Rödder S – PCST Network

Author: Simone Rödder – University of Hamburg, Germany

Co-authors:

Michael Bríggemann – Universität Hamburg, Germany
Joana Kollert – Universität Hamburg, Germany

The concept of anthropogenic climate change has sparked extensive discourses in science, politics and the public sphere. Unlike many other scientific issues, the global warming debate features strong transnational actors and institutions such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the United Nations’ climate summits, environmental NGO networks and climate denial by vested interests. Yet global warming, defined as long-term changes in global average temperatures, “is not perceptible nor provable as a day or year of human life shade into the next” (Jasanoff 2010). In making sense of climate change, individuals entangle the scientific concept of climate with their everyday lifes where it is shaped, for instance, by experiences of extreme weather events or seasonal change.

In this visual presentation we make a case for understanding the dynamics of how individuals make sense of climate change. We base our presentation on case studies of local communities around the world that represent a range of cultural and geographical contexts, including coastal regions in Western countries (Germany) as well as South-East Asia (Philippines, Bangladesh), Central Africa (Tanzania) and Greenland. Our contribution will explore how climate-related interpretations evolve in each of these regions.

The author has not yet submitted a copy of the full paper.

Presentation type: Visual presentation
Theme: Transformation

Author: Simone Rödder – University of Hamburg, Germany

Co-authors:

Vera Köpsel – University of Hamburg, Germany

Since the ‘participatory turn’, public participation in research is conceptualised as a social as well as an epistemic value and participatory elements are increasingly required to succeed in national as well as European funding schemes. With increased participation, knowledge production is expected to change from exclusive to inclusive and from esoteric to ‘socially robust’ and sustainable. These participatory practices, however, await investigation: What concepts of ‘research’ and ‘knowledge’ do the different approaches embody? In how far are different kinds of expertise acknowledged? What relationships develop between experts, communities and policymakers? Where is the line between empowerment and exploitation? Moreover: Do these practices challenge or rather support implicit communication models such as the deficit model?

In this contribution, we aim at advancing ‘research for all’ by both theorising participatory science and its underlying values and by exploring how participation plays out in practice. Our empirical case is fisheries science, an applied field that by way of assessing fish stocks provides policy and management advice. The field’s key stakeholders are fisheries scientists, fishers, fisheries managers, representatives of the industry, and local and EU policy and governance agencies. Whilst the views of stakeholders on engagement in fisheries science are fairly well researched, there is a gap in our understanding of the rationale and motivations of the scientists who engage. We therefore specifically look at how fisheries scientists’ perceive their engagement with other stakeholders and compare engagement practices in five case study regions across Europe, including the Mediterranean Sea, the Bay of Biscay, the North Sea, the North-western European Shelf and the Eastern Baltic Sea. The talk will present findings based on 25 interviews with scientists in the case study regions.

The author has not yet submitted a copy of the full paper.

Presentation type: Insight talk
Theme: Transformation

Global Warming in Local Discourses: How Communities around the World Make Sense of Climate Change

“Doing it to tick a box is an insult to everybody”: Reflecting on participatory practices across Europe in Fisheries Science

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