Announcements
Launch of MARIPOLDATA reading group on Ocean Protection starting from March 2020
Opportunity for exchange and discussions on ocean topics
The world’s oceans are home to prestige ecosystems and marine biodiversity. The majority of the oceans are not under the jurisdiction of any state and therefore regulations to protect and use the oceans resources and space need to be agreed on an international level. Currently, the United Nations are negotiating a legally binding agreement for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ) to close gaps in the existing institutional frameworks and to set regulations for the protection and further exploitation of common ocean resources.
The interdisciplinary MARIPOLDATA reading group will provide an opportunity for exchange and discussions on ocean topics that are currently relevant to international ocean politics on the global scale. The Reading Group will meet 4 times in the semester and invites anyone interested in global environmental governance and ocean issues from all academic backgrounds. Prior knowledge on ocean issues is not required.
Readings will be distributed prior to the meetings and will cover recently published political science peer-reviewed articles, policy briefs and other publications relevant to global ocean governance. Texts will cover readings in the field of social sciences, and oftentimes be linked to theories from international relations, political science or related fields. However the group invites all disciplines interested in marine issues and environmental protection to participate.
The reading group will be in close connection to the topics covered by the MARIPOLDATA Seminar Series and readings will include publications of the invited scholars. Reading group members are welcome to suggest and present readings of their own research or work.
Aims:
- Provide room for discussion and debate on recent publications in the field of ocean science and politics with specific emphasis on ocean protection, sustainable development and SDG14.
- Facilitate dialogue between different disciplines and research areas.
- Increase interdisciplinary exchange between scholars interested in ocean related issues.
Target Group
- Anyone interested in ocean related issues and research as well as in reading and discussing recent literature in the field. All disciplines are welcome.
Topics:
- Sustainability and economic growth in the World Ocean Regime (in preparation to the talk of P. Jacques)
- Politics of the international negotiations on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity
- The complexity of global ocean governance: Actors, instruments and international agreements
- How to conserve marine species and ecosystems? Marine protected areas in the High Seas
- Environmental impact assessments in marine environments
- Exploiting the Seas?- Deep sea mining and Marine Genetic Resources
- Global fisheries – Tragedy of the commons? The problem of overfishing
- Protection of mammals in the world’s oceans
- Oceans and climate change
- Marine scientific research and capacity building for ocean protection
- Justice in ocean politics
How to join?
If you are interested, please contact Ina Tessnow-von Wysocki (ina.tessnow-vonwysocki@univie.ac.at) to be added to the MARIPOLDATA reading group mailing list and receive the dates for upcoming meetings and the reading material.
Upcoming Reading Group
Sustainability and economic growth in the World Ocean Regime
Where: MARIPOLDATA Office Seminar Room, Wächtergasse 1, 5th floor, Top 504, 1010 Vienna
Date: Wednesday, 4th March, 5pm-6pm
Further dates:
- Wednesday, 8th April
- Wednesday, 6th May
- Wednesday, 10th June
Austrian Biodiversity Council publishes five key recommendations " to prevent biodiversity loss by 2030" (in German)
Der Biodiversitätsrat – im Bild Christian Sturmbauer (rechts), Alice Vadrot und Franz Essl mit Koordinatorin Andrea Höltl – veröffentlichte fünf Kernforderungen zum Schutz der Biodiversität.
ExpertInnen fordern Ausrufung des Biodiversitäts-Notstands und Priorität für Stopp des Artenrückgangs im künftigen Regierungsprogramm
Wien / Salzburg / Krems / Innsbruck, Graz, 18.12.2019 – Im Rahmen des Forums Biodiversität Österreichs am 18. Dezember 2019 veröffentlichen die WissenschafterInnen und ExpertInnen des Österreichischen Biodiversitätsrates fünf Kernforderungen, um das derzeitige Artensterben aufzuhalten. Darunter: Ein Biodiversitätsfonds mit 1 Milliarde Euro, Biodiversität als Priorität im künftigen Regierungsübereinkommen und eine tiefgreifende Ökologisierung der Gesellschaft: „Steuern, Subventionen, Gesetze: Wir müssen alles durchforsten und so umgestalten, dass auch noch unsere Kinder und Enkelkinder hier gut leben können“, sagt die Politikwissenschafterin Alice Vadrot vom Leitungsteam des Biodiversitätsrates.
Announcements Archive
New Ocean Politics course taught by Dr. Alice Vadrot from October 2019
Ocean Politics course ( M4 International Politics and Development)
Winter Semester
As part of the Master’s degree in Political Science of the University of Vienna, Dr. Alice Vadrot will be giving a course about ocean politics.
This seminar introduces students to the basic features of ocean politics. Starting from the premise that the ocean space is governed by competing interests (territorial, economic, political, military, and scientific) and perspectives (the ocean as a habitat, a resource provider, a transport surface, a battleground, an object of scientific inquiry), the seminar addresses key challenges for ocean protection in the 21st century. This includes the central question of how to govern the global commons, conventionally defined as “areas and resources that do not fall within the sovereign jurisdiction of states” (Vogler 2012).
