Within the Scientific Coffee “Human-Forest-Relationships” we present:

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.”

***

Scientific Coffee “Human-Forest-Relationships”

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:

• Human-Forest Relationship Research Club of the Finnish Society of Forest Science
• The research group “Mentalities in Flux” (flumen) Research Project

First Symposium on Sociological Forest Research in Germany

On December 01, 9:30-17:00 flumen is hosting the first sociological forest symposium in Jena.

We have received many exciting submissions that promise a diverse programme of talks, pitches and a keynote. The symposium will bring together sociologists from German-speaking countries who work on interesting forest topics (or who have an interest in forests).

We would like to use the symposium to strengthen networking and exchange and to anchor sociological forest research in the research landscape. Currently, we plan to use the symposium as a kick-off event to build up a network on forest sociology. We envision regular (online) events and exchange. We would like to start this with a first online meeting in January 2024. If interested: jana.holz@uni-jena.de

Click here for the programme

Organisers:

Jana Holz (Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Institute of Sociology, flumen),

Ronja Mikoleit (Social Change Unit of the Forest Research Institute Baden-Württemberg, Freiburg),

Anna Saave (Humboldt University Berlin, Department of Agricultural Economics, BioMaterialities)

Ronja Schröder (Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, Institute for Social Sciences, AG Social Theory)

Registration:
Unfortunately, due to capacity reasons, registrations for the event are already closed.

How do climate change beliefs and religiosity relate to each other? This question is addressed in the article.

Martin Fritz & Yasemin El-Menouar (2023): Religiosity and climate change beliefs in Europe, in: Alice Barth / Felix Leßke / Rebekka Atakan / Manuela Schmidt / Yvonne Scheit (Hg.), Multivariate scaling methods and the reconstruction of social spaces. Papers in honor of Jörg Blasius, 83-105. Opladen, Berlin, Toronto: Verlag Barbara Budrich. https://shop.budrich.de/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/9783847418566.pdf (open access)

Abstract

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

In the flumen project we aim to make the group’s research results accessible to a broader public beyond the specialist academic audience. Hence, we pursue transfer activities via various channels and an active involvement into the societal and public debate on the bioeconomic transformation. In addition to presenting the group’s results to the public, we give the actors of the transformation a chance to reflect on our research process and results. This feedback is taken into consideration for further publications and activities. The transfer, knowledge gain, and experience, thus, go both ways. The transfer activities in the qualitative module focus on the regions of the case studies of the project. In May 2023, Jana Holz traveled to Finland – within the framework of her case study on forestry and forest management in Central Finland – with the aim to present preliminary results of her research and to discuss these with local actors, various stakeholders, and scientists from different disciplines.

In the Central Finnish municipality of Äänekoski, which has been the focus area of the qualitative case study in the past three years, Jana Holz organized a public workshop on the future of forests and designed a lesson for high school students. In addition to these two core transfer events, a two-day workshop at the University of Jyväskylä and the moderation of an event during the Sustainability Science Days (SSD) in Helsinki offered the opportunity for an intensive exchange with scientists and practitioners.

This report (1) briefly presents the transfer activities and cooperation partners. In the main part (2), findings of the transfer activities and reflection on their success as well as resulting open questions are presented. Finally, the report ends with a take-away summary for science transfer activities (3) and for decision-makers (4).

Full Report

We warmly invite you to join our 10^th “Scientific Coffee HFR” session if you are interested in the research about Human Forest Relationships or are even active in the field yourself.

If you want to join, please contact: judith.kiss@uni-jena.de and a Zoom link will be sent to you shortly before the session.

What is it about?

10th English “Scientific Coffee Human-Forest-Relationships”

04. October 2023
13-15 CET / 14-16 EEST

Input: Anna Ott (Finnish Environment Institute SYKE)

Title: Sámi reindeer herders’ fight for preserving and renewing – An analysis of the conflict over forest in the Sámi homeland

Abstract: 

Old-grown forests in the Sámi homeland are key reindeer pasture areas (Ott, 2019), but Sámi are not the only ones laying claims to these forests. Sámi have therefore found themselves repeatedly and since early 2000s increasingly in conflict over forests (Raitio, 2008; Saarikoski and Raitio, 2013). This presentation summarizes research that explored the newest conflict developments involving Sámi reindeer herders, state-owned enterprise Metsähallitus, and Inari common forest. Data gathered during fieldwork in Aanaar (Inari) and Helsinki, including interviews, news articles, and fieldnotes on exhibitions at Siida Museum and dance performance ‘Matriarkaatti, was analyzed to establish what is at stake for different conflicting parties and how Forest Steward Council (FSC) certification scheme impacts on the conflict. Two narratives were found that perform different conflict realities but highlight similarly that questions regarding land ownership and land use lie at the core of the conflict. Applying a political ontology lens (e.g., Blaser, 2009; de la Cadena, 2010) and drawing on literature discussing alternatives to development (e.g., Kothari et al. 2019), the two narratives were analyzed to show how the conflict over forests is a conflict of clashing ontologies and perceptions of development. The narrative constructed by Sámi reindeer herders is grounded in a relational ontology that highlights the radical interdependence of all entities that make up the world, and it proposes an alternative way of governing, using, and engaging with nature. Sámi have thus been found to challenge the modern ontology and the hierarchical dualisms that underlie the second narrative and that legitimize the continued exploitation of nature and continued existence of colonial power relations. While the FSC certification scheme favors scientific knowledge over other ways of knowing, Sámi have claimed it to their benefit and have applied it as a worldmaking tool. FSC certification scheme was thus found to reveal the pluriverse.

