Raghid Shehayeb successfully defends his Doctoral Dissertation (Magna Cum Laude)

On 16 March 2026, DLGS fellow Raghid Shehayeb successfully defended his doctoral dissertation, “Indicator-based Drought and Heat Risk Assessment Framework for Ecosystem Services of Urban Green Infrastructure,” achieving a score of magna cum laude.

The dissertation was supervised by Prof. Dr. Jochen Schanze. Dr.-Ing. habil. Regine Ortlepp served as second supervisor. Dr. Juliane Mathey and Dr. Stefanie Rößler acted as Shehayeb’s mentors at IOER. The dissertation committee consisted of Prof. Dr. Peter Krebs (Dresden University of Technology) as chair, Prof. Dr. Jochen Schanze as first reviewer, Prof. Dr. Kerstin Stahl (University of Freiburg) as second reviewer, and Prof. Dr. Kaveh Madani (United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security, Canada) as third reviewer.

Shehayeb presented a comprehensive, indicator-based framework to understand cascading multi-risks for UGI, from their biophysical components to ecosystem services. The framework was tested in an urban park in Plauen, Germany, with active stakeholder involvement from urban planners as well as climate, water, and biodiversity experts to validate the risk system, select appropriate indicators, and define evaluation criteria with specific thresholds. The dissertation offers opportunities for researchers and practitioners to safeguard existing UGI and plan resilient new UGI through risk-informed decision-making. It contributes to broader sustainability and conservation efforts, including SDG 11, SDG 13, and biodiversity protection targets, as well as decision-making support for environmental planning and management.

Shehayeb will continue his work at the Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development (IOER) as scientific coordinator of the Leibniz Research Network “Earth & Societies” and pursue his research interests in water resources and societies, climate change, and sustainability.