Content:

1. Editorial

• Editorial by Pataki György

2. News from ESEE and its members

• ESEE Job opening – Web and social media manager
• Ecological economics training institutes – call for funding applications
• Environmental Policy and Governance, Special Issue from the ESEE 2017 Conference
• Upcoming ESEE elections and call for nominations
• Environmental Policy and Governance table of contents for current issue (July/August 2017, vol. 27/04)

3. Hot topic

• Juha Hiedanpää: Fish farming and the bioeconomy

4. Events, jobs and publications

• Call for papers: Special Issue of ‘Resource Conservation and Recycling’
• Call for streams and papers: 20th Anniversary Conference of the Association for Heterodox Economics at De Montfort University, UK, July 05^th to 07^th, 2018
• Call for submissions: 4th Science and Energy Seminar at Ecole de Physique des Houches, March 4^th to 9^th 2018
• Call for proposals: Living Knowledge Conference at the Corvinus Business School, Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary, May 30^th to June 01^st 2018
• Job Opportunity: Postdoctoral Researcher in environmental economics at Hasselt University, Belgium
• Job Opportunity: Biodiversity Economics Professor at Leipzig University, Germany
• PhD positions in political ecology and ecological economics at the Erasmus University Rotterdam and Universidad San Francisco de Quito
• Conservation Science PhD and Research Masters positions at University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA
• Bursaries for early career researchers to attend third Valuing Nature Business Impact School (BIS3) in Edinburgh, UK, November 29^th to December 02^nd, 2017

1. Editorial

By Pataki György

The 12^th international conference of the European Society for Ecological Economics (ESEE 2017) was hosted by the Corvinus Business School, Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary. As ecological economics entertains an identity of post-normal, trans-disciplinary, and policy oriented inquiry, the Local Organising Committee (LOC) and the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) of ESEE 2017, together with the ESEE Board, called for contributions that reflect upon the impacts and achievements of ecological economists over the last 20 years. The topic of the pre-conference summer school also mirrored a commitment to linking research with impact. In addition, reaching out to researchers of other scientific societies and fields of inquiry, such as environmental anthropologists and sociologists, political scientists as well as conservation biologists and ecologists, was a clear aim of ESEE 2017.

Nearly 400 participants shared their ideas in 81 sessions (conference proceedings available here). The nine plenary speakers, most of whom had never attended our conferences before, brought new perspectives and fresh insights on conducting research in ecological economics (watch them here). The 33 participants at the pre-conference summer school enjoyed one and a half days of intensive reflection on the potential policy and social impacts of their own research projects, supported by five tutors (a short film on the summer school can be seen here). The short theatrical performances that summer school participants presented at the opening ceremony demonstrated how arts can be used to communicate significant scientific messages, and received a very warm applause from the conference attendees.

Beyond the usual social programmes, conference participants could explore the hidden corners of the university building through six stations represented by six characters of a theatrical adventure game, developed by the ‘Tünet Együttes’ (‘The Symptoms’) specifically for ESEE 2017, on the topic of overpopulation. A guided tour of the 9^th district of Budapest where the university is located offered another cultural programme through an interactive series of urban installations communicating anecdotes and stories of local oral and written memories (‘This Place is Cool!’). Thanks to ESEE 2017, two new urban installations were established at two buildings of the Corvinus University of Budapest. A post-conference event was also attended by many participants on the topic of ‘city in transition’. This event consisted of a guided tour of creative and innovative initiatives relating to urban sustainability transformation, with food and wine tasting.

The feedback and evaluation survey administered by the LOC showed that food and coffee were enjoyed by conference participants to a great extent. The small-scale sustainability-conscious caterers carefully selected by the LOC cooperated with each other to be able to provide organic, local, fair-trade, high nutrition, mainly vegetarian food – embodying the idea of a sustainable food feast. Other sustainability initiatives were also well received by participants, including no paper (although having the conference programme on a mobile app divided participants), no plastic policy, and other waste reduction measures. A green wall of ivy was built in one of the inner courtyards. It seems that ESEE 2017 also had some positive spill-over effects. For example, the management of Corvinus University of Budapest decided to install green walls in all inner courtyards. Also, the professional conference organizing company learnt that sustainable caterers provide their high-quality services at similar prices as those who take no care for sustainability; they have indicated they will change their business practice by selecting sustainable caterers when organizing future conferences. Conference participants appreciated efforts to make ESEE 2017 ‘environmentally and socially embedded, in line with the messages of the ESEE community’, matching the content and the format. Regarding session formats, there was significant feedback from participants that more interactive, dialogue-based formats would be appreciated.

