13. November 2024, 6 Uhr MST (Nordamerika) / 14 Uhr MEZ (Deutschland) / 15 Uhr OEZ (Finnland) 

Titel: Exploring the Green Frontier: Patterns of Inequality in Europe’s Recent Forest Initiatives

Vortragende: Dr. Jodie Asselin (University of Lethbridge, Canada) und Dr. Agata Konczal (Wageningen University, Netherlands)

Inhalt: 

In recent decades, there has been a global consensus on the urgent need for coordinated efforts to combat forest loss and degradation, given forests‘ critical roles in climate change mitigation, biodiversity, and local economies. However, the development and implementation of forest policies are complex and politically charged, often addressing ‚wicked‘ problems with diverse actors and conflicting values. The proposed solutions—such as conservation, rewilding, certification, and forest expansion—introduce their own challenges. This paper introduces the concept of ‚green frontiers‘ as a lens to better understand patterns and consequences of this new forest dynamic in Europe. Applying critical perspectives typically used for frontier studies in the Global South to the Global North, this paper addresses a gap in literature on frontier-making in Europe while highlighting how environmental discourses are reshaping landscapes and communities, often reflecting historical patterns of dispossession and exploitation.