FYI.
Stefanie Rixecker
ECOFEM Coordinator
------- Forwarded message follows -------
Date sent: Fri, 12 Oct 2001 09:23:14 -0500
From: "H-Environment Editor (Dennis Williams)" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: CFP: The Environment and Sustainable Development in the New
Central
Europe: Austria and its Neighbors (corrected)
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Send reply to: H-NET List for Environmental History
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
CALL FOR PAPERS
The Center for Austrian Studies
announces an international symposium:
THE ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN THE NEW CENTRAL EUROPE:
AUSTRIA AND ITS NEIGHBORS
19-21 September 2002
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
Background:
The sweeping political, economic, and social changes which have taken place
in Central Europe since 1989 have created a host of challenges for
societies and governments in Austria and the neighboring countries.
Particularly critical are questions of the environment as they relate to
the quality and character of everyday life, sustainable economic
development, and changes in popular values and mores. These challenges have
exacerbated old problems and created new ones for the governments of the
individual countries, for the relations between Austria and its neighbors,
and for the region's relations with the rest of Europe and the
international community.
The emphasis on speedy recovery from World War II throughout Europe and the
priority given to rapid postwar development of heavy industry by the
communist governments of Central Europe caused serious environmental
problems to arise in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Since the 1970s and 1980s
awareness of environmental problems such as pollution of air and water
resources, acid rain, and the accumulation of industrial wastes has grown
throughout Central Europe. Nonetheless, the high costs of remediation, the
potential impact on further economic development, and the difficult choices
involved have often made it hard for governments and enterprises to address
these problems. Old interstate rivalries and the Cold War divisions in
Central Europe long impeded regional cooperation on environmental and
economic questions.
The fall of the communist governments in Central and Eastern Europe has
made it possible to address environmental problems on a regional and,
indeed, European-wide basis. However, it has often been difficult to break
away from old national policies and economic strategies to develop
meaningful international cooperation. The Gabcikovo-Nagymaros project to
control the flow of the Danube provoked serious debates in Slovakia,
Hungary, and Austria in the 1970s, 1980s, and even the 1990s. The long term
fate of nuclear reactors built with Soviet technology in the former
communist countries remains unresolved, and the newly completed Czech plant
at Temelin has become a serious point of friction between the Czech and
Austrian governments.
Proposals: The Center for Austrian Studies at the University of Minnesota,
in cooperation with other departments and research centers at the
university, will sponsor an international, multidisciplinary symposium on
the environment and sustainable development in the new Central Europe. This
conference will further the development of a broad, open discussion across
national boundaries by experts in higher education, research institutes,
government agencies, and non-governmental organizations regarding the major
issues of the environment and development faced by the countries of Central
Europe. To increase the awareness of commercial and industrial interests in
Minnesota and the Upper Midwest of the problems and opportunities posed by
environmental concerns in Central Europe, this symposium will feature a
half-day program of workshops and presentations for business interests at
the end of the academic conference.
We welcome proposals for papers from scholars in the social sciences,
humanities, environmental studies, and public policy studies. Papers should
address recent discussions and/or the modern history of the economic,
political, and social issues facing Austria and the neighboring countries
of Central Europe in the following general areas:
--protection and regulation of air and water quality, waterways,
groundwater, wetlands, and forests;
--mineral resource use and sustainable development; energy supplies and
sustainable development; development of transportation and communication
infrastructures;
--environmental and developmental challenges for rural areas;
--policy debates in national, regional, and European governmental bodies
regarding the environment and sustainable development in Central Europe;
--environmental and sustainable development issues as factors in the
accession of new members to the EU;
--continuities and change in popular, intellectual, and artistic
representations of the natural environment, environmental change, and
economic development;
--the impact of environmental issues and concerns on business strategies
for Central European commerce and industry.
Proposals for papers on other issues relating to the environment and
sustainable development in Austria and Central Europe will also be
considered. The Center for Austrian Studies hopes to publish selected
papers from the conference in revised, expanded form. Send a title, a
one-page precis of the paper, and a curriculum vitae of the presenter to:
Prof. Gary B. Cohen
Director, Center for Austrian Studies
University of Minnesota
314 Social Science Building, 267 19th Avenue S.
Minneapolis MN 55455
Tel: 612-624-9811, fax: 612-626-9004
E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Website: www.cas.umn.edu
DEADLINE FOR PROPOSALS: 1 FEBRUARY 2002
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Dr. Stefanie S. Rixecker, Senior Lecturer
Environmental Management & Design Division
Lincoln University, Canterbury
PO Box 84
Aotearoa New Zealand
E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Fax: 64-03-325-3841
Mob: 021 150 2862
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