The aim of the seminar is threefold:
• to familiarise students with key principles (historical, legal, (geo-)political, economic) and international institutions (UNCLOS, IWC, ISA, IMO, UN Fish Stocks Agreement) governing the oceans,
• to apply this knowledge to particular cases exemplifying contemporary challenges in protecting our oceans (e.g. marine biodiversity, deep sea mining, marine pollution)
• to identify and discuss these challenges in light of the multiple interests and power relations shaping how oceans are represented, governed and used in the 21st century.
More information HERE.
Alice Vadrot keynote speaker at the 4th International conference for Ocean Governance for Sustainability - Piran, Slovenia
“Negotiating conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in the high seas: insights into science and politics”
Tuesday, November 26
From 25-27 November, 2019 the European COST Action “Ocean Governance for Sustainability – Challenges, Options and the Role of Science” (CA15217) gathers for their 4th International conference in the coastal city of Piran, Slovenia. The conference is hosted by the National Institute of Biology (NIB) under the coordination of the Local Organiser Prof. Dr. Valentina Turk, Prof. Dr. Alenka Malej, and Dr. Jerneja Penca.
On day 2 of the conference, Ass.- Prof. Dr. Alice Vadrot who will speak about “Negotiating conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in the high seas: insights into science and politics”.
More information about the event and the programme HERE.
Event on "Global species extinction and the state of ecosystems" (in German)
Global species extinction and the state of ecosystems
The report of the World Biodiversity Council and finding solutions to the crisis
November 20, 2019
This event is organised by the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna and UniNEtZ.
When? November 20, 2019 at 19:00
Where? Großer Hörsaal tüwi, hs tüwi01 (tüwi-u1/02), Peter-Jordan-Straße 76, 1190 Vienna
More information HERE.
Alice Vadrot participates to the IHS symposium on "Innovation governance and security controversies" - Vienna
IHS symposium on “Innovation governance and security controversies”
November 12, 2019
We live in societies which like to cure societal problems with technological innovation. Online surveillance is used to fight radicalization, smart borders are supposed to help tackle “irregular migration”, and registers of medical data shall improve medical research and public health. However, innovation can also pose different risks – from ethical, legal, social, to concerns over security.
Many techno-scientific innovations make things possible that are seen as potentially threatening to the security of our societies, our privacy etc. At the same time, with the increasing complexity of our societies dependent on modern technologies, we think more about events and phenomena that have the potential to disrupt the existing political and social orders. This state of preparedness to all sorts of risks – whether they are related to political violence, infrastructure disruptions, social instabilities, or natural disasters – fuels the demand for innovation and technologies that would make the society resilient to disruptive shocks and prepared to insecure future. How are the security concerns over governing innovation formulated and addressed, and with what implications?
Registration via event(at)ihs.ac.at is open until November 4th.
More information about the event on the Institute for Advanced Studies here.
Talk by Alice Vadrot at the Marine Regions Forum - Berlin, Germany
Marine Regions Forum
Science-Policy Interfaces for Protecting the Oceans: A Social Science Perspective
September 30, 2019
In the framework of the Marine Regions Forum taking place for the first time from 30 September – 02 October 2019 in Berlin, Alice Vadrot will give a talk about “Science-Policy Interfaces for Protecting the Oceans: A Social Science Perspective”.
The conference provides a unique space for decision-makers, scientists and civil-society actors from the world’s different marine regions to discuss and showcase impactful collaborative solutions for ocean health.
Alice Vadrot part of Austria Biodiversity Network Council
Austria Biodiversity Network
SEPTEMBER, 2019
Renowned scientists from various universities and experts from the fields of nature conservation, museums and landscape planning have joined together to form a Biodiversity Council in view of the extinction of species. Ecologist Franz Essl (University of Vienna), zoologist Christian Sturmbauer (Karl-Franzens-University Graz and ABOL) and political scientist Alice Vadrot (University of Vienna) will represent the new steering committee. They urgently warn of the consequences of species extinction.
The original press release “Neuer Biodiversitätsrat warnt eindringlich vor Folgen des Artensterbens” here.
More information about Austria Biodiversity Network here.
Panel at 4s Conference 2019 – New Orleans, USA
Open Panel – 4S New Orleans.
SEPTEMBER 7, 2019
Exploring Policies and Practices of Studying and Monitoring the Oceans: Innovations and Interruptions in Ocean Science
Panel Organisers:
Sarah de Rijcke, Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS)
Alice Vadrot, University of Vienna
Healthy oceans contribute significantly to combating climate change. However, a lack of ocean scientific knowledge continues to challenge efforts to protect ocean ecosystems. This gap is steadily closed by global initiatives like the International Census of Marine Life programme. Furthermore, detection methods, observing infrastructures and data management have significantly improved over the past two decades, reconfiguring how oceans are studied and monitored.
In many respects, the study and monitoring of the oceans represents a new form of knowledge production. Challenges include producing systemic insights into ocean ecology; working toward industrial-scale production of innovations; providing scientific data to support environmental policy; and operating against the backdrop of a highly research-focused academic system. These developments are amplified by data scarcity, complicating the command of funding and shaping policies and practices of studying, monitoring and protecting the oceans.
