The website now includes a free download area. At present, it contains global HANPP data, biomass flow data and a global land-use dataset. Updates are planned.

http://www.uni-klu.ac.at/socec/inhalt/1088.htm

– Summer Semester 2008: Course information online

Detailed information can be found on our website:

http://www.uni-klu.ac.at/socec/inhalt/255.htm

For further information please contact:

simone [dot] gingrich [at] uni-klu [dot] ac [dot] at

– UNEP International Panel for Sustainable Resource Management

On the 9th of November the International Panel for Sustainable Resource Management (Resource Panel) was launched on the World Science Forum in Budapest. The Resource Panel was established by UNEP, with the support of a wide range of governments, the European Commission and representatives from civil society. The overall objective of the Resource Panel is to provide independent scientific assessment on environmental impacts due to the use of resources over the full life cycle, and advise governments and organisations on ways to reduce these identified impacts. Marina Fischer-Kowalski is one of the 19 scientific members of the Resource Panel.

For more information go to: http://www.unep.fr/pc/sustain/initiatives/resourcepanel/index.htm

– Global Sustainability: A Nobel Cause

“A Global Contract for the Great Transformation” is the title of the Potsdam Memorandum that resulted from the Interdisciplinary Nobel Laureates Symposium on grand challenges of global sustainability, held by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) in partnership with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) 8-10 October 2007 in Potsdam/Germany.

Find the memorandum in detail at: http://www.nobel-cause.de/

– Austrian Footprint Calculator

In November 2007, the „Austrian Footprint Calculator“ was introduced by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management in order to provide an opportunity for everyone to calculate his or her personal Ecological Footprint. The algorithms used in this calculator were developed by experts from the Institute of Social Ecology and experts from the „Plattform Footprint“.

http://www.mein-fussabdruck.at/

– Article on global HANPP in PNAS

“Quantifying and mapping the human appropriation of net primary production in the Earth’s terrestrial ecosystems”

Helmut Haberl, K. Heinz Erb, Fridolin Krausmann, Veronika Gaube, Alberte Bondeau, Christoph Plutzar, Simone Gingrich, Wolfgang Lucht, Marina Fischer-Kowalski

PNAS, published July 6, 2007

http://www.pnas.org/cgi/reprint/0704243104v1

This article was the second-most read article of the 200 PNAS articles in July. Over 100 websites cited the article.

– MFA data ready for download at Eurostat website

In our Eurostat projects we compiled MFA data for the EU-15 countries. These data are now integrated into the Eurostat website and can be downloaded: http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page?_pageid=0,1136239,0_45571447&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL >> data >> environment >> environmental accounts

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+ Upcoming Events

– 10^th Austrian Climate Research symposium

Austrian climate research, including climate impact, adaptation and mitigation research, will be discussed at the 10^th Austrian Climate Research symposium that will take place on 13th and 14th March 2008 at the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna. The Institute of Social Ecology is part of the Austrian climate research initiative AustroClim that hosts the symposium and will also present own research there.

See: http://www.austroclim.at/index.php?id=86

– 21^st ZUG Minisymposium: Verena Winiwarter

„Von Langzeitfolgen & Nebenwirkungen: Lernen aus der Umweltgeschichte?“

Univ.-Prof. Ing. Dr.phil. Verena Winiwarter

Institut für Soziale Ökologie, Zentrum für Umweltgeschichte

IFF, Schottenfeldgasse 29, 1070 Wien, 4. Stock, Seminarraum 4c

Thursday, 6. March 2008, 18:00 – 20:00 Uhr

Details: http://www.iff.ac.at/umweltgeschichte/

– 22^ndZUG Minisymposium: Christian Rohr

„Laune der Natur oder Hexerei? Zur Wahrnehmung, Deutung und Bewältigung von Unwettern im Alpenraum (15./16. Jahrhundert)“

Ao.Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Christian Rohr M.A.S.

Interdisziplinäres Zentrum für Mittelalterstudien, Universität Salzburg

IFF, Schottenfeldgasse 29, 1070 Wien, 4. Stock, Seminarraum 4c

Donnerstag, 15. May 2008, 18:00 – 20:00 Uhr

Details: http://www.iff.ac.at/umweltgeschichte/

– IFF Lecture and Guest Professorship: Diana Hummel

„Bevölkerungsdynamik und Versorgungssysteme in der sozial-ökologischen Forschung“

Dr. Diana Hummel

Institut für sozial-ökologische Forschung, Frankfurt/Main

Monday, 16. June, 2008, 18:00 – 20:00

Diana Hummel will visit the Institute of Social Ecology for a Guest Professorship on “Social Ecology as transdisciplinary scientific practice” from June 12 to 16, 2008.

