NEWSLETTER

Dear ESEE Member,

We are pleased to send you the monthly edition of the new electronic ESEE newsletter.
Supported by the Austrian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management the Sustainable Europe Research Institute SERI is able to maintain the website of the European Society for Ecological Economics (ESEE) and publishes this newsletter.

The newsletter is distributed only to members of the European Society for Ecological Economics. To join ESEE or renew your membership please visit www.euroecolecon.org.

If you want to publish interesting news, or information about events, job openings and new publications on the website or in the newsletter, feel free to send an email to esee@seri.at. We are also open for suggestions to improve our communication channels.


Content:

1. News from ESEE and its members

  • Clive Spash is moving to CSIRO
  • July edition of ISEE Newsletter
  • Call for nominations to stand for election to the ESEE Administrative Board
  • A Briefing of the 3rd Liphe4 Summer School
  • Future ESEE conferences

2. Other news

  • www.materialflows.net: the online portal for material flow data
  • The Chinese Journal ”Ecological Economy"

3. Hot topic

  • A massive heat wave is hitting Europe

4. Events

  • ESEE 2007: Integrating Natural and Social Sciences for Sustainability
  • Call for Paper for a Session on Karl William Kapp (1910-1976)
  • PhD Student and Early Stage Researcher Workshop at ESEE 2007
  • ISEE 2006: Ninth Biennual Conference of International Society for Ecological Economics on "Ecological Sustainability and Human Well-Being"
  • Symposium on Advances in Macro Economic Green Accounting
  • Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP): Opportunities and Challenges
  • 4th Permit trading in different applications, Call for Papers
  • Sustainable Development 2007 - Third International Conference on Sustainable Development and Planning

5. Job openings

  • Job Announcement International Emissions Trading Assoiciation (IETA) - Manager of Operations

6. Publications

  • Special Issue Announcement “Perspectives on Environmental Values: The Princeton Workshop.” Environmental Values Vol.15 No.3 (2006)
  • Vital Signs 2006-2007

1. News from ESEE and its members:


Clive Spash is moving to CSIRO

Clive is moving to Australia in August to take-up the post of Science Leader within the Sustainable Ecosystems Division of CSIRO. CSIRO is Australia's national science agency and one of the largest and most diverse scientific institutions in the world with 57 sites, throughout Australia and overseas, employing over 6,500 staff. He was approached by CSIRO as a leading scientists recognised by his peers as making a difference in the field of ecological economics. The initiative under which the post falls was started last year and is directed towards high-performing mid-career scientists. It is officially described as follows: “The CEO’s Science Leader Scheme aims to attract up to 25 of the best young scientists from across the globe over the next five years and to provide them with resources and freedom of research direction to allow them to deliver outstanding scientific impacts. It is envisaged that they will generate a science based cultural change amongst their peers.” The post has associated operating funding to facilitate the development of a world class research team. Clive’s funding will enable the establishment of a small personal team including two Post Doctoral Fellows and two PhD Studentships. Clive will soon be advertising these posts internationally. Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Sustainable Ecosystems Division, GPO Box 284, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia.


July edition of ISEE Newsletter

The July 2006 edition of the ISEE Newsletter is now available to download. Once again, it is a very informative publication. Please go the ISEE home page at: www.ecoeco.org and follow the links, or click on the link below: www.ecoeco.org/Documents/Newsletter%20Jul06.doc


Call for nominations to stand for election to the ESEE Administrative Board

The terms of many members of the ESEE board are about to end. We therefore propose to hold elections for 10 posts to the ESEE Administrative Board. Elections take place in two phases. First, this announcement is a call for nominations. Second, a vote of fully paid members registered with the ISEE as ESEE 2006 members will be conducted by mail ballot to decide amongst the nominated individuals.

Administrative board members are elected for a 3 year term and can expect to be involved in: attending annual board meetings, work on two of the four standing committees (conference & meetings, publications & publicity, education, and fund raising & membership), producing their own initiatives, supplying items for the ESEE Newsletter. Election to the Board offers an opportunity to become involved in the running and future direction of the ESEE.

Those standing for the Board have to be fully paid members and require the agreed support of 5 fully paid current members of the ESEE. Nominees should also provide a half page statement of their background and intended contribution to the Board and Society.