This panel discusses particular cases of global and national policies and practices of ocean science and monitoring. Which dynamics occur when ocean science becomes (even more) subject to multiple valuation registers, including those associated with steering efforts toward more interdisciplinary engagement, societal relevance and demands from policy-makers? How do monitoring policies and practices contribute to the scientific representation of the ocean and its manifestation as a site, where different technological innovations compete for scientific legitimacy and marketability? What are key innovations in ocean science and marine technology and how do they shape the policies and practices of the field?
More information about the programme HERE.
New publications from Alice Vadrot in the journal Global Environmental Politics
Global Environmental Politics
Volume 19 | Issue 2 | May 2019
Together with Hannah Hughes and Kimberly R. Marion Suiseeya, Alice Vadrot has published a special section in the journal Global Environmental Politics, a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal which examines the relationship between global political forces and environmental change, with particular attention given to the implications of environmental change and environmental governance for world politics.
The article “Weighting the World: IPBES and the Struggle over Biocultural Diversity“, written with Hannah Hughes, also appeared in this issue.
This article has two aims. The first is to provide an account of the struggle over the term biocultural diversity during the intergovernmental approval of the first IPBES thematic assessment report. Second, in detailing this struggle, we aim to contribute to scholarship on global environmental negotiating processes and the place and power of knowledge within these by introducing the notion of a weighted concept.
Alice Vadrot was elected to the Young Academy of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW)
Young Academy of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW)
APRIL 2019
The Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) welcomed 29 new members. At the Annual General Meeting on the 12th of April 2019, 19 researchers from different disciplines in the humanities, social and cultural sciences as well as mathematics, natural and technical sciences were admitted to the Academy for their outstanding scientific achievements and professional reputation.
Announcement of the Austrian Academy of Sciences : https://www.oeaw.ac.at/en/detail/news/oeaw-waehlte-29-top-forscherinnen-zu-neuen-mitgliedern-1/
Alice Vadrot is joining the Earth System Governance network as a Senior Research Fellow
The Earth System Governance
FROM SPRING 2019
Alice Vadrot has been accepted as a Research Fellow by the Earth System Governance. Earth System Governance — a global research alliance, is the largest social science research network in the area of governance and global environmental change.
Senior Research Fellows are senior scientists and faculty members who seek to link their own research projects with the broader themes and questions of earth system governance. Through a bottom-up, dynamic, and active network, senior research fellows and research fellows collaborate on research, debate ideas and disseminate information on relevant events and opportunities in the field.
More information about Earth System Governance: https://www.earthsystemgovernance.org/
Talk by Alice Vadrot at the Rutgers University – Newark, USA
Epistemic Selectivities in Global Environmental Politics:
The Case of Biodiversity
APRIL 10, 2019
Rutgers University is a public research university in New Jersey. The Rutgers Division of Global Affairs organizes a weekly Capstone Colloquium Series, which has for theme this semester Justice, and the Global Environment.
At this occasion, Alice Vadrot will speak about “Epistemic Selectivities in Global Environmental Politics: The Case of Biodiversity”.
Paper Presentation at ISA 2019 – Toronto, Canada
The International Studies Association’s 60th Annual Convention – Toronto
MARCH 29, 2019
After the epistemic community model: Using IPCC and IPBES to map organisational formation
By Hannah Hughes, Cardiff University and
Alice Vadrot, University of Vienna
The International Studies Association (ISA) is one of the oldest interdisciplinary associations dedicated to understanding international, transnational and global affairs.
The International Studies Association’s 60th Annual Convention will take place in March 2019 in Toronto. This conference brings together international affairs experts from across the world to discuss issues related to international, transnational and global affairs.
At this occasion, Alice Vadrot will participate in Panel FA 81 “Great Power Responsibility and Global Environmental Protection” organized by Barry Buzan (LSE). She will present a co-authored article written with Hannah Hughes (Cardiff University).
More information: https://www.isanet.org/Conferences/Toronto-2019
Blog on collaborative work by Alice Vadrot and Hannah Hughes
Work in Progress Paper Presentation – Cardiff
February 6, 2019
On the 6th of February Dr Alice Vadrot visited Cardiff University to discuss the Work-In-Progress paper entitled ‘Conceptualising the establishment of intergovernmental organisations: Learning from the IPCC and IPBES’, co-authored with Dr Hannah Hughes. Dr Hannah Hughes is a lecturer in International Relations and Co-director of the Environmental Justice Research Unit at Cardiff University. The two have a long-standing collaborative relationship having first started working together in September 2015. Among other publications, they have a forthcoming article titled ‘Weighting the world: IPBES and the struggle over biocultural diversity`, which will be published as part of a special section in Global Environmental Politics.
To read the whole blog by Rosa Maryon, please click here: https://blogs.cardiff.ac.uk/isru/2019/02/20/conceptualising-the-establishment-of-intergovernmental-organisations-learning-from-ipcc-and-the-ipbes-dr-hannah-hughes-dr-alice-vadrot/
Events
Talk by Peter Jacques - MARIPOLDATA Seminar Series - March 11, 2020 - Vienna
The Shifting Context of Sustainability: Growth and the World Ocean Regime
Discussant: Dr. Monika Berg (Orebrö University)
Date: 11 March 2020
Time: 18.00 – 19.30
Venue: Conference Room – Neues Institutsgebäude (NIG), Universitätsstraße 7, 1010 Vienna
In the framework of the MARIPOLDATA seminar series and the IPW Lectures (Department of Political Science, Vienna University) we have the pleasure to welcome Peter Jacques from the University of Central Florida in Orlando, USA.
