April 2024 Update

Dear POLLEN Members and Friends, 

We are pleased to share with you today the latest publications, vacancies, CfP, and much more from our vibrant community.

Before we get to it, a quick reminder that if your Node is keen to share its work, vacancy opportunities, or others in our upcoming newsletter, please write to us at politicalecologynetwork@gmail.com. Everyone in the POLLEN community contributes to making this newsletter informative and valuable, so don’t hesitate to get in touch and share your work with us.

Finally, just to note that if your POLLEN Node has not been introduced by us yet, please write to us at politicalecologynetwork@gmail.com.

Enjoy the reading !

With best regards from your POLLEN Secretariat  

Fabiola Espinoza, Torsten Krause, Mine Islar and Wim Carton  

IMPORTANT! To get the best view of this newsletter, please enable the media content at the top of the e-mail. 

Publications 

Journal articles 

1. Bliss, C., Visseren-Hamakers, I. J., & Liefferink, D. (2024). (Un)fair chase? Governing “conservation killing” in Africa and Europe. Earth System Governance, 19, 100201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esg.2024.100201
   
2. González-Duarte, C. & Méndez-Arreola, R., (2024) “”Living in the time of the butterfly:” Engaging more-than-human temporalities to rethink biodiversity conservation”, Journal of Political Ecology 31(1), 217–233. doi: https://doi.org/10.2458/jpe.5015 
   
3. Fraser, J. A., Cosiaux, A., Walters, G., Asiyanbi, A., Osei-Wusu Adjei, P., Addo-Fordjour, P., Fairhead, J., Kialo, P., Laurier Engone Obiang, N., & Oslisly, R. (2024). Defining the Anthropocene tropical forest: Moving beyond ‘disturbance’ and ‘landscape domestication’ with concepts from African worldviews. The Anthropocene Review, 20530196231226307. https://doi.org/10.1177/20530196231226307
   
4. Affonso, H., Fraser, J. A., Nepomuceno, Í., Torres, M., & Medeiros, M. (2024). Exploring food sovereignty among Amazonian peoples: Brazil’s national school feeding programme in Oriximiná, Pará state. The Journal of Peasant Studies, 0(0), 1–28. https://doi.org/10.1080/03066150.2024.2310149
   

Books  

1. Enns, C., & Bersaglio, B. 2024. Settler Ecologies: The Enduring Nature of Settler Colonialism in Kenya. University of Toronto Press. [open access] Link: https://utorontopress.com/9781487557409/settler-ecologies/ 

Events & Announcements 

1. On the run-up to #POLLEN24, JPE/Grassroots, Ecología Política and the Journal of the Geographical Association of Tanzania (JGAT) have published 3 commentaries on fair and plural political ecologies: (i) Profit, Power, and Planetary Justice: Opportunities for World-Ecology and Political Ecology by John Peter Antonacci; (ii) Back to the Future? Engaging with Participatory Research in Political Ecology by Jean-Philippe Venot; and (iii) Publishing in political ecology: rethinking unequal relationships and social justice by Simon Batterbury & Diego Silva. You can read the commentaries here: https://www.grassrootsjpe.org/view/resources.php
   
   
2. Sustainability Governance in the Anthropocene: A Symposium.
   The day-long event will feature talks by Dr. Jennifer Clapp, Canada Research Chair & Professor, School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability, University of Waterloo, Canada; Dr. Ratana Chuenpagdee, Professor, Department of Geography, Memorial University of Newfoundland; and Dr. Meredith Gore, Associate Professor, Department of Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland College Park.
   When: May 7^th, 8:30 am – 5:00 pm EDT (registration by May 1st)
   Where: Cook Student Center, Rutgers University-New Brunswick as well as online.
   More info and registration: https://rcei.rutgers.edu/event/sustainability-governance-in-the-anthropocene-a-symposium/
   
   
3. Webinar: Pathways Forum #13 – When Western meets Indigenous in Sustainability Science, from theory to practice.
   We will discuss with three different Indigenous researchers from very different communities what it means to ethically engage with Indigenous knowledge holders and how to navigate our responsibilities to develop reciprocal relationships with these communities in ways that do not perpetuate extractive, colonial frameworks. This will be an open and interactive Q+A discussion.
   When: April 29^th, 2024
   Where: Online.
   More info and registration: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/futureearth/1202497 
   