Students constituted a significant proportion of participants (one third). More than half of the participants were not members of ESEE. Based on the feedback and evaluation survey, very few practitioners attended ESEE 2017, with academic researchers and students constituting the majority of participants. If the former group is considered an important constituency of the ecological economics community, some special steps must be developed and taken so as to engage them more directly.

Most of the LOC members of ESEE 2017 experienced how to organize an international conference of this size for the first time – a fine learning experience. The ESEE 2017 LOC appreciates all the support received from previous ESEE conference organisers, the ESEE Board, the Corvinus Business School’s financial and in-kind support and the contribution by our co-organising partner, the Centre for Ecological Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Greatest appreciation naturally goes to conference participants who made ESEE 2017 an intellectually exciting and challenging event with a very friendly atmosphere. We hope to see many of you at ESEE 2019 in Turku, Finland.

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2. News from ESEE and its members

ESEE Job opening: Web and social media manager

ESEE is looking for a part-time webmaster to take over managing the ESEE website. This position would be particularly suitable for a PhD student or postdoctoral researcher. The job holder would support the ESEE Board and country contacts network in regularly posting news and updates on the ESEE website and social media, working in a virtual team with the ESEE publicity and publications committee and the ESEE newsletter editor. The job holder will be paid an honorarium of €1500 per annum on a self-employed basis, paid in two instalments in arrears. The main tasks involve:

• Updating news postings, job adverts and static pages as received from board members and country contacts (± 2-4 posts per month);
• Proof-reading and editing posts to an appropriate length;
• Administering website users;
• Co-managing ESEE social media accounts (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook) with designated board and country contact members;
• Sourcing appropriate images to support web and social media posts;
• Advertising website news items on social media and the ESEE student email list;
• Responding to social media posts where appropriate;
• Limited technical maintenance of the website (Wordpress);
• Contributing to further development and redesign of the website.

  We expect an appropriate candidate to be:

• an ESEE member, or be willing to become a member;
• familiar with Wordpress;
• an active and experienced social media user;
• willing to respond rapidly to requests (responding to social media replies, shares and quotes within 24h, web posts normally within 3 days, very occasionally more quickly if urgent; all excepting periods of leave);
• fluent in written English.

  Ideally, the candidate would also:

• have a background in web or graphics design and/or communication;
• have a background in ecological economics or associated discipline.

To apply, please send a CV (max. two pages) and cover letter (max. one page) outlining how you meet the characteristics above, to Dr Jasper Kenter, Chair of the ESEE Publicity and Publications Committee, eseeboard@gmail.com, by October 15, 2017. Please include your Twitter handle.
 

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Ecological economics training institutes – call for funding applications

The ESEE board is pleased to open a call for a series of transdisciplinary and collaborative training institutes on ecological economics aimed at early career researchers, practitioners and decision-makers in Europe. Events can be focused on any of the diverse range of topics associated with ecological economics, but will share a common participatory approach and structure. Local organisers can (annually) bid for up to 2000 euros for events that meet a number of criteria, as detailed below. Applications for 2018 must be made by December 01^st, 2017.

Event Criteria

• Highly collaborative and participatory; not just a series of lectures and presentations.
• Transdisciplinary: including participants beyond academia, e.g. decision-makers, practitioners, community representatives, etc.
• Students are heavily involved in organising the event.
• Zero or low cost for participation, with some kind of bursary opportunities for those in a low-income situation.
• A record is kept by the organisers of participant feedback on the event and this is made available to the ESEE.
• Environmental awareness: a plan to minimise (and potentially compensate) the carbon footprint and other environmental costs.
• The organisers should be ESEE members.

Further Guidelines and Suggestions

In addition to the mandatory criteria, the ESEE suggests the following guidelines for the events. These guidelines will also be used to decide between competing applications if more than one application is made for sponsorship in an annual round.

• Duration: 2 days for pre-conference events, 3-5 days for other events.
• Number of participants: 20-30 participants; a relatively small group of students helps to build group cohesiveness and identity.
• A mix of students and post-docs with at least a third post-docs.
• Provision of opportunities for publication of outputs.
• Provision of opportunities for ECTL credits associated with courses.
• Remote locations preferred to maximise engagement.
• Family friendly with childcare options available.

As the decision on competing proposals is taken by the ESEE Board, active ESEE Board members are excluded from submitting applications for the competition. However, they are still free to submit applications, but these will only be considered in the case of no other eligible application(s) being available from applicants outside the ESEE Board for the upcoming year.

