How Regional is Regional Environmental Governance?

Comparing Regional Environmental Governance in East Asia and Europe

EE-REG Kyoto24-25th January 2013

Prof Juliet J. Fall

Two questions

• What is a region, and how is/are they made?• What ‘environment’ are we talking about

when we talk about regional environmental governance?

What is a region?

1. If we are talking about framing regional environmental governance, then…

Regionalisation?

Ex.: How was the Carpathian Convention built around a natural geographical object?

• Defining the boundaries to the Carpathians was a contested political process.

• Ex.: 120 page report to decide boundaries (2006)– National Definitions– UE, UNEP, WWF definitions of ‘mountains’ etc.– Should Serbia / Montenegro be part of it? Where should

the Secretariat be located? Who should fund it?

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Beyond the state…1. Natural regions2. Supranational organisations3. Decentralized affiliates of global organizations4. Social configurations 5. Hybrid entities

Research projects

Following regionalization processes in the Carpathians, the Balkans, the Danube Strategy, and local (bottom-up) initiatives, and comparing them to the Alpine experiences.

Analysing the identification of natural entities (mountains, river basins, bioregions, etc.) in projects, international cooperation designs and data processing

D. Djordjevic Raphael Pieroni Juliet FallSimon GaberellGilles Rudaz Isabelle Mauz Joerg BalsigerB. Debarbieux C. Del Biaggio

Living with a flexible definition• “Region” and “regionalization” refer to spatial

entities that are constructed at particular levels (i.e. subnational, supranational or transnational)

• The question is how are such regions framed (“how are they constructed”, and by whom)>>> literature on the politics of scale; on New Regional Geography; and Political ecology

The Carpathians from environmental data to institution building

Glo-Rete: example

What environments are we talking about?

2. If we are regionalisation environmental governance, then do we all agree that we know…

Cultiver son jardin ?Environmental issues require thinking beyond clearly contained political spaces

… but how can we rethink such multi-level and flexible regional environmental governance?

Transgressions

Nature without boundaries?

Diversity of science and culture

Example: Transboundary protected area between Germany and France, well-established Interreg projects between two European Union countries:

“It is not easy to agree what the natural vegetation is here” (‘Kathrin’, park manager in Pfälzerwald, Germany, interview with J. Fall, 2002)

•Different scientific opinions about what the climactic forest vegetation is in the Pfälzerwald/ Vosges du nord, •Different cultural conceptions of what is worth conserving.

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Diversity of nature(s)

Natures ?Natures ?

‘Nature’ for ecologists

‘Nature’ for ecologists

‘Nature’ for Germans

‘Nature’ for Germans

‘Nature’ for French

‘Nature’ for French

‘Nature’ for biologists

‘Nature’ for biologists

‘Nature’ for foresters

‘Nature’ for foresters

‘Nature’ for l’UNESCO

‘Nature’ for l’UNESCO

‘Nature’ for Ministry

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‘Nature’ for Ministry

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‘Nature’ for local

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‘Nature’ for local

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‘Nature’ for local people‘Nature’ for local people

Where do we go from now?

3. If we are talking about governance working across scales and regions, then…

For example…GEOSPECS GEGeographic specificities

GIRAUT FREDERIC

EU-ESPON 12/31/12 1,259,930

ESPON INTERCOIndicateurs de cohésion territoriale

DAO QUOC-HY

EU-ESPON 12/31/12

594,600

Comparable and reliable indicators and indices that can be used to measure territorial cohesion, complex territorial development, structural issues, territorial challenges and opportunities

Past trends, and potential future developments of geographical specificities for territorial policy and regional development.

Thank you for your attention,

and greetings from the whole team for the success of the meeting!

D. Djordjevic Raphael Pieroni Juliet FallSimon GaberellGilles Rudaz Isabelle Mauz Joerg BalsigerB. Debarbieux C. Del Biaggio