   
4. Interdisciplinary Summer School : Advancing Compassion: Exploring Animal Rights in Multispecies Societies
   This immersive summer school will include workshops on human-animal communication, artistic methods, as well as sessions on the philosophical, legal and social scientific foundations of animal rights. The week will culminate with a final creative presentation of your choosing.
   When: 1^st-5^th July, 2024
   Where: On site, Radboud University in the Netherlands
   More info and registration:https://www.ru.nl/en/education/education-for-professionals/overview/advancing-compassion-exploring-animal-rights-in-multispecies-societies-rss303
   
   
5. Summer school for early career Ph.D. students working on governance and sustainability
   Participants must be early-career scholars (PhD student or postdoc) focused on topics related to governance and sustainability, with a strong interest in interdisciplinary collaboration and the role of the social sciences in sustainability transformations. Scholars from all disciplines are welcome and encouraged to apply.
   When: 20^th-23^th August. May 15^th deadline for receiving applications.
   Where: Department of Human ecology at Rutgers University, New Brunswick
   More info and registration: https://rcei.rutgers.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2024-04-08-Summer-school-CSAGA-Rutgers.pdf and https://forms.gle/2XegHgkDj66HaVj46
   
   
6. Ph.D. course on Gender, Development and Environmental Governance (8,5 credits) with an interactive. workshop, Encounters in environments under stress: Rethinking methodologies and decolonising research practices.
   The course will: (i) introduce you to issues of gender and intersecting dimensions of power in environmental governance and development and their interconnections in multiple contexts and spaces, (ii) provide you with methods and tools for decolonial methodologies in an increasingly interconnected world and, (iii) allow you to focus on a project in course discussions that is directly related to your research and area of work.
   When: August 5^th – September 13^th, 2024 with actual class days from September 2^th– 6^th
   Where: Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
   More info and registration: https://www.swedev.dev/11835-2.
   
   
7. Workshop on ‘Decolonising Development Geographies’
   The Development Geographies Research Group of the RGS-IBG (DevGRG) are pleased to invite postgraduate researchers and academics of all career stages to this two-day workshop. The workshop objectives are to: (i) build a strategy for moving forward and create a vision for the discipline of development geography, centred on decolonising research and teaching within the UK Higher Education sector and beyond. This strategy can involve some practical guidance; (ii) bring together development geographies students and researchers interested in putting decolonial values and principles into practice.
   When: 17^th-18^th June, 2024. Deadline for receiving applications: April 30^th 2024.
   Where: Royal Geographic Society in South Kensington (London)
   More info and registration: https://docs.google.com/document/d/17aqRK1JfINgihwzxgnzlOacaYddItWhb/edit
   

Vacancies 

1. Two postdoctoral fellowship (4-5 years) and two post-doctoral fellowship (4 years) – Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA‑UAB)
   Brief description: The successful applicants will become part of the ERC-CoG project IMBRACE: Embracing Immigrant Knowledges for Just Climate Health Adaptation project team (which will include the Principal Investigator, 3 postdoctoral researchers, 2 PhD students, a Research Assistant, and a Communication Assistant), will be based at ICTA-UAB and work within the Barcelona Lab for Urban Environmental Justice and Sustainability group (BCNUEJ). Candidates are expected to live and work in the Barcelona area. For any questions of clarifications, people can write directly to: panagiota.kotsila@uab.cat
   More info: https://www.uab.cat/web/el-centre-icta-uab/treballa-amb-nosaltres-1345819913877.html
   Deadline: April 26^th and May 5^th 2024
   
   
2. Post-doc position: Political ecologies of unconventional water (4 years) – Cardiff University – School of Geography and Planning
   Brief description:  This post is associated with the ERC/UKRI GloNeW project (Global Development and the Contradictions of New Water) (project code 525773), which is led by Dr. Joe Williams. The purpose of the project is to examine how new and unconventional water resources – such as water desalination and wastewater reuse – are being used to address chronic and worsening water challenges in Africa. The focus is on understanding the social, political and environmental implications of the transition to unconventional water, which is  seen by many experts as one of the most important – and potentially game-changing – responses to water crisis.
   More info: https://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DGT851/research-associate-glonew
   Deadline: 29^th April 2024
   