The World Ocean Regime is not an official treaty agreed to by states in some formal process, but it probably governs the marine world. This talk will discuss how this regime was discovered and the nature of the economistic values and norms that are the main feature. This includes how the idea of sustainability has changed over time in discourses about the ocean to become more growth-oriented in a way that is not actually sustainable.
Peter Jacques is a Professor of Political Science and affiliate faculty of UCF’s National Center for Integrated Coastal Research. He has extensive experience in the field of environmental politics and sustainability. Prof. Jacques is the President of the Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences for the term June 2018- June 2020. His research interests include Global Environmental Change, Sustainability Science, Indigenous Sustainability Issues, Ocean Conservation, Climate Change and Political Ecology/Green Political Theory.
Monika Berg is a senior lecturer in sociology and has a doctoral degree in political science. She is part of the Environmental Sociology Section at Örebro University. Monika is a guest researcher at the department of Political Science of the University of Vienna and in MARIPOLDATA in March 2020.
Please confirm your participation via e-mail to maripoldata.erc@univie.ac.at
Past Events
Talk by Sarah de Rijcke - MARIPOLDATA Seminar Series - January 23, 2020 - Vienna
How Evaluation shapes Ocean Science – A Multi-Scale Ethnography of Fluid Knowledge
Date: 23 January 2020
Time: 17.00 – 18.30
Venue: Wächtergasse 1, Top 5, 504, 1010 Vienna
In the framework of its seminar series, the MARIPOLDATA team has the pleasure to welcome in Vienna Sarah de Rijcke from the University of Leiden and director of the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CTWS) in the Netherlands.
In 2018, Professor de Rijcke received an ERC Starting Grant for the project ‘FluidKnowledge – How evaluation shapes ocean science’. The ERC project will run from January 2019 until December 2023. On the occasion of the MARIPOLDATA seminar serie, she will speak about the progress of the FluidKnowledge project.
The FluidKnowledge project investigates the past, present and future of evaluating ocean science. Ocean science, like many fields, is under great pressure to be both scientifically excellent, and relevant to industry, and relevant to the future of the planet. How do steering efforts toward interdisciplinary engagement and societal relevance relate to other norms and criteria of scientific quality (e.g. excellence, global competitiveness) in actual practice? The team examines the intricate epistemic consequences that evaluation might have on concrete practices of knowledge creation by combining longitudinal quantitative analysis with rich ethnographic studies in different national contexts. They will also develop concepts to theoretically grasp the constitutive potential of research evaluation, based on such multilevel approaches.
Sarah de Rijcke is professor of Science, Technology, and Innovation Studies and director of CWTS, where she leads the Science and Evaluation Studies research group. Her current research program examines interactions between research governance and practices of knowledge production. Sarah is a member of the editorial board of Science, Technology, and Human Values (ST&HV), Science and Technology Studies, and Interdisciplinary Science Reviews. Professional memberships include the Society for the Social Studies of Science (4S), the European Association for the Study of Science and Technology (EASST) and the Dutch National research school for Science, Technology and Modern Culture (WTMC).
More information about the ERC project FluidKnowledge here.
Please confirm your participation via e-mail to maripoldata.erc@univie.ac.at
Talk by Alice Vadrot - Symposium: Biodiversity and the Cultural Landscape - January 15, 2020 - Vienna
Science-Policy Interrelations in and for Protecting Marine Biodiversity
Date: 15 January 2020
Time: 15.15 – 15.45
Venue: Aula am Campus der Universität Wien (Spitalgasse 2-4, Hof 1.11, 1090 Vienna)
In the framework of the symposium organized by Contemporary Matters on Biodiversity and the cultural landscape, Alice Vadrot will hold a talk about “Science-Policy Interrelations in and for Protecting Marine Biodiversity”.
Struggles over what constitutes legitimate environmental knowledge can only be understood if we acknowledge global inequalities in producing, using and contesting science between the Global North and the Global South. Global knowledge about the environment is powerful because it draws the lines between legitimate modes of representation of environmental degradation in world politics and marginalised views on nature.
Contemporary Matters is a Vienna-based platform raising critical awareness of the role of “the contemporary” in the increasingly transdisciplinary field of art history. Conceived out of an urgency to disrupt, challenge and overcome prevailing structures and canons within art history and beyond, Contemporary Matters encourages critical discourse through events, debates, podcasts and a peer-reviewed journal.
More information about the event on Contemporary Matters´website.
Round table "Artensterben: Was wissen wir und was können wir tun?" - January 13, 2020 - Vienna
Wie schützen wir die Artenvielfalt?
Abschlussveranstaltung zur Semesterfrage
Wann: Montag, 13. Januar 2020, 18:00 – 20:00
Wo: Hauptgebäude der Universität Wien- Universitätsring 1, 1010 Wien
Impulsreferat “Artensterben: Was wissen wir und was können wir tun?” von
Katrin Böhning-Gaese, Direktorin des Senckenberg Biodiversität und Klima Forschungszentrums (Frankfurt a.M.)