Nominations should be sent to ESEE secretariat by email (w.kenyon@macaulay.ac.uk), or to the postal address Macaulay Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen, AB15 8QH, UK by 15th September 2006, and should include:

  • A list of 5 fully paid ESEE members who agree to support the candidates nomination
  • A short statement of intent and background (12pt, single spaced, in English)

These details will be supplied (including possible website posting) as part of the election process to ESEE members.

Warm regards, Wendy Kenyon (ESEE Secretary)


A Briefing of the 3rd Liphe4 Summer School on Integrated and Participatory Analyses of Sustainability

The 3rd Liphe4 Summer School on Integrated and Participatory Analyses of Sustainability was held at CEMACAM Torre Guil in Murcia, Spain, July 16th-22nd (www.liphe4.org/school.html). The school, an activity endorsed by ESEE, had the participation of two

ESEE Board members Mario Giampietro and Jesus Ramos-Martin, along with Begüm Özkaynak, Clemens Grünbühel, Heinz Schandl and Richard Aspinall. The school was successful in gathering an excellent group of 20 participants from around the world (from Peru, to the US, Puerto Rico, Latvia, The Netherlands, Germany, Serbia, Czech Republic, Russia, Austria, Italy, Greece) in this one-week residential school to deal with issues such as:
(i) Integrated Assessment for sustainability - epistemological and conceptual issues
(ii) Resource use patterns in both industrialized and developing countries
(iii) Tool and methods for organizing scientific information for decision making
(iv) Resources, time, and land - operationalizing the analysis of biophysical constraints
(v) Geographical Information Systems applied to the Integrated Analysis of Sustainability
(vi) Participatory approaches and Multicriteria Evaluation Methods.

Next year, the association Liphe4 plans to conduct two summer schools: one Regional for South East Asia around April 2007, and one International in Murcia, Spain in July 2007. For more information log on to www.liphe4.org


Future ESEE conferences
If you are interested in hosting one of the next ESEE conferences (2009 or 2011), please contact Sigrid Stagl, s.stagl@sussex.ac.uk, ph. ++44-1273-872784.

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2. Other news:


www.materialflows.net: the online portal for material flow data

www.materialflows.net is an online portal for material flow data, providing links and access to material flow data sets on the national level. The website is maintained by the Sustainable Europe Research Institute (SERI), and s
upported by the Austrian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management.
In the past 20 years, several methods were developed which allow quantifying the use of natural resources by human societies. Material flow accounting and analysis (MFA) is one of the key methods and internationally recognised as an important tool for evaluating environmental and sustainability policies.

www.materialflows.net provides

  • background information on the method of material flow accounting and the policy relevance of material flows and resource use,
  • illustrations of world-wide trends of natural resource use,
  • links to download various MFA data sets on the national and international level.

These MFA data sets include:

MOSUS MFA Data: A set of material input data and related indicators for all countries of the world in a time series from 1980 to 2002, established in the EU-funded project „MOSUS“ (Modelling opportunities and limits for restructuring Europe towards sustainability; see www.mosus.net). The MOSUS data set can directly be downloaded from www.materialflows.net.

EUROSTAT MFA Data: Links to sets of material flow data and related indicators for the EU-15 and new EU member countries published by the Statistical Office of the European Union.

Other MFA Data: Links to sets of material flow data and related indicators from other national sources (e.g. national statistical agencies).


The Chinese Journal ”Ecological Economy"

"Ecological Economy" (Chinese Edition), started from 1985, is the first ecological economics journal all over the world. Improved on the basis of Ecological Economy (Chinese Edition), the new Ecological Economy published in English, now is only one year old.

The journal can be subscribed through China International Book Trading Corporation. For technical information about subscription please contact:
Ms. TANG Xiaobin
Euro-American Section
Distribution Center for Chinese Newspapers and Periodicals
China International Book Trading Corporation
35, Chegongzhuang Xilu,P.O. Box 399, Beijing 100044, China
Tel: 0086-10-68433113
Fax: 0086-10-68420340
E-mail: BK1@MAIL.CIBTC.COM.CN
Web: http://chinaserials.cnokay.com


Here you have the possibility to download the 2nd edition of Ecological Economy in 2006. The contents of recent editions can be red here:

  • Ecological Economy 2006/1
  • Ecological Economy 2005/4
  • Ecological Economy 2005/3
  • Ecological Economy 2005/2
  • Ecological Economy 2005/1

