>Date: Thu, 06 Apr 2006 18:01:35 -0700 >Subject: CFP: "Restoring or Renaturing?"-- A transatlantic workshop >Sender: H-NET List for Environmental History <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Approved-by: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >From: Marcus Hall <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Date: 6 April 2006
Call for Papers and Posters: "Restoring or Renaturing? The presence of the past in ecological restoration -- A transatlantic workshop" to be held in Zurich, Switzerland July 9-11, 2006 Ecological restoration is the process of assisting the recovery of damaged ecosystems. The highest goal for restoration practitioners is usually to bring back the natural state, the state that existed before humans transformed the land. In the Americas and other New Worlds, the classic restoration goal is therefore a pre-settlement state, be it pre-Columbian or pre-Indigenous. But determining pre-settled states in Europe and other Old World countries is more difficult, so that restorationists in these older lands may see their goal as reestablishing ecosystem health or ecological integrity--or as reinstating former processes instead of former conditions. It can be said that Americans restore while Europeans renature. The terminology of recent land-use policies reflect these semantic preferences, with Americans enacting various "restoration" measures for their damaged ecosystems, while the British, Dutch, German, Italians, and Swiss often pursue plans for "new natures" and "r! enatures." More than most interdisciplinary teams, historians and ecologists can work together for improving the practice of ecological restoration. They can offer answers to such questions as: o Which conditions should be brought back, and do such conditions represent new natures or betters pasts? o What historical assumptions do we hold when we set out to restore, and what are the political and social implications? o What can the historical record tell us about the nature of degradation? o Can exotic species belong in properly restored sites? o Can rewilding be a legitimate goal in Europe, or is this a Holy Grail better pursued in the New World? o How can restoration history improve our current efforts to restore? This two-day workshop will consider these and related questions by focusing on how an understanding of the past can enhance the way we restore and renature. It will bring together scholars from both sides of the Atlantic and elsewhere who have thought about how restoration history can inform the way we assist damaged ecosystems to recover. Discussions will explore various case studies that revolve around the identification of reference systems, the meaning of degradation, the past of restoration, and the uses of history in land management. The scope of the conference is not limited by region or time period. English will be the main language of the conference. To submit a paper, please send a one-page abstract of the proposed paper or poster along with a CV with relevant publications (not longer than two pages) by April 30, 2006. Please send all inquiries and abstracts to: Marcus Hall University of Utah, Department of History 380 S. 1400 E., Salt Lake City, UT 84112 USA Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] FAX: 801-585-0580 > >See the workshop website at: >http://www.unizh.ch/uwinst/Workshop/home.html