Procedure for Applications

Candidates can apply to the ESEE annually for up to 2000 euros towards the cost of an event to be held within the following two years, provided it meets the criteria, but they are responsible for raising the remainder of the funding. Applications must include a short rationale for the event, including a description of the event format (max 2 pages), a budget, an indication of what budget costs the ESEE funds will be spent on, and an overview of other (potential) funding sources.

Applications for 2018 must be made by December 01^st, 2017. Please send the application to: esee.training@gmail.com.
 

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Environmental Policy and Governance, Special Issue from the ESEE 2017 Conference

Dear ESEE 2017 conference participants,

As announced in the ESEE Summer 2017 newsletter and in June at the ESEE conference in Budapest, the journal of ‘Environmental Policy and Governance’ will produce a Special Issue with a selection of original research papers that were presented at the ESEE 2017 conference ‘Ecological Economics in Action: Building a Reflective and Inclusive Community’. In line with the conference theme, the Special Issue will aim at reflecting upon the multiple impacts of ecological economics research and experiences of collaborating with different disciplines and integrating diverse knowledge systems.

Very soon a call for papers will be travelling to all conference participants, inviting them to submit their full papers for this special conference issue!

In brief, manuscripts should include an abstract of max. 250 words and be no longer than 8,000 words in length. While standard EPG rules will apply in the submission process, a first screening phase will establish how well individual submissions fit the conference themes and to assess their potential to pass the journal’s review process. Screened and suitable papers will then be invited to a full peer-review process according to the standards of the journal.

Please see EPG author guidelines at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1756-9338.

The deadline for submissions is November 15^th, 2017.

Best wishes,

György Pataki, Irene Ring and Tom Bauler (Special Issue coordinators)
 

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Upcoming ESEE elections and call for nominations

Dear ESEE Members,

It is time for elections again! ESEE will be holding two separate but parallel elections, one for ordinary Board Members and one for Student Representatives, in November 2017.

This year, the terms of office of seven ESEE Board Members and of our Student Representative are ending after 3 years. Since according to the ESEE Constitution, the ESEE Board can consist of up to two Student Representatives, in this year’s elections, we aim to fill the positions of seven Board Members and of two Student Representatives.

Our election committee is chaired by the ESEE President Irene Ring, with further members Joan Martinez-Alier from Spain, Eva Cudlinova from Czech Republic and our Student Representative Ellen Stenslie from Norway.

The society is seeking nominations later this year from members with an interest in playing an active role in the ESEE Board. Being elected to the Board provides an opportunity to work in a well-motivated team and influence the direction of the Society and Ecological Economics in Europe.

How to become a nominee?

To become a nominee the person has to be an active (paying) member of ESEE and supported by five ESEE members eligible to vote. All nominations for elections shall be made in writing to the secretariat, using the email-address: esee.elections@gmail.com and must be received by Monday, October 30^th, 2017.

• Nomination shall include the names of the supporters. Supporters are asked to express their support directly to the secretariat (esee.elections@gmail.com) up by the same deadline.
• A photo, brief CV and 5 lines on the motivation for working in the Board shall be provided to be put on the ESEE and ISEE websites for the election period.
• Nominees for student representatives have to prove their continuing student status.

How to vote?

Information on the candidates and the voting procedure will be given on the ESEE (http://www.euroecolecon.org/) and ISEE (http://www.isecoeco.org/) websites. However, as only active (paying) ESEE members are entitled to stand for elections and vote for the ESEE Board, we encourage you to renew your membership as soon as possible. This membership renewal reminder goes to our student members as well. Only active student members will be able to stand and vote for the post(s) dedicated to representing students.

If you have any questions regarding nominations and/or elections do not hesitate to contact us.

Best wishes,

Begum Ozkaynak, ESEE Secretary
 

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Environmental Policy and Governance table of contents for current issue (July/August 2017, vol. 27/04)

Research Articles

Building Practical Authority for Community Forestry in and through Networks: The role of community-based organisations in the U.S. West (pages 285–297), Jesse Abrams, Emily Jane Davis, Cassandra Moseley and Branda Nowell

The Global Norm of Large Marine Protected Areas: Explaining variable adoption and implementation (pages 298–310), Justin Alger and Peter Dauvergne

Monitoring for Adaptive Management or Modernity: Lessons from recent initiatives for holistic environmental management (pages 311–324), Kerry A. Waylen and Kirsty L. Blackstock