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3. Hot topics:


A massive heat wave is hitting Europe

In mid July someone would expect warm and sunny days, however, whole Europe is currently suffering from too warm and sunny days… This heat wave is one of the hot topics in the people’s smalltalks and in the media:

  • Bregenz/Austria: More days with more than 30 degrees in a row since 1983
  • Warsaw/Poland: This July is the hottest for 227 years
  • France: Heat alarm in more than half of the French regions. More than 40 people died already due to the heat. The country fears that the sad record of 15,000 dead in 2003 will be repeated.
  • Switzerland: Strong devastation due to a heavy thunderstorm in Wallis
  • Not only in Europe: In California more than 50 dead due to the heat wave.

This heat wave causes a lot of negative consequences. It leads to drought and water shortage, which is a problem mainly for the agriculture and tourism. Strong harvest losses are expected all over Europe, about 20% in Poland for instance. This would lead to high food prices or even a shortage of grain, fruits and vegetables. Thousands of tourists are escaping from the island Pag in Croatia, because there is a shortage of drinking water. Even the Iguacu-waterfals in Brasil carry only one fifth of the usual water volume. Another threat to tourism is the invasion of jellyfishes and insects due to the higher temperature of the sea. In Liguria, Sicily, Tuscany and Sardinia hundred thousands of jellyfishes were washed to the beaches.

The heat wave currently hitting Europe is causing a rise in demand for electricity to power air conditioning systems at an unusual period for electricity producers who often perform maintenance work during the empty summer months. Poland has already reduced its electricity exports because of a higher demand in the country of 10%. On the one hand the demand for electricity is strongly increasing during this hot period. On the other hand nuclear power plants have to be shut down, because the rivers delivering cold water for cooling the system, are getting too warm. The Garoña plant in the Spanish province of Burgos had to be shut down due to rising temperature in the Ebro river, which fuels its refrigeration system. In France, plants were authorised to discharge cooling waters at above normal temperature as an exceptional measure. France relies on nuclear energy for nearly 80% of its electricity consumption.

The life quality of humans is strongly influenced by the high temperatures. The concentration capacity is reduced, as is the efficiency in work. The health is put under high pressure. The ambulances have a high season right now, because of sunstrokes, circulation collapses, or more severe illnesses, sometimes even leading to death. These leads to negative impacts which are qualitative (reduction of well-being, activity) and quantitative (enormous costs in the sectors agriculture, tourism, health).

Are these massive heatwaves hitting Europe, Asia and the United States, particularly California, caused by and/or an indicator of global warming? The answer is not unanimously, as are the opinions of scientists and politicians. They all face the difficulty of separating normal temperature swings from longer trends. In the effort to understand climate, certainty comes only with experience and data of centuries. While no single weather event can be conclusively linked to climate change, clearly it plays an important part in current global record temperatures. What human caused global warming does is increase the likelihood, duration and severity of not only heatwaves but also hurricanes, droughts, flooding and other extreme weather events. But many studies conclude that heat waves tend to get hotter as the planet warms. To deny what is happening now globally in terms of extreme weather events is delusional, deadly wishfulness. 

Links:

  • www.climateark.org
  • www.planetark.org

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4. Events:

ESEE 2007: Integrating Natural and Social Sciences for Sustainability
5-8 June 2007, UFZ - Centre for Environmental Research in Leipzig, Germany

The European Society for Ecological Economics (ESEE), in co-operation with the German associations for ecological economics VÖÖ and VÖW, invite you to meet in Leipzig for the 7th international conference.
The conference will explore contemporary scientific approaches for putting the concept of Sustainable Development into research and into practice, and it will focus on bridging natural and social sciences. It will address sustainability topics such as loss of biodiversity, human vulnerability to global change and water problems on all geographical and institutional levels. The conference aims to contribute to a better understanding of societal and natural processes and their interaction by integrating scientific methodologies to overcome the shortcomings of disciplinary and multi-disciplinary approaches. Impediments to inter- and transdisciplinary research will be examined and new research concepts for sustainability identified.

