The conference will take place in St. Petersburg, April 18-19, 2009
Address: Ligovsky 87, office 301, Centre for Independent Social Research (CISR)
Organizers: Centre for Independent Social Research, Russia; University of Umeo, Sweden; University of Joensuu, Finland

The aim of the conference is to discuss both globalization and localization of natural resource governance from different perspectives. Special attention will be given to the changing role of the State in global and local environmental politics. The conference brings together social scientists with interests in environment, sustainability and governance. Both theoretical and empirical research findings are welcome!

There will be four major themes at the conference.

Theme #1. Translating Global Governance Designs from Global Spaces to Local Places

The aim of this theme is to understand how global designs, regulatory products and discourses are translated into concrete practices in concrete places. We are interested to discuss how global formal and informal regulatory products are created in the nodes of design (conventions, offices of international NGO and multi-national corporations) and how they are translated by different actors into practices applicable to local contexts. The nodes of governance design are informed by the issues and characteristics of particular places all around the globe, however, the regulatory product has to be dissociated (through abstraction and standardization) from any particular places in order to be applicable in all places. Forums of negotiation take place prior the regulatory product reaches the sites of implementation.

All papers that are focusing on how the global interacts and intersect with the local are welcome!

Theme # 2 Transnationalization of governance of natural resources

The aim of this theme is to explore how new multi-scalar forms of forest governance are formed within broad international networks and how the new forms of governance regulation are implemented in natural resource management. The theme seeks to answer the question: how is natural resource governance designed, negotiated and implemented within constantly changing multi-scalar and multi-sited networks?
Theoretically, the theme will draw from different kind of governance theories.

Theme # 3 Personal and impersonal trust in management of natural resources.

Creating and maintaining trust is crucially important in any of long-term business relations, but especially important in surroundings where unofficial institutions play an important role as in Russia. Trust in the conference theme focuses on governance of business relations along the supply chain but extends also to exploring how fostering social responsibility related to environmental and social issues affect business relations. Certification systems are taken as the main example of impersonal trust to the product label that final consumers are using when purchasing the final product. Personal and impersonal trust in business relations will be discussed.

Theme # 4 Resilience, Adaptive Capacity and Institutional Change

The theme invites papers related to a broad basis of work that focuses on resilience and adaptive capacities of different institutions to adopt and respond to change. The theme brings together social science researchers that deal with institutional dimensions of adaptation.

During the conference there will be a presentation of new book: The Changing Governance of Renewable Natural Resources in Northwest Russia, edited by Soili Nysten-Haarala, published by Ashgate.

Working language English

Deadline for abstracts (350 words) April 1st.

Conference fee $250, for students $100 (to be paid at the registration desk)

Please send inquiries and abstracts along with your contact information to CISR researcher Antonina Kulyasova ivan-kulyasov@yandex.ru

Contact information:

Name, position, affiliation, e-mail, phone