ISEE Announces its 11th Biennial Conference: “Advancing Sustainability in a Time of Crises”

To take place in Oldenburg and Bremen, Germany in 2010.

The 11th Biennial ISEE Conference, 2010 will take place from 22 – 25 August, 2010 with the theme: “Advancing Sustainability in a Time of Crises”. The conference will take place in the two adjacent cities of Bremen and Oldenburg. The city of Oldenburg is the economic, administrative and cultural centre of the Weser-Ems region in north-western Germany.

Approximately 160 000 inhabitants enjoy living in a dynamic, culturally-rich and prospering city. Oldenburg offers a picturesque old town centre. Here one can find the castle, the Old Town Hall and small streets and alleys that invite you to discover more. The old town is free of motor traffic and several parks invite visitors and citizens to lush walks. The city is not far from the North Sea coast. Oldenburg is the ideal starting point to access the Wadden Sea National Park which only a short trip from Oldenburg.

Visits to this unique landscape and natural habitat give tourists an impression of the important role the North Sea plays in the region. On the other hand, Bremen, a city, as well as Germany’s smallest state, offers a long maritime history. Trade, logistics and shipbuilding industry are cornerstones of Bremen’s history. With a population of almost 550 000, Bremen is the largest city in northwestern Germany. Situated along the river Weser, the city has a list of must-see sights. The old town with its 13th century cathedral, medieval quarters, the Renaissance town hall and the statue of the city’s protector Roland is popular among tourists from all over the world. Apart from its rich history, Bremen is a modern port city with major companies in the shipbuilding, aviation and space industry.

Universities, colleges and research institutes contribute to the modern spirit of Bremen.

The conference will be hosted at the University of Oldenburg and University of Bremen. Both universities have a strong record in ecological economic research and teaching and are centres of interdisciplinary environmental and sustainability research with a strong focus on social science and economic dimensions of the problem. A preliminary set of themes based on research topics addressed by teams in Oldenburg and Bremen includes the following:

• Climate change and adaptation to climate change
• Biodiversity and ecosystem services
• Governance
• Knowledge and social learning for societal change
• Dematerialization and de-growth
• Business strategies for sustainable management
• Land use patterns
• Coastal zone management
• (renewable) energy and sustainable energy systems
• Sustainability science and transdisciplinary research designs
• Evolutionary economics
• Institutional economics
• Postautistic economics

The executive committee is expected to take all central decisions concerning the call for papers, the venues, the review process, the keynote speakers, the organisation of sessions, and other organizational details in coordination with the local organizing teams in Oldenburg and Bremen.

Members of the committee are: Professor Klaus Eisenack (Oldenburg University), Dr.
Katherine Farrell (Aarhus University), Professor Michael Flitner (Bremen University), Professor John Gowdy (Rennselear Polytechnic Institute, ISEE President elect), Dr. Pushpam Kumar (University of Liverpool), Professor Peter May (ISEE President, Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro), Dr. Felix Rauschmeyer, (Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research Leipzig), Professor Inge Røpke (Technical University of Denmark, tbc), and Professor Bernd Siebenhüner (Oldenburg University).

The organizing team is responsible for the organizational details, in particular rooms, accommodation, transportation, catering, and alike. There will be local organizing teams in Oldenburg and Bremen to prepare the particular events at the particular locations. The teams will be supported by a larger number of student volunteers at both conference venues.

It will be the main task of the scientific committee to serve as reviewers in the selection process of paper and poster submissions. The online tool owned by ISEE will be used for the review process. Around 100 ecological economists from around the world will be summoned for this purpose.

Also the organization of the Conference will count with the partnership of the European Society for Ecological Economics (ESEE), Vereinigung für ökologische Wirtschaftsforschung (German Association for Ecological-Economic Research, VÖW), Vereinigung für Ökologische Ökonomie (German Association for Ecological Economics, VÖÖ), International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change (IHDP), among others.