Local Climate Governance in the Global South: The case of eThekwini Municipality and the Responsible Accommodation Campaign (pages 325–335), Marita Lervik and Catherine Sutherland

The Roles of Residents in Climate Adaptation: A systematic review in the case of the Netherlands (pages 336–350), Dries L.T. Hegger, Heleen L.P. Mees, Peter P.J. Driessen and Hens A.C. Runhaar

The Role of Finance Ministries in Environmental Policy Making: The case of European Union Emissions Trading System reform in Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands (pages 351–364), Jakob Skovgaard

Governance in Shaky Societies: Experiences and lessons from Christchurch after the earthquakes (pages 365–377), Melanie M. Bakema, Constanza Parra, Philip McCann, Paul Dalziel and Caroline Saunders

Municipal Responses to Ecological Fiscal Transfers in Brazil: A microeconometric panel data approach (pages 378–393), Nils Droste, Guilherme Rodrigues Lima, Peter Herman May and Irene Ring

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  3. Hot topic

Fish farming and the bioeconomy

By Juha Hiedanpää, Natural Resource Institute Finland (Luke)

Finnish fish farming operates in a controversial business environment. Earlier environmental harms still affect the industries reputation, and the current environmental regulation makes it hard to initiate or scale up production. Yet consumers, following environmentally sound dietary recommendations, would like to have more domestic fish on their plate. The current supply of domestic farmed fish does not meet the demand for it.

Recent conceptual innovations may help to reconcile this gap between domestic supply and demand. The circular economy and the bioeconomy are popular concepts that may have significant potential in this regard. In a circular economy, the production of goods, services and value becomes a continuum where waste, side-streams and emerging positive and negative potential (risks) are transformed back into production, i.e. the life-cycles of several materials and processes are embedded. The circular economy utilises its own waste products and feeds itself.

In Finland, several recent institutional innovations are encouraging fish farming towards a circular economy model. With the use of Baltic Sea Feed, the environmental load of fish farming is compensated by producing feed from lower value fish harvested from the Baltic. Also, with the Spatial Location Plan, fish farming facilities are located in areas where the environmental condition of the water is most suitable and the technical-economic preconditions are met. These innovations mean that the level of production can increase while the environmental load decreases. The environment, fishers, fish farmers and the domestic fish market benefit.

The bioeconomy is a parallel concept to the circular economy. Renewable natural resources are used to produce food, energy, and other products and services. The bioeconomy decouples the dependence of the economy from fossil fuels and other non-renewable resources. This helps to prevent the decrease of biological diversity and promotes economic growth in sync with the principles of sustainable development. In the bioeconomy, natural resources are not wasted either, they are used responsibly and are effectively recycled.
However, the circular economy and the bioeconomy do have their differences. The circular economy uses engineering science to measure flows of materials and energy, and seeks to identify technological, social and institutional bottlenecks, as well as barriers and path-dependencies that must be overcome. The bioeconomy on the other hand is a wider concept. If one wants to characterise the bioeconomy with a flow-metaphor, it is a river that flows upstream. The growth of the bioeconomy builds on dissipative structures, i.e. actual and potential arrangements that sustain and develop themselves according to the invested energy and work. The bioeconomy is always an open system, far from equilibrium, which is not necessarily true of the circular economy.

In the bioeconomy, new arrangements are always co-created between different actors. For example, pre-negotiations between a (start-up) fish farmer and environmental permit administrator about the requirements of environmental assessment is a step towards the co-created bioeconomy. Entrepreneurial activities and the permit administration both benefit from such reflexive practices in business governance. Recently developed local co-operation groups are another example where good governance, fish farming activities and the environmental quality control may meet. It is hoped that these groups can co-create long-term solutions to mitigate the effects of aquaculture on the Great Cormorant populations in coastal areas in Finland.

Quite obviously, market-based solutions do not necessarily support the bioeconomy. For example, in the fisheries sector, vessel-specific fishing rights provide an opportunity for negotiation between fishing enterprises, but the can also affect small-scale artisanal fishing and harmfully impact fishing culture and social cohesion. However, the use of Baltic Sea Feed in fish farming may have positive synergies and benefit coastal cultures. Perhaps it is best to consider the bioeconomy as a multidimensional material and immaterial growth process, aiming to produce plural economies, protect nature and ensure benefits and costs are equitably shared. 

Long-term bioeconomic solutions require upstream, bottom-up activism, that produces innovative structural and functional architectures for individual, social and collective action. As we have witnessed in Finland, the recent developments in fish farming are built on a combination of business, environmental, social and policy entrepreneurial creativity. The government is not an outsider to these developments. It has taken an active role in supporting the testing of novel arrangements in order to find those that work best. The blue bioeconomy and its governance are now poised to co-evolve towards a sustainable future.