Biography:

Anna Ott has been working as a researcher at the Finnish Environment Institute for 3,5 years. Her research focuses on how to address existing injustices and prevent new injustices from arising when transitioning towards more sustainable societies. She is further a doctoral candidate at the University of Lapland and enrolled in the doctoral program “Arctic in a Changing World”. Her doctoral thesis has the preliminary title “Ontological multiplicity in the Sámi homeland and alternative approaches to environmental crisis” and it explores how in the Sámi homeland, different ontologies are performed into being and with what consequences. It aims to promote onto-epistemological justice to Sámi and to highlight the transformative potential of Sámi ways of knowing, doing, and being. More info on her academic work: https://www.syke.fi/en-US/Experts/Anna_Ott(64689)

***

Scientific Coffee Human-Forest-Relationships

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-minute presentation by 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@uni-jena.de or tuulikki.halla@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:

• Human-Forest Relationship Research Club of the Finnish Society of Forest Science
• The research group “Mentalities in Flux” (flumen) Research Project

Presentation of the “BioMentalitäten” survey by the BMBF junior research group flumen followed by a panel discussion.

On 21 September 2023 at 6-7:30 p.m. in the Rosensäle (R 101), Fürstengraben 27, Jena

Many people are concerned about nature and our future on this planet. At the same time, most people shy away from the idea of a comprehensive change in lifestyle, which scientists now consider inevitable in order to be able to mitigate the climate and biodiversity crisis and to cope with its consequences. Moreover, not only in politics, but also among the population, groups with opposing ideas and approaches seem to be increasingly irreconcilable. This is evident in recent times in an increasing number of contended issues: Climate protests, energy transition, renaturation of agricultural land, speed limit, phasing out the internal combustion engine. These issues are not only about what social changes are necessary, but also about different ideas of freedom and prosperity, different expectations of justice, social and political participation, in short: the diverse ideas of a good life and the question of whether this is threatened by the measures under discussion. The different perception and evaluation of ecological issues and the positioning in these conflicts is closely related to how people are integrated in society, what they have to gain or lose, but also to the extent to which they feel seen, heard and effective in politics and the public sphere.

Answers to what the conflict about a future worth living is really about and whether it could divide society are provided by the “BioMentalities” survey of the BMBF junior research group “Mentalities in Flux (flumen)” at the Institute of Sociology at Friedrich Schiller University Jena, which will be presented and discussed at a public event in the Kleine Rosensäle (Fürstengraben 27) on 21 September 2023. First, the most important results of the survey will be presented, for which 4,000 people in Germany were interviewed in 2021 and 2022 about their socio-ecological attitudes and habits. The focus is on a “map” of socio-ecological mentalities, which shows how different parts of the population feel about concepts of a comprehensive transformation towards post-fossil production and lifestyles, how this relates to their respective position in society, and which lines of conflict can be identified from this.

Afterwards, Malene Gürgen (taz) will moderate a discussion between Dr. Dennis Eversberg (flumen), Prof. Dr. Daniela Gottschlich (Hochschule für Gesellschaftsgestaltung), Teresa Gärtner (ver.di Jena) and Robert Pauli (Klimaentscheid Jena) about pro-ecological and anti-ecological mentalities, social milieus and the social-ecological transformation conflict in society as a whole as well as on the ground in Jena and Thuringia.

The event will be in German.

Two student employees of flumen have been accepted into the Honours Programme for research-oriented students at Friedrich Schiller University Jena. This is an initial one-year grant to enable particularly committed students to gain in-depth insights into research processes during their studies, to give them a share in the scientific community and to prepare them for a scientific career. Funding is provided for Linda von Faber with Dr. Martin Fritz as supervisor and the topic “Bioenergy Villages: Paving the Way to a Postfossil Future?”, in which survey data from flumen will be analysed, as well as Moritz Harzbecher with Dr. Matthias Schmelzer and Dr. Jörg Oberthür as mentors and the project “Protest against urban sprawl: A socio-ecological transformation conflict?”, in which interviews are conducted with members of a protest alliance against urban sprawl and analysed against the background of the research perspective developed in flumen.

Further information on the funding programme is available here: https://www.uni-jena.de/honours-programm