„Soziale Innovationen“ – Perspektiven für ein postfossiles Zeitalter
Matthias Schmelzer im Interview im Deutschlandfunk Kultur
13.12.2023
Lilian Pungas war eingeladen, beim Bioökonomieforum 2023 am 5. Dezember 2023 im Themenblock „Jenseits von Verzicht und Verheißung? Zukünfte der Bioökonomie“ ihre flumen-Forschung vorzustellen: In ihrer Präsentation „Suffizienz-orientierte Beispiele der Bioökonomie – Lessons learned aus der Peripherie?“ thematisierte Suffizienz, Degrowth und sozial-ökologische Transformation im Verhältnis zu Bioökonomie, wobei sie sich auf bisher unsichtbar gebliebene Teilbereiche und Akteur*innen der gängigen Bioökonomiestrategien bezog. Mit ihrer Fallstudie veranschaulichte sie zugleich, dass suffizienz-orientierte Bioökonomie meist mit der Frage des Guten Lebens zusammenhängt. Zuletzt betonte sie auch, dass (öko-)feministische Debatten und Kritik in der jetzigen deutschen Bioökonomie nicht ausreichend (wenn überhaupt) mitberücksichtigt worden sind.
Ihre Präsentation kann auf der Webseite des Bioökonomieforums heruntergeladen werden.
Für das Sammelband „Handbook on Alternative Global Development“, das 2023 von Franklin Obeng-Odoom heraugegeben wurde, haben Dennis Eversberg, Jana Holz und Matthias Schmelzer ein Kapitel beigetragen. Das Handbuch stellt die vorherrschenden und gängigen Ansichten zur globalen Entwicklung in Frage, hinterfragt den gesamten Entwicklungsprozess, um ganzheitliche politische Ökonomien der Entwicklung, Unzufriedenheiten und Alternativen zu skizzieren.
„Bioeconomy“ is one of the buzzwords that come up time and again in debates on the future of modern societies in the face of climate disaster. The core vision of its proponents is that decarbonization of the economy can be achieved by replacing the linear throughput of fossil resources with ’circular’ flows of biological and renewable resources. The article argues that bioeconomy strategies in their dominant form, as promoted by governments, industry, and international organization, can best be characterized as a problematic or false solution that cannot ultimately address real problems of societal fossil-fuel dependency and its social-ecological repercussions. To substantiate this, the article discusses the origins and history of the bioeconomy debate and presents key insights of various strands of social scientific research on the bioeconomy and their respective contributions to a critical understanding of its implications and impacts.
Eversberg, Dennis / Holz, Jana / Schmelzer, Matthias (2023): Bioeconomy: a solution to the challenges of a post-fossil future? In: Obeng-Odoom, Franklin (Hg.), Handbook on Alternative Global Development, 334-351. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781839109959 .
Erstes Symposium zur soziologischen Waldforschung in Deutschland
Am 01. Dezember, 9:30-17:00 Uhr richtet flumen das erste soziologische Waldsymposium in Jena aus.
Uns haben viele spannende Einsendungen erreicht, die ein vielfältiges Programm aus Vorträgen, Pitches und einer Keynote versprechen. Auf dem Symposium kommen Soziolog:innen aus dem deutschsprachigen Raum zusammen, die zu interessanten Waldthemen arbeiten (oder ein Interesse am Wald mitbringen).
Wir möchten uns mit dem Symposium stärker vernetzen, austauschen und die soziologische Waldforschung in der Forschungslandschaft verankern. Momentan planen wir das Symposium als Auftaktveranstaltung für eine Netzwerkgründung zu Waldsoziologie zu nutzen. Uns schweben regelmäßige (Online-)Veranstaltungen und Austausch vor. Dieses möchten wir mit einem ersten Online-Treffen im Januar 2024 beginnen. Bei Interesse: jana.holz@uni-jena.de
Hier geht es zum Programm
Organisatorinnen:
Jana Holz (Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Institut für Soziologie, flumen),
Ronja Mikoleit (Stabsstelle Gesellschaftlicher Wandel der Forstlichen Versuchs- und Forschungsanstalt Baden-Württemberg, Freiburg),
Anna Saave (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Department für Agrarökonomie, BioMaterialities) und
Ronja Schröder (Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Institut für Sozialwissenschaften, AG Sozialtheorie)
Anmeldung:
Leider sind aus Kapazitätsgründen bereits keine Anmeldungen zur Veranstaltung mehr möglich.
Wissenschaftler der RTW Aachen organisieren zusammen mit der DGS-Sektion Umwelt- und Nachhaltigkeitssoziologie die Tagung der Transformationssoziologie.
