Dear all,
For those who were not able to attend the ISA in New Orleans, the Sprout
Committee awarded D.G Webster the 2010 Harald and Margaret Sprout Award for
her book, Adaptive Governance: The Dynamics of Atlantic Fisheries Management
(Cambridge: MIT Press). Many congratulations to D.G.!
For those wanting a description of the book or more info on the Sprout Award
keep reading. But first a quick reminder to all that the Sprout Award
Committee will soon be soliciting nominations for next year's Sprout Award and
publishers will have to send in copies of the book for consideration.
D.G. Webster`s Adaptive Governance. Book description (taken from Amazon):
The rapid expansion of the fishing industry in the last century has raised major
concerns over the long-term viability of many fish species. International
fisheries organizations have failed to prevent the overfishing of many stocks
but succeeded in curtailing harvests for some key fisheries. In Adaptive
Governance, D. G. Webster proposes a new perspective to improve our
understanding of both success and failure in international resource regimes. She
develops a theoretical approach, the vulnerability response framework, which can
increase understanding of countries’ positions on the management of
international fisheries based on linkages between domestic vulnerabilities and
national policy positions. Vulnerability, mainly economic in this context, acts
as an indicator for domestic susceptibility to the increasing competition
associated with open access and related stock declines. Because of this
relationship, vulnerability can also be used to trace the trajectory of nations’
positions on fisheries management as they seek political alternatives to
economic problems.<BR><BR>Webster tests this framework by using it to predict
national positions for eight cases drawn from the International Commission for
the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). These studies reveal that there is
considerable variance in the management measures ICCAT has adopted—both between
different species and in dealing with the same species over time—and that much
of this variance can be traced to vulnerability response behavior.<BR><BR>Little
attention has been paid to the ways in which international regimes change over
time. Webster's innovative approach illuminates the pressures for change that
are generated by economic competition and overexploitation in Atlantic
fisheries. Her work also identifies patterns of adaptive governance, as national
responses to such pressures culminate in patterns of change in international
management.
The Harold and Margaret Sprout Award was established in 1972 and named
in honor of two pioneers in the study of international environmental
problems. The award is given annually to the best book in the field –
one that makes a contribution to theory and interdisciplinarity, shows
rigor and coherence in research and writing, and offers accessibility
and practical relevance. Nominated books should address some aspect of
one or more environmental, pollution or resource issues from a broadly
international or transnational perspective, including works in (for
example) global, interstate, transboundary, North-South, foreign policy,
comparative or area studies. Environmental subjects of books can include
(for example) environmental law, diplomacy, transnational activism,
natural resource use, global change, sustainable development,
biodiversity, transboundary pollution control, and the like.
Nominated works must be published during the two years prior to the year
they are nominated for. Books with a copyright date of the award year
are welcome provided that they are released by the previous year’s end.
Each publisher may nominate more than one book, and books nominated for
the prior year can be re-nominated. The committee members will begin
reading the books as soon as they arrive. The committee must complete
its review and reach its decision by the beginning of the award year in
time for presentation of the award at the annual meeting of the ISA in
February or March. Therefore, we need to receive notice of nominations
and receive copies of nominated books by 1 December.
Publishers wishing to nominate books should send one copy of each book
to *each* member of the Sprout Award Committee. The names and addresses
of committee members are listed on the “officers” page of this site:
http://environmental-studies.org/?page_id=5.
Best wishes, Miranda Schreurs
--
*************************************
Prof. Miranda Schreurs
Director, Environmental Policy Research Centre (FFU)
Department of Political and Social Sciences
Otto Suhr Institute for Political Science
Freie Universitat Berlin
Ihnestr. 22 / D - 14195 Berlin-Dahlem
phone: (+)49 - 30 - 838 56687
fax: (+)49 - 30 - 838 566 85
web: www.fu-berlin.de/ffu
