Hey Beth (and I hope your new campus-wide initiative will provide us all with ample funds to work on these things),
I have one micro and one more macro suggestion: 1. Nanotechnology: in my mind this could be GMOs on steroids as an environmental threat; in many ways, I see the same kind of responses nationally and internationally: a. A feckless operationalization of the precautionary principle; b. Inadequate assessments of potential impacts in the face of huge prospective profits and the dazzling packaging to date of its applications; c. Very little public engagement, and most of that extremely ill-informed; 2. Macro issue: developing indicators to assess the ecologically effectiveness of treaty regimes and to facilitate the development of benchmarks. In the wildlife arena, where I work the most, regimes e.g. CMS and CBD are just beginning to grapple with this critical issue. I also agree with Radoslav that "treaty congestion," or whatever metaphor one prefers, has become a very hot topic, again evinced by substantial amounts of time being devoted at the meetings of the parties in regimes such as Rotterdam, CBD, CMS, Barcelona Convention. wil Wil Burns Associate Professor International Environmental Policy Program Monterey Institute of International Studies 460 Pierce Street Monterey, CA. 93940-2659 USA 831.647.7104 (Phone) 831.647.4199 (Fax) [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.miis.edu/gsips-progs-maiep.html _____________________________________ In the end we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand; and we will understand only what we are taught. Baba Dioum -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Radoslav Dimitrov Sent: Monday, April 03, 2006 3:10 PM To: Beth DeSombre Cc: gep-ed@listserve1.allegheny.edu Subject: Re: Emerging environmental issues? One recurrent theme at various intergovernmental meetings is Coordination. With a plethora of multilateral agreements, many of which are interrelated, there is frequent talk about coordinating their implementation. "Synergies" is a keyword in global policy discourse and an item on the formal agendas of many meetings. Similarly, the overpopulation with IGOs of overlapping mandates and jurisdiction, there are constant discussions at various fora about coordinating IGO activities. Various examples can be offered, from workshops on synergies among the Rio Conventions, to setting up a Collaborative Partnership on Forests (among 7 or so IGOs), to persistent proposals to create a grandiose environmental organization. (I mean ideas that circulate among governments, apart from the academic proposals of Esty, Biermann and others. There are have been high level meetings on this topic, involving ministers). So, there is a coordination or "Governing governance" theme that can be treated as an emerging issue in global environmental politics. Hope this helps, Beth. Rado Radoslav S. Dimitrov, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Department of Political Science University of Western Ontario Social Science Centre London, Ontario Canada N6A 5C2 Tel. +1(519) 661-2111 ext. 85023 Fax +1(519) 661-3904 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] On 3-Apr-06, at 5:53 PM, Beth DeSombre wrote: > For a committee I'm on (proposing directions for a university > environmental institute) I've been charged with determining what > people in > my research community see as emerging environmental issues. These > can be > based on topic/issue area (e.g. nanotechnology, nitrogen pollution), > approach (e.g. market mechanisms for environmental regulation, private > regulatory processes), or even thinking about other ways we might > usefully > consider environmental issues (e.g. consumption, sufficiency). > > So, if you're willing to weigh in, where do you see our field going > in the > not-too-distant future? What are the things we as scholars should be > gearing up to try to consider? > > Incidentally, this shouldn't be limited to an international focus > -- all > scales, from very local, through national and international, are > relevant. > > Thanks in advance to those willing to conceptualize and speculate. > > Beth > > Elizabeth R. DeSombre > Wellesley College > >