Dennis Eversberg und Matthias Schmelzer halten in der Session „Impulse Nachhaltigkeit“ (ab 14:25 Uhr) am 30.11.2023 den Vortrag „Zwischen Bruch und Wandel, Übergang und Exodus: Aktivistische Vorstellungen von Transformation im Degrowth-Spektrum“.
Mehr zur Tagung hier.
Ein Special Issue zum Themenfeld nachhaltige Wohlfahrt und öko-soziale Politik befindet sich im Entstehen. Martin Fritz hat zusammen mit Jayeon Lee von der Göteborg Universität das Editorial verfasst.
We are increasingly witnessing the social and ecological crises of our time becoming entangled and amplifying each other. The current policy responses from national states and international governance bodies remain within the dominant framework of economic growth-centred strategies. In this editorial, we argue that a new paradigm of sustainable welfare is needed, which includes eco-social policies addressing social and ecological sustainability concerns in integrated ways. We first demonstrate how social and ecological problems are interconnected and why green growth approaches fail to tackle them. As an alternative, and as a pointer to a social security system that can help people navigate the dire straits of increasing eco-social risks, we present the foundations and principles of sustainable welfare, and discuss how this, according to Kuhn, can be understood as a new social policy paradigm. In the second part of this editorial, we introduce the papers brought together in this special issue. The cutting-edge research of the contributing authors includes theoretical and conceptual advances, empirical case studies from different European countries, and transnational studies. Each paper discusses the implications of its findings for European social security systems.
Martin Fritz / Jayeon Lee (2023): Introduction to the special issue: Tackling inequality and providing sustainable welfare through eco-social policies. European Journal of Social Security, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/13882627231213796
Wir laden ein zur nächsten Sitzung der Scientific Coffee „Human-Forest-Relationships“ – Sessions:
22 November 2023
13-15 CET / 14-16 EEST
Input: Mónica Hernández Morcillo (Senior Researcher on Forest, People and Innovation, Eberswalde University of Sustainable Development, Germany)
Title: „A Regenerative Approach to Forestry: Insights from the Indigenous Culture Kogi“
zoom-link: https://uni-jena-de.zoom.us/j/61027392103, Meeting-ID: 610 2739 2103, code: 513063
Abstract:
Today, as the multiple planetary crises converge irrupting our daily life and threatening our existence, we are increasingly becoming aware of our interdependence with nature. A core cause of the unprecedented degradation of the planet lies in our perceptions as separated from nature. As the changing environment emerges, we are faced with the urgent challenge of finding new ways of inhabiting and regenerating the planet. Yet, most of the current efforts are dedicated to researching and transforming the external world of policies, economies, or ecosystems, overlooking other important sources of knowledge. In this context, to reach new answers, an exchange between indigenous and scientific knowledge as well a transferences from global South to global North is urgently needed. The Kogi are one of the last civilisations on the American continent to have their cultural and spiritual identity at a quasi pre-Columbian level to this day. They hold a deep understanding of the interrelationships in nature that we, with our scientific methods are beginning to understand. This enables them to assess the effects of human interventions in nature and makes them an invaluable ally in the search for effective and motivating sustainable pathways for the future of forestry.
Biography:
Dr. Mónica Hernández Morcillo is a sustainability scientist counting with ample experience coordinating international environmental projects with a focus on biodiversity conservation, forestry innovations, and rural development. Before being appointed as Senior Researcher at the Department of Bioeconomics in the University for Sustainable Development Eberswalde, she worked at the Humboldt University and at the Brandenburg Academy of Science managing various EU-FP7 and Horizon 2020 research projects. Previously she worked as Project Officer at United Nations Environment Programme-World Conservation Monitoring Center, in Cambridge (UK) and Nairobi (Kenya). There she coordinated the UN high-level report to advance the biodiversity agenda with contributions of 25 UN Agencies and other International Organizations. Previous to this experience she led a restoration project in Pacaya Samiria, the largest protected area of the Peruvian Amazon to regenerate biodiversity and ecosystem functions while enhancing the well-being of 27 indigenous communities living in the buffer zone. She has been as well involved in the IPBES consultations for the Regional German Assessments of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. Currently, she is habilitating at Leuphana University developing a regenerative approach to forestry. To this aim, she closely works with indigenous communities from Colombia and México to exchange regenerative practices in forestry.
She holds two Master’s degrees in Forestry Engineering and International Development and a PhD from Copenhagen University on Knowledge Synthesis Methods for integrated assessments of socio-ecological systems. Her technical background provides her with excellent knowledge of sustainable forest management, participatory governance, and analysis of geospatial information. Her extensive hands-on experience handling international projects equips her with solid capabilities to manage complex organizational tasks and coordinate large partnerships while successfully achieving midterm milestones and final goals.“
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Let’s sit and talk in the scientific café! The “Scientific Coffee HFR” sessions give room for open and relaxed discussions on current research subjects related to human and society relations to forests. It warmly welcomes all interested in forest-related research to join online sessions.
