Institute of Life, Earth and Environment

ILEE studies the mechanisms of Life on Earth and its interactions with the Environment.
Life is in constant evolution, particularly in a rapidly changing environment. At ILEE, we explore the evolution of organisms, human populations, natural and agro-ecosystems.

More than ever, environmental issues concern the globe and keep day-to-day politics busy. Societal challenges relate to these environmental changes and require a strong involvement of scientists. Objectives of ILEE include:

  • A better understanding of the fundamental processes regulating life on earth.
  • The characterization of anthropogenic pressures on the environment, including historical and socio-economic aspects
  • The search for sustainable alternatives to manage natural resources, to reduce pollution, to conserve and restore biodiversity
A strong asset of ILEE is the coalition of multiple disciplines offering completely new insights and interdisciplinary approaches on interactions of organisms, species and ecosystems being exposed to anthropogenic impacts. These range from natural sciences including biology, geology, chemistry and physics over social science disciplines such as geography to humanities with environmental history, history of art and archaeology, and law.

Photo credit: Frédéric Silvestre

Funding opportunities for ILEE affiliates:
ILEE Travel Grant ----- ILEE Project Grant

 Research profile of ILEE @

 ILEE is part of alternet, Europe’s ecosystem research network