- 01.06.2026 - 14:40
Dr. Sylvain Maechler has joined SEPS as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellow, where he conducts research under the academic supervision of Prof. Dr. Klaus Dingwerth.
His current research project, “Amnesic Governance and the Reinvention of Market-Based Instruments in Global Biodiversity Politics,” investigates the emergence of biodiversity credits as a new instrument for financing biodiversity conservation. The project explores how actors developing biodiversity credits across different governance contexts learn—or fail to learn—from the limitations and failures of previous market-based approaches to environmental protection.
Before joining HSG, Sylvain Maechler held a Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) Postdoc.Mobility Fellowship, during which he conducted research at Goethe University Frankfurt (Germany), the University of Ottawa (Canada), and the Geneva Graduate Institute (Switzerland). His research focused on the role of central banks in addressing nature loss and nature-related financial risks.
Sylvain Maechler received his PhD in Political Science from the University of Lausanne, where he remains an affiliated researcher. His doctoral research examined the politics of green accounting and how environmental issues are made visible and governable through economic and valuation practices. During his doctoral studies, he was also a visiting researcher at the Vienna University of Economics and Business.
Across his research projects, Sylvain investigates how economic and financial instruments are mobilised to address environmental challenges and the political consequences that emerge from their implementation.
We are delighted to welcome Sylvain Maechler to SEPS and look forward to his contributions to research and academic exchange within our community.