Anschließend Podiumsdiskussion u.a. mit
Franz Essl, Biodiversitätsforscher (Universität Wien)
Alice Vadrot, Politikwissenschafterin (Universität Wien)
Luc Bas, European Regional Director der International Union for Conservation of Nature (Brüssel)
Kathi Schneider, Doktorandin (Universität Wien) und Friday for Future Mitorganisatorin
Biologische Vielfalt ist die Grundlage für unser Wohlergehen. Nahrungsmittelproduktion, Wohlstand, der Schutz vor Naturgefahren und vieles mehr hängen von stabilen, artenreichen Lebensgemeinschaften ab. Doch intakte Lebensräume schrumpfen rasant, etwa jede vierte Tier- und Pflanzenart ist vom Aussterben bedroht. In Österreich steht knapp ein Drittel aller beurteilten Arten auf den Roten Listen. Wie können wir diesem Verlust entgegenwirken? Diese Frage stellt sich die Universität Wien im Wintersemester 2019/20.
Der Originalartikel kann im Blog der Universität Wien HIER nachgelesen werden.
Talk by Paolo Albano - December 12, 2019 - Vienna
Biodiversity collapse in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea
Date: 12 December 2019
Time: 16.30 – 18.00
Venue: Wächtergasse 1, Top 5, 504, 1010 Vienna
In the framework of its seminar series, the MARIPOLDATA team has the pleasure to welcome Paolo G. Albano, researcher at the Department of Paleontology at the University of Vienna.
The Levantine basin in the easternmost Mediterranean Sea is well known for hosting hundreds of non-indigenous species introduced after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. A still insufficiently recognized but equally dramatic phenomenon is the disappearance of native species. We have quantified this decline using intense sampling on the Israeli shelf targeting mollusks, and using death assemblages, the accumulation of empty shells in the sediments, to reconstruct the baseline.
On soft substrates, our sampling intercepted only 24% of the historically recorded species. On rocky substrates, our preliminary results show even fewer native species in respect to the baseline (ca 5-7%).
The talk will then discuss the potential explanations of this massive biodiversity loss pointing at the locally rapid climate warming as the most likely culprit.
Paolo G. Albano is a senior post-doctoral researcher at the Department of Paleontology of the University of Vienna and principal investigator of a project to explore the rapid changes occurring in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. His research focuses on the patterns and processes of biodiversity loss in marine ecosystems, with a special focus on the Mediterranean Sea.
Please confirm your participation via e-mail to maripoldata.erc@univie.ac.at
Talk by Marcela Vecchione Gonçalves - September 12, 2019 - Vienna
Whose Climate for What Politics? Attempts of a Political Ecology and Economy Analysis on Contemporary Brazilian Environmental Politics
Date: 12 September 2019
Time: 17.00 – 18.30
Venue: Wächtergasse 1, Top 5, 504, 1010 Vienna
In the framework of the first edition of its seminar series, the MARIPOLDATA team is very glad to welcome in Vienna Marcela Vecchione Gonçalves from the Federal University of Pará.
Fires, violence and intense political debates have been heating the political climate in Brazil lately. From within the Ministries and Presidential cabinets, reaching out to the rainforest animated by heated declarations amid the Parliament as well as within the broad political and civil society, environmental and climate politics, alongside with land and indigenous politics, have never been as much in the spotlight as it is currently the case in the country. It is well known fires and changes in tone and directions in policies related to rainforest protection and conservation contribute dramatically to global warming and loss in biodiversity. Nevertheless, what lacks reflection, particularly internationally, is how these changes also affect local and regional lives – including those at the Pan Amazon region, not just in Brazil, sparking violence through empowering a few who concentrate and use land disrespecting environmental, agrarian and labour legislation. Frequently, such violence is as much political as it is the disregard for other ways of living and for the rights to land accessed through a safe and collective natural environment; principles democratically coined by the 1988 Brazilian Constitution. In this sense, debates and global negotiations around the “Amazon issue” and its globality cannot afford to be also a debate about which environmental and climate politics we are talking, for whom and in which basis it is being carried on through international negotiations based on principles of an equitable and sustainable development. In what terms, the Brazilian case can prompt us in research, as well as in action, to relate resource politics to global political ecology? In other words, how do internal political change and its relation to land and resource politics in terms of positioning in global politics can help us reflecting on the connections between ecology and democracy? Human Rights and Rights to Development? Global Political Economy and Global Political Ecology? Violence, Autonomy and Resistance? At the same time, how an interconnected analysis can also provide us with elements to think on the nature of politics and the politcs of nature at the present history by bringing on its centrality to the possiblities of a radical democracy. We believe such points are essential to analyze the crisis in Brazil and why the crises in Brazil is turning into a diplomatic crises on the environment.
Marcela Vecchione Gonçalves is the head of the Graduate Studies Program on Sustainable Development at the Humid Tropics, hosted by the Centre of Advanced Amazonian Studies at the Federal University of Pará, Eastern Amazon, Brazil. She holds a PhD in International Relations and have been researching and teaching on Amazonian Political Ecology, Indigenous Peoples as well as Global Development in the last 12 years. Marcela is also a member and contributor of a number of Brazilian land and environmental movements.
