SP 7 addresses the following central research question:

What characterises Natura 2000 and peatlands as green infrastructure providing essential public services in rural and peripheral areas, and how can adaptation processes be understood, assessed and shaped across different spatial and temporal scales within the European Union’s multi-level system?

The main objective of SP 7 within the AdaptInfra research group is to map and systematically analyse the adaptation processes of green infrastructure in rural and peripheral areas, both conceptually and empirically. The focus is on Natura 2000 sites and rewetted moors in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The aim is to investigate how these infrastructures develop, adapt and transform under the specific socio-economic, institutional and ecological conditions of rural-peripheral regions.

SP 7 examines what characterises Natura 2000 and rewetted peatlands as infrastructure for public services in rural-peripheral areas. This characterisation is carried out from a socio-technical-ecological systems perspective and encompasses both the functional significance and the planning and institutional anchoring of the infrastructures under consideration within the multi-level political-administrative system. The study examines adaptation processes over the last 35 years at EU, federal, state and regional levels. The focus is on identifying influencing factors, path dependencies and transformation dynamics.

SP 7 focuses specifically on the cross-cutting theme of ‘planning and participation processes’. It examines the role played by planning processes, governance structures and participation formats in the adaptation of public service infrastructures.