Note that the registration for ESEE 2007 is open now! Come and join us when we talk about "Integrating Natural and Social Sciences for Sustainability" in Leipzig, Germany, from 5-8th June 2007. Keynote speakers include Elinor Ostrom, Malte Faber, Dick Norgaard, Inge Roepke, Clive Spash, and Carl Folke. The first deadline for submitting symposia is 20 September, the deadline for submitting abstracts and papers is 20 November. Have a look at www.esee-leipzig2007.org and think about your contribution!

Visit the conference website.


CALL FOR PAPER FOR A SESSION on Karl William Kapp (1910-1976)
to be submitted to ESEE 2007 conference (Leipzig 5-8 June 2007, www.esee-leipzig2007.org)

The works and ideas of the German institutional economist K.W. Kapp (1910-1976) are still very topical. His contributions on economic development and environmental policy are strongly interlinked and show the need of such integration for any reasonable strategy for sustainable development. His approach already contained most of what today is described as Ecological Economics, including the refusal of reductionism and of commensurability along with its many implications. This session, by presenting original research on Kapp's works, aims at increasing awareness of this great economist among ecological economists and at stimulating direct reading of his writings. ANYONE INTERESTED IN is kindly asked to contact Tommaso Luzzati (tluzzati@ec.unipi.it) as soon as possible. The deadline for submitting a 2pages abstract is 25 August 2006.


PhD Student and Early Stage Researcher Workshop at ESEE 2007
3-5 June 2007, Leipzig

Ahead of the seventh ESEE conference in Leipzig Germany, a special two and a half day workshop will be organized for and by PhD students and Early Stage Researchers. The objectives of this workshop are essentially three fold: (1) create and organize a student network in the field of Ecological Economics, (2) confront students’ perspectives on interdisciplinary science and the prospects of Ecological Economics, (3) provide a forum for students to share experiences and stimulate collaboration. The workshop's programme includes lectures, group discussions and a field trip in the vicinity of Leipzig. Prof. Richard Norgaard, Dr. Sigrid Stagl and Dr. Martin Drechsler will inspire and provoke discussions with their presentations. More info on this exciting event will be available on the ESEE 2007 conference web site (http://www.esee2007.ufz.de) but mark the dates on your calendar now: June 3 to 5, 2007!


ISEE 2006: Ninth Biennual Conference of International Society for Ecological Economics on "Ecological Sustainability and Human Well-Being"
15-18 December, 2006, New Delhi.
Important dates:
- submission of abstracts: July 31, 2006
- intimation of acceptance: August 31, 2006
- submission of full paper: October 31, 2006

For more information visit http://www.isee2006.com/index.htm


Symposium on Advances in Macro Economic Green Accounting
Call for papers, ISEE 06, Delhi 15-18 December 06

This session - organized by Anthony Friend - is a follow-up, (and a report on progress), of the Montreal Symposium (ISEE 04) on integrated environment-economic accounts. The focus, like that in Montreal, will be on the accounting syntax (and the extended algorithms) that may help to develop the integration component of the System of Environmental and Economic Accounting, (SEEA)(UN, 2004).

Details of the Conference are available in the website www.isee2006.com. The deadline for a abstracts is 31 July 2006.


Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP): Opportunities and Challenges; Conference Announcement & Call for Papers
23th-25th November 2006, Wuppertal, Germany (free of charge)
Registration (free of charge): www.score-network.org, click on 'register'
For the draft program and abstract submission details (deadline 31 July 2006) please click here.

Abstract submission details
Conference papers: please email, fax or post a 300 words abstract paper by 31 July 2006 to Martin Charter at mcharter@ucreative.ac.uk. Abstracts will be evaluated by the SCORE Advisory Board; authors will be given feedback by August 2006. If you cannot make this deadline, contact the project director or conference organiser below.

For more information, please contact Arnold Tukker (arnold.tukker@tno.nl) or Martin Charter (mcharter@ucreative.ac.uk).


4th Permit trading in different applications, Call for Papers
29th November – 1st December 2006

Schedule and Deadlines:
15th July 2006 Deadline for submission of abstracts.
31st August 2006 Selection of papers to be presented.
13th November 2006 Deadline for submission of the papers.
more information


Sustainable Development 2007 - Third International Conference on Sustainable Development and Planning
25 – 27 April 2007, Algarve, Portugal
Special Session: Corporate Sustainability - myth, trend or reality?
The central idea of this special session to explore the relationship between the
idea of Sustainable Development and business reality. Topics of this session are:
• Activities and strategies of business towards Sustainable Development
• Management systems for corporate sustainability
• Corporate sustainability performance
• Sustainable Development and financial markets: sustainability indices
• Sustainability Reporting, GRI standards
• Management accounting
• Sustainability assessment of business, services, products
• Environmental legislation and corporate sustainability
• Zero Emission
For Conference details and abstract submission click here.

