LUCSUS seminars
Fall programme 2019
20th September; Wrangel 117 10:00-12:00
“Confronting the ecology of crisis; The interlinked roles of ecosystem-based adaptation and empowerment”
Stephen Woroniecki (PhD final seminar)
26th September; Wrangel 117 13:00-15:00
Re-connecting with nature through concepts? The construction of value in the ecosystem services paradigm
Sanna Stålhammar (final PhD seminar)
Discussant: Marie Stenseke, Göteborgs Universitet
3rd October; Maathai 10:15-11:15
Urban sanitation systems: challenges and opportunities in Dar es Salaam
Isabela Thomas and Amour Seleman, University of Dar es Salaam
Isabela Thomas and Amour Seleman, PhD candidates from the capacity building programme SUSTAIN, Sustainable Sanitation in Theory and Action, will present their research on Urban sanitation systems in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The seminar will comprises two presentations: 1.) Towards Sustainable Urban Sanitation-A case study on closing the sanitation loop from reusing faecal sludge derived char briquettes for cooking purposes in Dar es Salaam. 2.) Analysis of underlying factors for persistent unhygienic desludging in unplanned urban settlements in Dar es Salaam
10th October; Maathai 10:15-11:45
Inductive Risk Considerations in Detection and Attribution Studies
Lennart Olsson and Henrik Thorén
In recent years a debate has flared up within the detection and attribution community concerning the appropriate methodology for attributing climate change as a cause for extreme events. The conventional approach, that is based on the use of dynamic climate models and frequentist statistics, has been criticised by some that argue for an alternative, Beyesian approach, that downplays the importance of dynamical models. An important difference between the two approaches is how they balance different types of statistical error. In this paper we analyse this debate, and the differences between the two main approaches, in terms of what philosophers of science refer to as inductive risk and argue that methodological choices in this case should be informed by the wider social risks involved. This points towards adopting a Beyesian approach to detection and attribution.
17th October; Wrangel 117 10:15-12:00
Are negative emissions part of a sustainable transition?
Wim Carton
Negative emissions (or large-scale carbon dioxide removal) have become central to proposed scenarios to help address climate change. But are they a realistic and sustainable part of the solution? Wim Carton introduce us to the concept of negative emissions, its role and its limitations.
24th October; Wrangel 117 10:15-11:45
Smart Marine Spaces and Modalities of State Power
Max Ritts (and Mike Simpson) [University of British Columbia]
In many places around the globe, marine space is being rendered into ‘smart’ space: searchable and mappable space, capable of modeling and performing various eco-regulatory functions. Expressive of these trends, Ocean Networks Canada (ONC), a quasi-private initiative based out of Victoria, BC, is building “the smartest coast on the planet.” This globally recognized endeavour has been lauded and generously supported by the Canadian state, which casts "Smart Oceans" as a politically benign form of data collection consistent with its export-led resource development model. Drawing on policy reports, grey and white papers, trade journals, and critical geographical theory, I argue that "Smart Oceans" is instructive for discussions around the state's changing techno-economic functions, and their subordination to its generic function of maintaining societal cohesion. “Smart Marine Spaces” have the power to dramatically shift the discourse and practice of marine governance, including the ways environmentalist and Indigenous challenges are to be accommodated within techno-bureaucratic formations premised on the ideology of networks and the claims of data analytics. In their apparent multimodality, they support the trenchant liberal fantasies of the neo-colonial state, including openness, inclusion, and the representation of difference as various spatial use “functions.” But in assessing their prominence in the politically fractured context of development along Canada’s West Coast, we find a paradoxical situation where state power is extended via recognition of its growing failures in regulatory and policy coordination, and risk-mitigatory strategies are implemented on the basis of collective disavowals over the very real proximity to marine environmental disaster.
14th November; Wrangel 117 10:15-11:45
Racialised environmentalism – what’s old and what’s new?
David Harnesk, Mine Islar and Emily Boyd
21st November; Wrangel 117 10:15-11:45
Reflections on where sustainability is going
Carl Folke [Stockholm Resilience Centre] and Karen O’Brien [University of Oslo]
28th November; Wrangel 117 10:15-11:45
Advancing Resilience Practice: Bridging social-ecological resilience theory and sustainable development practice
My Sellberg [Stockholm Resilience Centre]
My Sellberg’s research investigates the application of resilience thinking in different real-world settings and research-practice interfaces, for example in the context of natural resource management, local government planning and food systems. The number of cases of resilience practice are growing, including resilience assessments, planning and action, but there are still few scientific studies and even less synthesis across cases. Her thesis describes existing cases of resilience practice in different parts of the world, e.g. in Australia, and experiments with new methods and approaches for improving resilience practice, based on co-production projects in Sweden, e.g. together with the Transition Movement. The results confirm that resilience practice can contribute to the understanding and adaptive governance of complex social-ecological systems, but is weak in addressing the need for transformations, particularly for the sake of global sustainability and the resilience of Earth systems. The results also highlight practical strategies for engaging with complexity and novel approaches to enhance the potential of local-regional resilience practice to align with global sustainability concerns. The thesis as a whole sheds light on the field of resilience practice, by outlining different approaches, contexts and purposes and contributes to building transdisciplinary networks and relationships in multiple arenas.
5th December; Wrangel 117 10:15-11:45
Landgrabbing in Cambodia
Emma Johansson
12th December; Wrangel 117 10:15-11:45
Storyline as a powerful way of linking physical with human aspects of climate change
Hannah Ruth Parker [University of Reading]
Please note that there might be changes to the programme. if you have any questions please contact George Neville, george [dot] neville [at] lucsus [dot] lu [dot] se.
No registration required.
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