Research on socio-ecological transformations, sustainability, and resilience in contexts of crisis and change.
Key areas of focus include governance and institutional research, commons and natural resource management, climate risks, and food systems, as well as participatory approaches, conflict resolution, gender, and empowerment processes (particularly in the context of agrarian transformation, biodiversity conservation, entrepreneurship, and financial inclusion).

Empirical research focusing on West and East Africa, with particular expertise in Senegal and Tanzania. This is complemented by research experience in Zambia, Malawi, Morocco, Oman, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Hungary, and Kazakhstan through a range of comparative international and interdisciplinary research projects.

Désirée Gmür is a Senior Researcher and Lecturer at the Department of Social Anthropology and Empirical Cultural Studies (ISEK), University of Zurich. She holds a PhD in Social Anthropology from the University of Bern and has extensive experience in interdisciplinary research, teaching, and consultancy across Africa, Central Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Her work combines ethnographic field research with applied perspectives on sustainability, resilience, governance, conflict resolution, and social inclusion in complex and fragile contexts. At the University of Zurich she teaches courses in economy and ecology, sustainable development and legal anthropology focusing on applied thinking and real-world case studies, and translating anthropological insights into practical tools for sustainability and development. She also contributes to the International Joint Bachelor in Sustainability (BASUS), where she is involved in curriculum development and teaching on sustainability and society in collaboration with European partner universities. She collaborates with universities, international organizations, NGOs, government actors, and local communities, aiming to bridge research, policy, and practice.

Désirée Gmür is currently part of the international Biodiversa+ consortium project ActSustainably – Enabling Transformative Actions to Leverage Sustainability of Eurasian Grasslands. The project examines sustainability transformations, institutional change, and socio-ecological resilience in Eurasian grassland systems through interdisciplinary collaboration among partners from Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Hungary, Germany, and Kazakhstan. Specifically it investigates how institutions, social norms, and plural values shaping human-nature relationships can contribute to sustainability transformations - with a focus on grassland governance in Eurasia across Austria/South Tyrol, Denmark, Hungary, and Kazakhstan. Grasslands are among the largest yet most threatened terrestrial ecosystems globally, and understanding what makes sustainable governance of them work and last - is at the heart of the project.

Gmür, D. 2025. Grabbing the Female Commons: Gendered Outcomes of Commons and Resilience Grabbing by Large-Scale Land Acquisitions for Forest Plantations in Kilolo District, Iringa Region, Tanzania. Series “Ecology and Economy in Anthropology”. Berlin/London: LIT.

Owolodun, B., Gmür, D., Felber, S., Ollier, C., Haller, T., Merten, S. 2024. “From Diversity to Uniformity: Comparing Nutritional Transition of Food Consumption in Four Regions in Senegal.” Food, Culture & Society 28(3): 503–527.

Gmür, D. and Haller, T. 2022. “Resetting the Forestry Commons: Constitutionality as a Conflict Resolution Strategy in African Woodlands.” Forest Policy and Economics 153.

Gmür, D. et al. 2022. “Climate Change, Vulnerability of Food Systems and Institutional Transformations in Senegal.” In: Donald Bruce and Ann Bruce (eds.),Transforming Food Systems: Ethics, Innovation and Responsibility. Wageningen Academic Publishers.

Bösch, B., Fiechter, S., Gallauer Alves de Souza, F., Gmür, D. 2022. The ‘Southern AgriculturalGrowth Corridor of Tanzania: An analysis of a mega infrastructure project and its impacts on smallholder communities in the Iringa region, Tanzania. In: Haller, Oberlack and Weissman (eds.). Disenchanted Modernities: Mega-Infrastructure Projects, Socio-Ecological Changes and Local Responses. Series Action Anthropology. Berlin/London: LIT.

Gmür, D. 2020. “Not Affected the Same Way: Gendered Outcomes for Commons and Resilience Grabbing by Large-Scale Forest Investors in Tanzania.”Land 9(4): 122.

Gmür, D. 2019. Grabbing the female commons: large-scale land acquisitions for forest plantations and impacts on gender relations in Kilolo district, Iringa Region, Tanzania. In: Haller et al. (2019): The Commons in a Glocal World. Global Connections and Local Responses. New York: Routledge.

Haller, T., Gerber, J.-D., Gmür, D. et al. 2019. Large Scale-Land Acquisitions as Commons Grabbing: A comparative analysis of six African Case Studies. In: Lozny, L.R. and McGovern, Th. (eds.) (2019):Global Perspectives on Long Term Community Resource Management. Cham: Springer.

Gmür, D. 2012. Between Hope and Powerlessness: Local People's Perceptions of Tanzania's Wildlife Conservation Policies in Villages bordering Ruaha National Park. M.Sc. Thesis at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Zurich. Self-publication.