This initiative focuses on environmental governance issues in the areas of water and forests in the Intermountain West (IMW) region of the US (Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho). The team has developed a conceptual framework adapted from the Earth System Governance project science plan that has been applied to case studies of individual governance initiatives in the region to analyze and understand how governance systems are adapting to social, economic and ecological change. This initiative builds on existing strengths and ongoing research activities in the College of Liberal Arts and the Warner College of Natural Resources at CSU. The project was named a School of Global Environmental Governance Global Challenge Research Team for 2012-2013. Participants will present the conceptual framework and related case studies at the International Symposium for Society and Resource Management in Estes Park, Colorado June 4-8, 2013.
Objectives:
- Identify conceptual and methodological tools for connecting existing research efforts on environmental governance in the IMW region.
- Facilitate coordination across these research efforts to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of ongoing research.
- Increase knowledge of transdisciplinary research efforts by documenting the evolution of the process and resulting research products.
This project is organized by the The Environmental Governance Working Group at Colorado State University, a multidisciplinary community of scholars seeking to advance research on issues of environmental governance and sustainability. The EGWG defines environmental governance as the formal and informal institutions, policies, rules and practices that shape how humans interact with the environment at all levels of social organization.
Events:
The EGWG Inter-Mountain West Initiative (IMW) hosted a panel at the 19th Annual Symposium on Society and Resource Management (ISSRM) conference. For more information about the Earth System Governance project presence in this conference, see the Earth System Governance event page or visit the ISSRM conference website.
Publications:
Mattor, Katherine, Michele Betsill, Ch’aska Huayhuaca, Heidi Huber-Stearns, Theresa Jedd, Faith Sternlieb, Patrick Bixler, Antony Cheng, and Matthew Luizza. 2013. Transdisciplinary Research on Environmental Governance: A View from the Trenches. Earth System Governance Working Paper No. 29. Lund and Amsterdam: Earth System Governance Project.