Please confirm your participation via e-mail to maripoldata.erc@univie.ac.at
Workshop on Methods - September 10-11, 2019 - Vienna
Conducting research at global environmental negotiations
Date: September 10 – 11, 2019
Venue: University of Vienna
This workshop will bring together scholars experienced in global environmental negotiations and contributing to the development and application of conceptual and methodological innovations. The aim is to further develop these innovations and produce a guide for those new to the study of environmental meetings. To achieve this, the workshop will integrate the needs and perspectives of postgraduate scholars so that together we can explore how a new generation of research can be catalysed, the aim of which is to transform how we collectively study global environmental agreement making.
This workshop responds to the need for greater practical methodological guidance and is part of a series of events that are designed to facilitate in-depth discussion between experienced, early career and postgraduate researchers in order to develop appropriate research tools and frameworks.
The workshop builds on work by Hughes and Vadrot as published in a recent special section in Global Environmental Politics on Methodological Innovation in the Study of Global Environmental Agreement Making, edited by Hannah Hughes, Kimberly Marion Suiseeya and Alice Vadrot.
The workshop also draws on and informs research conducted in the ERC Project MARIPOLDATA directed by Alice Vadrot.
More information about the programme HERE.
The role of oral histories in understanding science-policy interrelations - June 25, 2019 - Cambridge
Date: 25 June, 2019
Time: 13.00 – 17.00
Venue: Cambridge Judge Business School
Dr Alice Vadrot, principal investigator of the ERC funded research project MARIPOLDATA (which investigates the politics of marine biodiversity data), and the Centre for Science and Policy will be hosting a workshop on the role of oral histories in understanding science-policy interrelations.
Context
In order to protect marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) governments are currently negotiating a new legally binding treaty under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Marine biodiversity science plays a central role in supporting intergovernmental efforts to identify, protect and monitor marine biodiversity. This field will also inform governments on particular aspects of marine biodiversity, including its economic use and contribution to biosecurity. It will also shape the practicalities of certain policy options and the potential effects on ocean science conducted in ABNJ.
Mapping the overall field of marine biodiversity science, the leading scientific experts, how they are connected and how they are involved in international negotiations, is a necessary research step for understanding science-policy interrelations more broadly and why they matter in current intergovernmental negotiations for protecting marine biodiversity. Given that biodiversity science represents a heterogeneous bundle of research activities, interests and methodologies, individual scientists provide an important entry point for assessing and analysing how marine biodiversity has emerged as a key issue within ocean politics.
Presentation of MARIPOLDATA - June 18, 2019 - Political Ecology Group of Department of Geography - Cambridge
Date: 18 June, 2019
Time: 13.00 – 14.00 (BST)
Venue: Cambridge University
Alice Vadrot will present MARIPOLDATA at the Political Ecology Group of Department of Geography Cambridge University.
The Political Ecology Group is interested in all aspects of the symbolic and material politics of socially constructed natures. Its interests span the industrialized and developing world.
More information about the event HERE.
MARIPOLDATA kick-off meeting - May 21, 2019 - Vienna
Photo by Sara Santandrea on Unsplash
When: Tuesday, 21 May 2019, 17:45-21:30 CET
Where: Mezzanin7, Liechtensteinstraße 12/2/7, 1090 Vienna
We are pleased to announce that the MARIPOLDATA Kick-off meeting will take place on May 21, 2019 in Vienna.
After input from Univ.-Prof. Dr. Hajo Boomgaarden, Univ.-Prof. Dr. Barbara Prainsack, Dr. Julien Rochette and Julie Rigaud, Ass.-Prof. Dr. Alice Vadrot and her team will present MARIPOLDATA and open the floor for questions and debate. The event is open to the interested public.
Please confirm your participation via e-mail to maripoldata.erc@univie.ac.at
Science Talk 2019 - March 12, 2019 - Vienna
Join us on a journey through the world of EU-funded early-stage research. Our academics present their research projects and talk about their life at the University. During the Science Talk, twelve awardees of the highly competitive ERC Starting Grant funding scheme present their major projects. Furthermore, six young postdoctoral fellows of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie mobility scheme talk about their research. In their presentations, these academics talk about the relevance of their results for the advancement of research and discuss how their research aims at promoting social and economic developments.
Seize this opportunity to ask our researchers questions and engage in a dialogue with them.
Tuesday, 12 March 2019, 17:00 – 19:30
Small Ceremonial Chamber of the University of Vienna (Kleiner Festsaal) – see map (pdf)
1010 Vienna, Universitätsring 1
Paper presentation - February 6, 2019 - Cardiff
On the 6th of February Dr. Alice Vadrot visited Cardiff University to discuss the Work-In-Progress paper entitled ‘Conceptualising the establishment of intergovernmental organisations: Learning from the IPCC and IPBES’, co-authored with Dr. Hannah Hughes. Dr. Hannah Hughes is a lecturer in International Relations and Co-director of the Environmental Justice Research Unit at Cardiff University.