   
3. Post doctoral researcher (3 years)– Institute of Development Studies (IDS), University of Sussex campus in Brighton, UK)
   Brief description: We are looking to recruit a postdoctoral researcher to work on a new research project funded by the UK National Environment Research Council (NERC), ‘Resilient and Equitable Nature-based Pathways in Southern African Rangelands’ (REPAiR).  The REPAiR project asks whether and how approaches to rangeland restoration based on so-called ‘Nature-based Solutions’ (NbS) can strengthen resilience amidst the unique environmental risks (including climate change-related), ecological dynamics and development challenges faced by livestock farmers in communally governed rangeland systems in Southern Africa. The postdoctoral researcher will be affiliated with The Resource Politics and Environmental Change Research Cluster (RPEC) at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), an independent research institute located on the University of Sussex campus in Brighton, UK. The successful candidate will work under the leadership of the Principal Investigator, Dr. Amber Huff and co-investigator, Dr. Lars Otto Naess. 
   More info: https://jobs.ids.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx?ref=08-2024
   Deadline: April 30^th, 2024
   
   
4. PhD Position- Contested Lanscapes
   We are looking for a candidate who will combine historical and ethnographic research methods, focussing on a remote, rural landscape that has long been sites of industrial-capitalist exploitation and violence – but also (everyday) resistance. We are looking for a candidate who brings their own research idea and interests to this project which will also be situated in a comparative dialogue with the daily supervisors’ own long-term field research in the African Great Lakes Region (Dr. Esther Marijnen) and the Large Ocean States of the Pacific (Dr. Stephanie Hobbis). We advise potential candidates to look at the daily supervisors’ research profiles, and see how their own research proposal would link to their research interest.This team is embedded in the chair group of Sociology of Development and Change led by Prof. Bram Büscher, and the Section Space, Place and Society. Your daily supervisors will be Dr Esther Marijnen and Dr Stephanie Hobbis.
   More info: https://www.wur.nl/en/vacancy/phd-position-contested-landscapes.htm
   Deadline: May 13^th, 2024
   
   
5. Postdoctoral research in political ecology and environmental justice – Department of Political and Social Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona, Spain)
   The postdoctoral researcher will lead the compilation of knowledge about the digitalization of grassroots transformative alternatives from scattered databases, through interviews to experts and a scenario workshop. Research methods will involve both qualitative and quantitative approaches, including systematic literature reviews, in-depth interviews, use of a relational database, topic modelling, and scenario development. This is a 3 years contract, extendable to 5 years, with a 6-month probationary period.The project is based in John Hopkins University-Universitat Pompeu Fabra Public Policy Center, at the Department of Political and Social Sciences at Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona, Spain).For any other questions or clarification requests feel free to write directly to beatriz.rodriguez@upf.edu.
   More info: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AUFePPV-bSIveb6wB9YpsVQA6Sy5PLT5/view . Applications: https://www.upf.edu/web/politiques/ofertes-de-treball/-/asset_publisher/QmbKzLOEeWvN/content/upcoming-%7C-postdoctoral-researcher-position-in-political-ecology-ref.-cpis-inv-indf-2024-02-/maximized
   Deadline: May 31^th 2024
   
   
6. Postdoctoral researcher in databases and geographic information system – Department of Political and Social Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona, Spain)
   The postdoctoral researcher will lead the development of a relational database of ‘digital elements in transformative initiatives’ connected to spatial data, and conduct spatial analyses of digital access and presence of grassroots transformative initiatives at the international level. Research tools will involve PostgreSQL, including the PostGIS extension, and Geographic Information Systems (using QGIS or ArcGIS). This is a 3 years contract, with a 6-month probationary period. The project is based in John Hopkins University-Universitat Pompeu Fabra Public Policy Center, at the Department of Political and Social Sciences at Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona, Spain).For any other questions or clarification requests feel free to write directly to beatriz.rodriguez@upf.edu.
   More info: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WIoz0wqEjaUIDF5BuTeZRAlkfhJsk5Pb/view . Applications: https://apply.interfolio.com/144826
   Deadline: May 31^th 2024
   

