Hanna Wetterstrand works at SwedBio as a facilitator and responsible for the Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries, Governance and Livelihoods theme.

Wetterstrand leads the collaboration with a number of the Small-Scale Fisheries (SSF) theme partner organisations based in developing countries. She supports their organisational development and works to connect of their local initiatives to the global level. This is done through strategic analysis of relevant global policy spaces, such as the FAO Committee on Fisheries and the Committee of World Food Security, and by ensuring their meaningful participation. Her work focuses on strengthening recognition of the crucial role of SSF local and traditional knowledge in biodiversity conservation, sustainable livelihoods and food security. At its core is the respect, protection and fulfilment of SSF human rights.

Wetterstrand contributes as a professional facilitator in Time To Think, for instance during multi-actor dialogues organised by SwedBio and in the biannual global SSF Summit. The approach aims to maximize the collective intelligence of a group during dialogues. This work contributes to important international policy and practice processes, often with a focus on developing countries and marginalized people. She has also facilitated various researcher meetings, such as the closing seminar of the Swedish Research Council and Formas research program grant: “Sustainability and Resilience - Tackling consequences of climate and environmental changes”. The aim of this seminar was to highlight shared experiences from 13 research projects on what it means to do Fair, equitable and productive international collaborative research.

Wetterstrand also teaches several courses led by Stockholm Resilience Centre, at both bachelor’s and master’s level. She organises workshops on meeting facilitation and group work and gives students tools to help think effectively and independently about sustainability challenges.

Previous to her role in SwedBio and as a teacher at Stockholm Resilience Centre, Wetterstrand worked as a strategic advisor to the Centre’s director, Professor Johan Rockström. In that role, she played an active role in the negotiations of the Sustainable Development Goals, with specific emphasis on the Planetary Boundaries and Social-Ecological Systems. She contributed to the work of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, headed by Jeffrey Sachs, and joined efforts around sustainable agriculture.
Before joining the Centre, she gained seven years of experience working with development issues, poverty eradication, climate change adaptation, sustainable agriculture and rural development at We Effect and Vi-Skogen. While she was based in Stockholm, she also spent extensive periods working in East Africa, and shorter periods in Zimbabwe, Malawi, Paraguay and Honduras. Wetterstrand was a member of the national board of Swedish Society for Nature conservation for six years.

Wetterstrand has also done research at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, together with Cecilia Håkansson and Lina Isaacs, on deliberative valuation of ecosystem services and the facilitation of such processes.

Wetterstrand is an agronomist with a master’s degree in Environmental Economics from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, including an exchange year at University of Guelph, Canada. During her master's studies, she completed her thesis, A multidimensional impact study on indigenous women in rural Guatemala. She later worked with sustainable development in education as a course coordinator and amanuens at the Centre for Environment and Development Studies at Uppsala University.

Outside work, Wetterstrand is a dedicated Creative Dance teacher educated at the University College of Music Education in Stockholm (SMI) and at the Stockholm University of Arts.

Awards and achievements

• Professional facilitator and coach in Time to Think
• Developing Leadership course certificate (UL course)
• Participated in the yearly program in Nonviolent Communication (NVC) with Friare Liv, focusing on integration of NVC as a living practice, and exploring conflict mediation and embodiment.
• Certificate in Facilitation for Participation of Non-Elites
• Facilitator of the SwedBio Multi-Actor Dialogue in Medellín Colombia 2013 on ‘Integrating Social-Ecological Resilience into the New Development Agenda’
• Co-organiser and facilitator of the biannual Small Scale Fisheries Summit in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN and International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty (IPC)
• Development of We effect and Vi Agroforestry’s strategy on Environment and Climate Change
  
• Teacher of Creative Dance