The two have a long-standing collaborative relationship having first started working together in September 2015. Among other publications, they have a forthcoming article titled ‘Weighting the world: IPBES and the struggle over biocultural diversity, which will be published as part of a special section in Global Environmental Politics.
To read the whole blog by Rosa Maryon, please click here: Link
Maripoldata in the news
Broadcast by Ö1 ORF Campus "Welt im Ohr: The freedom of the seas. Protection of ecological and marine biodiversity", 31.01.2020 (in German)
Ö1 ORF Campus
Article by the University of Vienna about the final event of the semester question, 14.01.2020 (in German)
Artenschutz “Wir müssen unverzüglich handeln”
Blog by Alice Vadrot in Austrian Newspaper DER STANDARD (OEAW young academy blog) "Marine Ökosysteme: Zwischen Schutz und Ausbeutung", 08.01.2020 (in German)
Marine Ökosysteme: Zwischen Schutz und Ausbeutung
Wem gehören die Meereslebewesen in internationalen Gewässern – und wie können wir sie schützen?
Article by Austrian newspaper meinbezirk.at "Der Ozean im Gespräch", 07.01.2020 (in German)
Der Ozean im Gespräch
News Archive
Interview from Alice Vadrot in univie - Das Alumni-Magazin "Alice Vadrots Gespür für Machtverhältnisse", 1.11.2019 ( in German)
Marine Biodiversität : Zwischen Macht und Wissenschaft
This edition is entitled “together against the climate crisis”.
What role does science play in the current climate discourse? How is the interface to politics structured and why is such a broad mobilisation now possible ? Alumni and scientists report on places where climate and environmental policy is currently being negotiated and where ideas and concepts for a more climate-friendly future are emerging: on the streets, in cities and regions, in the UN negotiating rooms and in lecture halls – from local to global, from science to activism.
You can consult the univie 3/20019 edition and Alice Vadrot´s intervention HERE.
Video by the University of Vienna "Alice Vadrot: Protection of marine biodiversity", 29.10.2019 (in German)
Every semester, the University of Vienna asks a question on a burning topic that is of interest to society. The question for the winter semester 2019/20 is: How do we protect biodiversity? Alice Vadrot answered.
We must strengthen the interface between science and politics: “Because scientists have a comprehensive knowledge of biodiversity – its loss and the causes of this loss,” says Alice Vadrot, who explains in the video how we can protect marine biodiversity.
A video to watch HERE on the University of Vienna website.
Article by the Environmental Sciences Research Network (ESRN) from the University of Vienna "Marine Biodiversität: Zwischen Macht und Wissenschaft", 21.10.2019 (in German)
Marine Biodiversität : Zwischen Macht und Wissenschaft
Interview from Alice Vadrot in online Magazine Nachhaltigkeit. Neu denken "Wie wir die Politiker knacken ", 9.7.2019 (in German)
An Herzen und Verstand appellieren
Der Politikwissenschaftlerin Ass.Prof. Dr. Alice Vadrot wurde Naturverbundenheit quasi in die Wiege gelegt. Ihre Forschungen bieten Lösungen dazu, wie Umwelt- und Naturschutzthemen in der Politik kommuniziert und umgesetzt werden können. In Österreich setzt sie sich mit ihrer Beteiligung im Biodiversitätsrat für ein breiteres Wissen zur Vielfalt der Natur ein.
Frau Dr. Alice Vadrot, Sie sind Politikwissenschaftlerin, setzen sich aber für Umweltthemen und Biodiversität ein, wie kam es dazu?
Guest comment from Alice Vadrot in Austrian Newspaper falter.at "Umfassendes Wissen für den Schutz der Meere", 19.06.2019 (in German)
Umfassendes Wissen für den Schutz der Meere
Anfang Mai dieses Jahres hat der Weltbiodiversitätsrat darauf aufmerksam gemacht, dass eine Million Arten an Lebewesen vom Aussterben bedroht sind. Darin inbegriffen ist die marine Biodiversität. Sie wird durch die Folgen des Klimawandels, die Verschmutzung und Versauerung der Ozeane und durch Überfischung bedroht. Ihren Schutz erschweren Lücken im internationalen Seerecht – und der Wissenschaft selbst.
Article by the FWF Austrian Science Fund " Exzellenz im Bild", 14.05.2019 (in German)
Exzellenz im Bild
Eine Politologin im Zoo, ein Mathematiker als Jongleur und eine Musikologin im Tanzstudio: Wissenschaft „Marke FWF“ steht für Exzellenz und Vielfalt.
Das zeigt sich nicht nur an den zahlreichen Talenten und unterschiedlichen Charakteren, sondern auch an ihren Forschungsgebieten und interdisziplinären Ansätzen. Für den aktuellen Jahresbericht besuchte der FWF zwölf Spitzenforscher/innen in ganz Österreich und bat sie vor die Linse. Das Ergebnis sind überraschende Fotoporträts, die darstellen, wie bunt und vielfältig die Welt der Forschung heute ist.