Each session lasts approximately two hours. It starts with a 30-minutes presentation of a guest speaker. After the presentation, with coffee or tea and cookies at hand, participants have plenty of room for an open discussion and exchange.
The “Scientific Coffee HFR” takes place two to three times per semester on Wednesday afternoons.
Guest speakers wanted!
If you are interested in contributing to the “Scientific Coffee HFR”, please contact either judith.kiss(at)uni-jena.de or tuulikki.halla(at)uef.fi with info on your subject (title and short abstract) and a preferred Wednesday (13-15 CET / 14-16 EET).
The idea for a scientific coffee HFR came up during a cooperation between Finnish and German researchers in 2021. The Finnish research project Human-Forest Relationships in Societal Change and the German research group Mentalities im Flux (flumen) organized the workshop “Contested Society-Nature-Relations. Forest related Emotions, Practices & Conflicts in Times of Societal Change” in May 2021. The first “Scientific Coffee HFR” session was held in September 2021.
The “Scientific Coffee HFR” is organized by:
Im Rahmen der Online-Ringvorlesung „Migration, Klima und Nachhaltigkeit“ hält Philip Koch am 20. November 18:15-19 Uhr einen Vortrag zum Thema „Mentalities Matter. Sozial-ökologische Mentalitäten und ihre Bedeutung in Zeiten des Klimawandels“.
Der Zoom-Link zur Veranstaltung lautet: https://eu02web.zoom.us/j/68813640349
Meeting-ID: 688 1364 0349
Mehr zur Ringvorlesung hier
16. November 2023 | 18-19:30 Uhr | Seminarraum Zwätzengasse 4 in Jena
Ernest Aigner (Wirtschaftsuniverisät Wien), Mitherausgeber, stellt das Buch APCC Special Report „Strukturen für ein klimafreundliches Leben“ vor.
Im Anschluss diskutieren wir, was wir aus dem Buch lernen können: Wie kann ein klimafreundliches Leben in Jena gelingen? Was kann die Zivilgesellschaft tun? Welche Rolle spielt die Universität Jena dabei?
Über das Buch: „Zahlreiche wissenschaftliche Sachstandsberichte bestätigen schon lange den umfassenden Handlungsbedarf, um die Klimaziele zu erreichen. Dieser betrifft alle Lebensbereiche: von Arbeit und Pflege über Wohnen bis zu Mobilität, Ernährung und Freizeit. Doch wie verwirklicht man solch eine Transformation? Der Bericht unterstreicht, dass die Möglichkeiten, klimafreundlich zu leben, wesentlich durch Strukturen vorgegeben ist. Die vorherrschenden Appelle an das verantwortungsbewusste individuelle Verhalten Einzelner und Aufrufe zu nachhaltigem Konsum werden in ihren Wirkungen überschätzt. Entsprechend ist die Kernbotschaft des Berichts, die gemeinsame Gestaltung von Strukturen für ein klimafreundliches Leben ins Zentrum der Klimapolitik zu stellen.“
Die Veranstaltung ist Teil des flumen-Kolloquiums „Nachhaltigkeit und gesellschaftliche Transformation“. Das Programm ist hier abrufbar.
The political agenda of eco-social policy seeks to create synergies between social justice and ecological goals, such as mitigating climate change. While the concept already has a strong theoretical foundation, and many concrete policy instruments have been proposed, support for eco-social policy is still insufficient to mobilize political action. We assume that one cause of this lack of action are the diverging interests and ideologies of different classes. In this article we apply a class perspective and conduct an empirical study to explore class support for and opposition to eco-social policy. We use data from a representative survey in Germany and identify nine class fractions, based on Bourdieu’s concept of social space. We first compare the carbon footprints of the classes, to determine their varying degrees of responsibility for supporting political efforts to mitigate climate change. We then compare class support for eco-social policy, considering the dimensions of redistribution, regulation and rights. We find that the economic upper class – a fraction equating closely with the ruling class – and the old working class oppose eco-social policy the most. The cultural upper class are the strongest proponents of eco-social policy. The lower-class fractions showed considerable concern about the costs associated with eco-social policy. We conclude that a stronger focus on the social justice element when designing and advocating for eco-social policy could lead to greater support from the lower classes and help to build eco-social welfare states that offer protection in times of increasing social and ecological risks.
Fritz, M., & Eversberg, D. (2023). Support for eco-social policy from a class perspective: Responsibilities, redistribution, regulation and rights. European Journal of Social Security, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/13882627231208929