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5. Job openings:


Job Announcement International Emissions Trading Assoiciation (IETA) - Manager of Operations

Location: Geneva, Switzerland
Reporting to: President & CEO
Closing date: 1st August 2006

Required experience and skills:
i. Strong affiliation and understanding of the climate change and GHG market mechanisms and its political sensitivities
ii. University education with at least 7 years works experience of which 3 years within the GHG Market in either the CDM Mechanism and/or EU ETS.
iii. Good inter-personal skills, team player iv. Ability to prioritise and work under tight deadlines v. Good communication & presentational skills
vi. Flexible and service minded vii. Ability to work in parallel with issues of substance and management viii. Research and analytical skills
ix. Knowledge of computer software, including PowerPoint, Word, Excel, Lotus Notes, etc. x. Excellent command of the English Additional information

Although starting date is negotiable candidates should be available preferably as of the 1st of October 2006 with the aim to be able to have a minimum hand over period of 3 month. The deadline for submission be the 1st of August 2006 and only those applicants that are invited for an interview will be contacted after the 15th of August 2006. IETA offers its employees a comprehensive salary package subject to Swiss Taxation, which includes contributions to social security and pension fund and Accidental Insurance cover.
[more]

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6. New Publications:


Special Issue Announcement “Perspectives on Environmental Values: The Princeton Workshop.” Environmental Values Vol.15 No.3 (2006)

The journal "Environmental Values" announces a forthcoming special issue bringing together a variety of perspectives on aesthetics; value in Nature; spiritual, ethical and political aspects of environmentalism; and economics and ethics in the climate change debate. The papers arose from a workshop held at Princeton University, USA last year. Contributors include: Emily Brady, Thomas Dunlap, Stephen Gardiner, Thomas Hill, Dale Jamieson, Michael MacCracken, Dana Phillips, Holmes Rolston, Peter Singer, Kimberley Smith, Michael Smith, Clive Spash, Susan Stewart, and Michael Toman.


Vital Signs 2006-2007

The "Vital Signs 2006-2007" report presented by the Worldwatch Institute on 12 July tracks and analyzes 44 trends that are shaping our future, and includes graphs and charts to provide a visual comparison over time. Categories of trends include: Food, Agricultural Resources, Energy and Climate, Global Economy, Resource Economics, Environment, War and Conflict, Communications and Transportation, Population and Society, and Health and Disease.

The economic trends highlighted in the report show a healthy global economy with the gross world product reaching a record level of nearly 60 trillion dollars. These economic growth figures are, on the other hand, accompanied by less positive trends as regards sustainability: the average atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration increased by 0.6 per cent in 2004 (the largest increase ever); 2005 was the warmest year ever recorded in history; 1 per cent of global forest area was lost between 2000 and 2005; the "ecological footprint" of the world economy has surpassed the earth's "ecological capacity": "If everyone consumed at the average level of high-income countries, the planet could sustainably support only 1.8 billion people, not today's population of 6.5 billion", says the report.

The report confirms the unsustainable trends already described in the UN's Millennium Ecosystem Assessment released in 2005. The EU's recent review of its Sustainable Development Strategy also pointed to the need to tackle unsustainable consumption and production patterns. On a positive note, the report highlights the impressive growth of solar, wind and biofuels production. "The world is on the verge of an energy revolution", says Christopher Flavin, President of the Worldwatch Institute in the preface to the report.
(© EurActiv, The Worldwatch Institute)

Order your hard copy or download your PDF at www.worldwatch.org/node/4344

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The ESEE Newsletter is published by the European Society for Ecological Economics (ESEE). Its purpose is to inform ESEE members of developments both within the Society and in other areas of potential interest. It is published monthly and is sent free to ESEE members. The views expressed are those of the individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Society as a whole.

The European Society for Ecological Economics is a not-for-profit organisation devoted to the development of theory and practice in ecological economics in Europe. Membership is open to all interested individuals working in Europe or in other areas on request. For membership details please visit: http://www.euroecolecon.org.

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