Article by the FWF Austrian Science Fund "Spitzenforscherinnen und Spitzenforscher aus Österreich konkurrenzfähiger denn je", 14.05.2019 (in German)
m Bild v.l.n.r.: FWF-Zukunftskolleg-Koordinator Muammer Ücal, Wissenschaftsminister Heinz Faßmann, FWF-Präsident Klement Tockner, FWF-Schrödinger-Stipendiatin Alice Vadrot © FWF/APA/Tanzer
Spitzenforscherinnen und Spitzenforscher aus Österreich konkurrenzfähiger denn je
Wissenschaftsminister Heinz Faßmann und FWF-Präsident Klement Tockner forcieren Wettbewerb in der Grundlagenforschung
Geografisch gesehen ist Österreich ein kleines Land. Doch immer mehr Forscherinnen und Forscher heimischer Universitäten und außeruniversitärer Forschungsstätten zeigen im weltweiten Wettbewerb um die neuesten und bahnbrechendsten Erkenntnisse aus der Grundlagenforschung erfolgreich auf. Diesen Trend belegen nicht zuletzt die aktuellen Zahlen, die Wissenschaftsminister Heinz Faßmann und FWF-Präsident Klement Tockner am 14. Mai 2019 bei einer gemeinsamen Pressekonferenz im APA-Pressezentrum in Wien präsentierten.
Article by the University of Vienna "Dies Academicus: Stipendienverleihung und Science Talk", 13.03.2019 (in German)
© Universität Wien/derknopfdruecker.com
Dies Academicus: Stipendienverleihung und Science Talk (Teil 2)
Beim Science Talk am Dies Academicus 2019 erzählten zwölf ERC Starting Grant-PreisträgerInnen und sechs Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellows aus ihrem Alltag und beantworteten – bei einem Glas Wein – die Fragen der Tischgäste. Zuvor wurden Preise und Stipendien an NachwuchsforscherInnen verliehen.
Article by the University of Vienna "Globale Politiken rund um Umweltschutz", 16.01.2019 (in German)
Alice Vadrot auf Feldforschung auf der UN Biodiversity Conference im November 2018. (© IISD/ENB/Franz Dejon)
Die Politologin Alice Vadrot erhält als erste Wissenschafterin der Fakultät für Sozialwissenschaften einen ERC Starting Grant. Mit dieser hochdotierten Förderung kann sie ihr Projekt “The Politics of Marine Biodiversity Data” realisieren, in dem sie internationale Umweltpolitik analysiert.
Plastikmüll, Verschmutzung durch Chemikalien, Klimawandel und Überfischung haben für die Ökosysteme der Weltmeere dramatische Auswirkungen. Obwohl WissenschafterInnen und Umweltschutzorganisationen schon lange an die internationale Politik appellieren, endlich aktiv zu werden, einigte sich die internationale Staatengemeinschaft erst im April 2018 darauf, bis 2020 ein neues Abkommen auszuhandeln, das unter anderem die Errichtung von Meeresschutzgebieten zum Ziel hat.
Ein langer Prozess
Doch bis sich die mehr als hundert Staaten einig werden, ist es ein langer Weg mit vielen Sitzungen, Konflikten, Spannungen und Kompromissen. “Genau diesen Schnittpunkt zwischen internationaler Politik und Wissenschaft finde ich unglaublich spannend. Mich interessiert, wie wissenschaftliche Aspekte in politischen Verhandlungen aufgenommen werden und wie auch umgekehrt Politik die Wissenschaft beeinflusst”, erklärt Alice Vadrot, Politologin an der Universität Wien, die grundsätzliche Fragestellung ihres ERC-Projekts “The Politics of Marine Biodiversity Data”.
Article in Austrian Newspaper Die Presse "Alice Vadrot: Streitobjekt Naturschutz", 28.09.2018 (in German)
In ihrer Forschung befasst sich Alice Vadrot mit Verhandlungen zum Schutz der Hochmeere. In der Freizeit besucht sie gern das Haus des Meeres. – (c) Akos Burg
In ihrem ERC-Start-Preis-Projekt untersucht Alice Vadrot die Haltung einzelner Staaten bei den aktuellen Hochseeschutz-Verhandlungen der UNO.
Als Teenager wollte Alice Vadrot Diplomatin werden. Die Laufbahn, die sie tatsächlich eingeschlagen hat, ist davon gar nicht so weit entfernt. „Ein Großteil meiner Arbeit basiert auf Feldforschung bei zwischenstaatlichen Verhandlungen im Zuge internationaler Umweltabkommen“, sagt die Politikwissenschaftlerin. Seit gut zehn Jahren beobachtet sie das Zusammenspiel von Macht und Wissenschaft in der Umweltpolitik. „Irgendwann habe ich gemerkt, dass mir der analytische Blick auf die Diplomatie und ihre Praktiken mehr liegt als das Diplomatendasein selbst.“
2008, noch als Studentin der Politikwissenschaft an der Uni Wien, hat Vadrot erstmals an einer Vertragsstaatenkonferenz der UN-Konvention über die biologische Vielfalt teilgenommen. „Ein Mega-Event, bei dem Regierungsvertreter aus aller Welt über die Rahmenbedingungen für den Artenschutz und den nachhaltigen Umgang mit der Natur verhandelten“, erzählt die 32-Jährige. „Man fand, dass mehr Wissen den politischen Willen zum Naturschutz erhöhen würde, und diskutierte die Einrichtung eines dem Weltklimarat ähnlichen Gremiums.“
