the 21st century ... More

Fischer,G. van Velthuizen,H. Shah,M. (2009)

Poverty and food insecurity: A threat to billions ... More

Fischer,G. Hizsnyik,E. Prieler,S. Shah,M. van Velthuizen,H. (2009)

Biofuels and Food Security: Implications of an Accelerated Biofuels Production ... More

Fischer,G. Teixeira,E. Tothne Hizsnyik,E. van Velthuizen,H.T. (2009)

Land Use Dynamics and Sugarcane Production ... More

Fischer,G. Teixeira,E. Tothne Hizsnyik,E. van Velthuizen,H.T. (2008)

Land use dynamics and sugarcane production ... More

Fischer,G. Shah,M. van Velthuizen,H. (2008)

Climate Change and Agriculture in Africa ... More

Fischer,G. Tubiello,F.N. van Velthuizen,H.T. Wiberg,D. (2007)

Climate change impacts on irrigation water requirements: Effects of mitigation, 1990-2080 ... More

van Velthuizen,H.T. Huddleston,B. Fischer,G. Salvatore,M. Ataman,E. Nachtergaele,F.O. Zanetti,M. Bloise,M. (2007)

Mapping Biophysical Factors that Influence Agricultural Production and Rural Vulnerability ... More

Fischer,G. Tubiello,F.N. van Velthuizen,H.T. Wiberg,D. (2007)

Climate Change Impacts on Irrigation Water Requirements: Effects of Mitigation ... More