Calls 

1. Call for chapter in the edited book “The Political Ecology of Forest in West Africa”
   More info:The edited book seeks to document the politics, struggles, and conflicts that are (re)defining the political ecologies of forests across the West African region. We invite contributions from early career and established scholars across the social sciences and activists who take a critical approach to analyzing forest socio-ecologies in the West African region. Contributions can focus on any country or part of the loosely defined region of West Africa. We particularly encourage submissions from contributors based in Africa, and we would like to see submissions from Anglophone and Francophone West Africa. The book will be edited by Adeniyi Asiyanbi (University of British Columbia Okanagan), Melis Ece (University of Sussex) and James Fairhead (University of Sussex). We seek contributions that grapple with questions of power and/or social justice along the following indicative themes but are not necessarily limited to them: (i) Forest governance at, and across, various scales; (ii) Subjectivities, identity, resistance and social movements; (iii) Forest ontologies and epistemologies from African perspectives; (iv) Knowledge, expertise, scientific forestry, indigenous knowledge, (v)  Control, rights, access and livelihoods, (vi) Multi-species and more-than-human perspectives on forests, (vii)Histories, memory, colonialism, postcolonialism, race and (de)coloniality, (viii) Conflict ecologies, law enforcement, and militarization of forest. To indicate interest, please submit i) an extended abstract in the form of a chapter proposal of 500-1,000 words, inclusive of references ii) biography for each author (100-200 words), iii) primary affiliation of each author and contact details. Please send the proposal and or questions and enquiries to Adeniyi Asiyanbi (a.asiyanbi@ubc.ca), Melis Ece (me329@sussex.ac.uk) or James Fairhead (j.r.fairhead@sussex.ac.uk)
   Deadlines: For abstract submission: 31^st May, 2024. Authors whose abstracts are accepted will be informed by June 28th, 2024. There will be a workshop for all confirmed contributors and editors in August 2024. Full draft chapters of 7,000 words are due by 31 October 2024. Resubmission of finalized chapters after peer review by 30 April, 2025. We expect publication to be by fall of 2025. 
   
   
2. Call for papers and expressions of interest: Exploring the Nuclear-Climate Nexus /Planetary Technologies in the Context of Increasing International Instability (School of Politics and International Studies, University of Leeds, 1-2 July 2024).
   More info: This two-day event comprises two interlinked workshops: (i) 1st July, Planetary Technologies in the Context of Increasing International Instability. A closing event for a UKRI-funded project on the role and influence of the nuclear analogy in emerging solar geoengineering politics and governance debates, (ii) 2nd July, Exploring the Nuclear-Climate Nexus, a workshop co-organised and co-funded by the POLIS Centre for Global Security Challenges and Climate Politics Research Group. Participants may attend one or both days. If you are interested in participating either as a presenter or attendee, please send a 150-word abstract or expressions of interest and a 50-word bio to Climate.politics@leeds.ac.uk. Please indicate which events you are interested in attending and to which workshop(s) your abstract(s) apply. Lunch and refreshments will be provided for each day, and there is funding available to reimburse travel expenses (prioritizing ECRs, PGRs, and staff on precarious contracts). Please indicate if you would like to be considered for travel funding in your email. Read more about the workshop programes and other details here: https://css.leeds.ac.uk/events/call-for-papers-exploring-the-nuclear-climate-nexus-planetary-technologies-in-the-context-of-increasing-international-instability/
   Deadline: May 1st, 2024.
   