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Call for papers: Special Issue of ‘Resource Conservation and Recycling’

A call for papers in now open for a special issue of ‘Resource Conservation and Recycling’ on resource management and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Deadline: October 31^st, 2017
Contact: Dr Anthony Chiu, anthony.chiu@dlsu.edu.ph
Further information.
 

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Call for streams and papers: 20th Anniversary Conference of the Association for Heterodox Economics at De Montfort University, UK, July 05^th to 07^th, 2018

Submissions are encouraged for streams and papers on the history of economics; finance, banking and financialisation; austerity, inequality and diversity; sustainable economics and climate change; methodology; teaching and learning; heterodox microeconomics; and other standpoints which critically examine the mainstream, such as critical management studies.

Deadline: February 01^st, 2018
Further information.
 

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Call for submissions: 4th Science and Energy Seminar at Ecole de Physique des Houches, March 04^th to 09^th 2018

Submissions are requested for oral presentations and posters for the next Science & Energy Seminar which will take place at the Centre for Theoretical Physics of Les Houches. Contributions are welcome on any scientific topic related to the subject of the conference. However, the following themes will be favoured; Macroeconomic models and energy, energy and networks, physics-economy interface/ econophysics for energy, and spatial scaling of actions to manage the energy-climate challenge. Registration to attend the workshop is now open. 

Deadline: November 15^th, 2017
Contact: Hervé Bercegol, herve.bercegol@cea.fr
Further information.
 

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Call for proposals: Living Knowledge Conference at the Corvinus Business School, Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary, May 30^th to June 01^st 2018

Proposals are requested for contributions to the 2018 edition of the Living Knowledge Conference, ‘Enriching Science and Community Engagement’. Conference organisers are inviting academics, practitioners, activists, social innovators, research funders, science educators and communicators, citizen scientists, policy-makers, non-governmental organisations, artists, interested community groups and citizens to share their views and experiences of innovative activities at the science-society interface.

Deadline: January 05^th, 2018
Further information.
 

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Job Opportunity: Postdoctoral Researcher in environmental economics at Hasselt University, Belgium

The Centre for Environmental Sciences at Hasselt University is seeking a Postdoctoral researcher to join their environmental economics research group. Important objectives of the successful applicant are the realization of publications in internationally recognized academic journals, and a teaching assignment situated in the Faculty of Business Economics (including courses in general, environmental or transport economics).

Deadline: October 31^st, 2017
Contact: Dr Robert Malina, robert.malina@uhasselt.be
Further information.
 

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Job Opportunity: Biodiversity Economics Professor at Leipzig University, Germany

The Faculty of Economics and Management Science of Leipzig University is seeking a W3-Professorship in ‘Biodiversity Economics.’ Candidates should have a strong track record in economic theory and quantitative methods with a visible profile in biodiversity economics, addressing both compositional and functional aspects of biodiversity.

Deadline: October 15^th, 2017
Contact: Cathérine Krobitzsch, dekanat@wifa.uni-leipzig.de
Further information.
 

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PhD positions in political ecology and ecological economics at the Erasmus University Rotterdam and Universidad San Francisco de Quito

The International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) of Erasmus University Rotterdam and Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ) seek to fill several fully-funded PhD positions to join an exciting and dynamic multidisciplinary group conducting research on the political ecology and ecological economics of deforestation in the Amazon in Brazil, Ecuador and Peru.

Deadline: October 30^th, 2017
Contact: ISSeyesonamazon@gmail.com
Further information.
 

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Conservation Science PhD and Research Masters positions at University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA

The Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is forming a new research unit focused on Conservation Science. They are seeking applications from outstanding prospective graduate students in this topic, who wish to pursue a PhD or research-based Masters.

Deadline: January 01^st, 2018
Contact: Stacie Armsworth, a.armsworth@utk.edu
Further information.
 

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Bursaries for early career researchers to attend third Valuing Nature Business Impact School (BIS3) in Edinburgh, UK, November 29^th to December 02^nd, 2017

The Valuing Nature Programme, UK, will run the BIS3 to provide early career researchers with an opportunity to gain insight into producing research with business impact. NERC has provided funding to offer fully-funded places (school, travel, accommodation, meals, field trip) for around 25 early stage researchers for BIS3.

Deadline: October 09^th, 2017
Contact: info@valuing-nature.net
Further information.

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