Coordinator: Oluf Langhelle, Rogaland Research, Stavanger & Markku Oksanen, University of Turku

Environmental goods are scarce and distributed in uneven ways. Would a more just world also be better in ecological terms? What is the relation between social and ecological concerns, between sustainability and justice? What kind of global institutions can meet both ecological and social requirements? Both empirical and theoretical papers are welcome.

Coordinators: Jan Otto Andersson, Åbo Akademi & Inge Røpke, Technical University of Denmark

The book Limits to Growth was published three decades ago. It was followed by an intense debate on the ecological and social limits to economic growth, and on the need and possibility of redefining growth and welfare. Although many of the methods and conclusions of the book have been reconsidered, the question of the relationship between economic growth, ecological sustainability and human welfare is still of crucial importance. How do we conceive the limits to growth today? Can "sustainable development" or a "steady state" be achieved, and what would this imply? How does our conception of limits affect our attitudes towards lifestyles, institutions and global issues?

Coordinators: Katarina Eckerberg, Umeå University, & Marko Joas, Åbo Akademi.

The past decade has witnessed a change in the world order of environmental policy making. The strongholds of national environmental policy competence gave room for international regimes as early as the 1980s, a development that reached a peak during the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. Since then the direction of governance patterns has partly been reversed. However, the trend is not back towards nation states, but towards sub-national units that are reforming environmental governance patterns directly with supra-national units, such as the EU, with nation states, with inter- and non-governmental organisations as well as with other sub-national governments. This development is especially evident in the Baltic area, including the Nordic countries. This workshop aims at analysing this development.

Coordinators: Annamari Konttinen, University of Turku

Environmentalism has become an increasingly global force, not just in the form of international environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOís), but also because of the rapidly intensifying networking among local and national environmental NGOs. These trends parallel the growth of global environmental governance. Yet, national governments remain crucial actors in designing and implementing environmental policies. The interaction between environmentalism and environmental policies, especially the impact of the former on the latter, is a phenomenon of great importance, but very difficult to study or document directly. The workshop welcomes papers dealing with environmental policies, environmental movement outcomes, and especially the relationships and dynamics between the two ñ both on the national and global levels.

Coordinator: Timo Myllyntaus, University of Helsinki

Social, political and economic institutions govern how societies and local communities utilise natural resources so as to make their living. The purpose of this workshop is to shed light on how different human groups have tried to adapt their social systems and structures to ecological conditions, and how they have changed the environment when adapting it to their economic and socio-cultural needs. Issues of interest include: What types of environmental awareness can we find in history? How was nature valued before conservation? How did people debate the use of natural resources? Have environmental living conditions improved or worsened in the past?