   
3. (español abajo) Call for paper “Just and Plural Political Ecologies: Traditions and Futures”
   More info: Over the last 30 years, the field of Political Ecology has grown rapidly as a result of emerging socio-ecological challenges, actions by social movements, conceptual and methodological innovation, and the diversification of voices, especially from the Global South. Three journals in political ecology – The Journal of Political Ecology/Grassroots, Ecología Política, and the Journal of the Geographical Association of Tanzania (JGAT) – invite contributions to an open conversation about “Just and Plural Political Ecologies: Traditions and Futures.” We envision this as an ongoing discussion leading up to, including, and following the June 10-12, 2024 meeting of the Political Ecology Network (POLLEN). Please submit 1000-word reflections and essays to any one of the editors of the three participating journals by May 1, 2024. These statements will be published on the webpage of JPE-Grassroots with the intention that they will stimulate discussions among conference participants at POLLEN 2024. For more information, click here to see the full Call for Papers
   Deadline: May 1, 2024
   
   Convocatoria de ponencias: “Ecologías políticas justas y plurales: tradiciones y futuros”
   En los últimos 30 años, el campo de la Ecología Política ha crecido rápidamente como resultado de los desafíos socioecológicos emergentes, las acciones de los movimientos sociales, la innovación conceptual y metodológica, y la diversificación de voces, especialmente del Sur Global. Tres revistas de ecología política  – The Journal of Political Ecology/Grassroots, Ecología Política y Journal of the Geographical Association of Tanzania (JGAT) – invitan a contribuir a una conversación abierta sobre “Ecologías políticas justas y plurales: tradiciones y futuros”. Concebimos esto como una discusión continua antes de la reunión del 10 al 12 de junio de 2024 de la Red de Ecología Política (POLLEN, por sus siglas en inglés). Envíe  reflexiones y ensayos de 1000 palabras a cualquiera de los editores de las tres revistas participantes antes del 1 de mayo de 2024. Estas declaraciones se publicarán en la  página web  de JPE-Grassroots con la intención de que estimulen las presentaciones de los participantes de la conferencia en  POLLEN 2024.  Para obtener más información, haga clic aquí para ver la convocatoria completa.
   Fecha limite: 1 de Mayo, 2024

Other news items 

1. New network on critical urban theories and political ecology: Urban Theory Workshop. UTW is a platform committed to engaging with issues in the fields of critical urban theories and political ecology. It aims at provoking questions and actively interacting with the broad and multifaceted realities of what today constitutes the urban by relating knowledge that can resonate across cultural and geographical divides. i) it works as an archive-in-the-making that hosts articles, reflection pieces and any sort of media contributions from and for post-graduate and PhD students by universities worldwide ii) it provides a platform to expand the connections with peers and discuss research interests with other researchers through the virtual sessions we organize (which we call ‘Roundtables’). Note: the site’s webpage is still under construction, the logo and the platform’s interface will change but the basic information about the platform is available there.
   
   
2. Project report series. Project: PEREP – Political Economy of Resource Extraction in Ethiopia’s Peripheries, by Rift Valley Institute. Read the project synthesis “Prosperity to the Periphery? The Politics of Resource Extraction in Ethiopia” here, and project case studies: (i) Asebe Regassa and Damena Abebe (2023) Gold Glitters, Grievances Grow: Contestation and uncertainty around MIDROC and GODU Gold Mines in Guji, Oromia, Rift Valley Institute,https://riftvalley.net/publication/gold-glitters-grievances-grow-contestation-and-uncertainty-around-midroc-and-godu-gold-mines-in-guji-oromia/; (ii) Dereje Feyissa and Abubeker Yasin (2023), Afar’s Salty Politics: Monopolization and marginalization in Afdera’s Salt Business. Rift Valley Institute, https://riftvalley.net/publication/afars-salty-politics-monopolization-and-marginalization-afderas-salt-business/; (iii) Juweria Ali (2023) Squeezing the Ogaden Basin: Power and protracted oil and gas exploration in the Somali Region. Rift Valley Institute, https://riftvalley.net/publication/squeezing-ogaden-basin-power-and-protracted-oil-and-gas-exploration-somali-region/.
   
   
3. We welcome three new POLLEN NODES: (i) Aishwarya Sanas, PhD candidate at the Department of International Relations and Governance Studies, Shiv Nadar University, Delhi NCR- India; (ii) Cristina Miranda Beas, Professor at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, and (iii) Nalani Hennayake, Professor from the Department of Geography at the University of Peradneiya, Sri Lanka. Remember that you can locate the contact details of the new nodes and their members on the POLLEN Blog Website under the “NODES” section.