Dear Ecologers, In early December, Paris will host the Conference of the Parties on Climate Change. The Musee de l’Homme Research Group on Social and Natural Evolution, the International Forestry Resources and Institutions (IFRI) research network (coordinated from the School of Natural Resource and Environment at the University of Michigan), and Program on Forests of the World Bank (PROFOR) announce the first annual conference of the FLARE (Forests and Livelihoods: Assessment, Research, and Engagement) network. FLARE aims to advance cutting edge knowledge and practices regarding forest-based livelihoods, biodiversity, and climate change. The meeting will help improve our understanding of the approaches, methods, tools, and indicators to assess how, where, and why governance of forest and forest mosaics for improving livelihoods works, and how it can be strengthened. The meeting will take place at the Musee de l’Homme (Paris, France) on November 27th - 30th, 2015.
We invite proposals focusing on the relationship between forests and livelihoods, the different ways in which forests are imagined, accessed, used, and governed. In particular, we are interested in the work of practitioners and scholars who work at the interface of forest conservation and livelihoods with the goal of sharing knowledge about their experiences and findings. We expect papers to: use qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods and evidence to report on findings; examine tradeoffs and synergies in forest management and outcomes; and generate a conversation to promote greater visibility and use of key findings, methods, data, and experiences of researchers, practitioners, and decision makers alike. The conference aims to produce a summary document on the state of impact assessment and monitoring efforts, and the impacts of forestry interventions on livelihoods and biodiversity. CONFERENCE THEMES: Proposals for oral presentations, lightning talks, posters, and workshops can address one or more of the following six sub-themes related to forests and livelihoods: 1) Governance and Landscapes; 2) Agricultural Commodities; 3) Social and Biological Aspects of Forest Dependence; 4) Impact Evaluations; 5) Pathways to Prosperity; 6) Climate Abstract submission deadline is July 15, 2015. Notification of acceptance/decline will be given by August 1, 2015. For more information on the FLARE network, conference themes, limited financial support for participants from lower-income countries and students from any university, and to submit your abstract, please go to the Events page of IFRI’s website, and select the FLARE Community of Practice Conference: http://www.ifriresearch.net/category/events/ Conference Scientific Committee Arild Angelsen (Norwegian University of Life Sciences) Eric Lambin (Stanford University) Christopher Barrett (Cornell University) Melissa Leach (University of Sussex) Tony Bebbington (Clark University) Jan McAlpine (International Consultant) Guillermo Castilleja (Moore Foundation) Peter Messerli (University of Bern) Robin Chazdon (University of Connecticut) James Murombedzi (UN Economic Commission for Africa) Michael Dove (Yale University) Tuyeni Mwampamba (UNAM CIEco) Paul Ferraro (Georgia State University) Harini Nagendra (Azim Premji University) Susanna Hecht (University of California, Los Angeles) Robert Nasi (CIFOR) David Kaimowitz (Ford Foundation Thomas Sikor (University of East Anglia) Alain Karsenty (CIRAD) Sven Wunder (CIFOR) Thank you and please feel free to circulate this among anyone you think might be interested, Johan ---------------- Dr Johan Oldekop Marie Curie Research Fellow | International Forestry Resources and Institutions (IFRI) The University of Michigan | 440 Church St. | Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1041, USA Tel: +1 (734) 615 5966 | Fax: +1 (734) 647 5047