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+ Public Outreach (German only)

– Ö1/von tag zu tag/23.01.2008

Helmut Haberl: Von der Biomasse zur Fossilenergie – und wieder zurück?

http://www.uni-klu.ac.at/socec/inhalt/1379.htm

– Radiokulturhaus/ScienceEvent/24.01.2008

Risikodialog: Dynamik demografischer Entwicklungen mit u.a. Marina Fischer-Kowalski; moderiert von Verena Winiwarter

http://www.uni-klu.ac.at/socec/inhalt/1379.htm

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+ New Projects:

– Adaptation Study

The Institute of Social Ecology is leading a consortium that is currently working on a first, rough-and-ready assessment of Austrian research and policy measures aimed at adaptation to climate change. Hundreds of policy measures as well as research reports are currently being incorporated in a database that will provide an overview of adaptation activities in Austria. The consortium also includes Austria’s Federal Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt), the Department of Meteorology of the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna and the OÖ Akademie für Umwelt und Natur. The study started in December 2007 and is expected to deliver results as early as March 2008. The study is financed by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Environment, Forest and Water Management.

Contact: simone [dot] gingrich [at] uni-klu [dot] ac [dot] at

– Ecological Footprint Styria

The Institute of Social Ecology is currently working on an assessment of the Ecological Footprint of the Austrian province of Styria (Steiermark). This is a feasibility study for the calculation of the EF for Austrian provinces in a way that is compatible with the Austrian Footprint accounts. The study is carried out in close collaboration with the Global Footprint Network (http://www.footprintnetwork.org/) and its Austrian branch (http://www.footprint.at/). The project is funded by the Styrian government and is expected to be finished in September 2008.

Contact: helmut [dot] haberl [at] uni-klu [dot] ac [dot] at

– FP7 SUME: Sustainable Urban Metabolism for Europe

The Institute for Social Ecology is a partner in the successful SUME consortium on the topic “Urban metabolism and resource optimization in the urban fabric”. This three year project will link metabolism concepts with urban planning policies, in order to design more sustainable cities. SUME will analyse the potential to transform existing urban built environment in order to significantly reduce the impact on resource and energy consumption. The coordinator of SUME is the Austrian Institute for Regional Studies and Spatial Planning.

Contact: helga [dot] weisz [at] uni-klu [dot] ac [dot] at

– Raw Material Equivalents for the Austrian Imports and Exports

This project, funded by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management will calculate the upstream raw material requirements of Austrian trade flows by using input-output tables. Results will be available in autumn 2008.

Contact: helga [dot] weisz [at] uni-klu [dot] ac [dot] at

– Time-use and material & energy use

Finally, we were able to raise some funds to promote our long-standing interest in the relationship between time use and the environment. The Austrian Ministry of the Environment finances a feasibility study (literature & data) on the chances of analyzing working time reductions in Austria as a potential mechanism of minimizing the rebound effect between efficiency gains and material & energy use. Martin Bruckner will write his diploma thesis on this subject.

Contact: marina [dot] fischer-kowalski [at] uni-klu [dot] ac [dot] at

– MAB Samothraki

On top of a strong wave of local support from the community of Samothraki (an island in the northern Agaeis), various NGOs and the MAB committee of Greece, we could convince the Austrian Man & Biosphere Committee rooted in the Austrian Academy of Sciences to finance a feasibility study for transforming the whole island into a “Man and Biospere Reserve” as defined by UNESCO. Under the guidance from Marina Fischer-Kowalski, Lazaros Xenidis, an environmental studies graduate from Utrecht, and Simron Singh will be the principal investigators to explore both the environmental and the socio-economic preconditions of such a transformation towards sustainability.

Contact: simron [dot] singh [at] uni-klu [dot] ac [dot] at

– Environmental accounting of imports: IMEA

A team from the Institute will take part in a year-long research project reviewing methodologies towards “environmental accounting of imports” to the EU. The IMEA project is part of the SKEP-ERA EU 6th framework program. We are responsible for a work package on environmental footprints, focusing on land and water use. We will also be active in several other work packages: on Environmentally Extended Multi-Region Input-Output modelling, Material Flow Analysis and Life-Cycle Analysis. Our collaborators in this project are the Ecole des Mines (ARMINES) in France, the coordinator, TNO in the Netherlands, VITO in Belgium and the University of OULO in Finland.

Contact: julia [dot] steinberger [at] uni-klu [dot] ac [dot] at

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+ Reports on recent Conferences and Guests

– 8^th Berlin Conference on the Human Dimensions on Global Environmental Change

This 2008 Berlin Conference was the eighth event in the series of annual European Conferences on the Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change, and the first International Conference of the Social-Ecological Research Programme. It was held in Berlin on 22-23 February 2008. It particularly targeted at bringing together trandisciplinary research results on long-term policies from various fields. It provided ample opportunities to advance social-ecological research into international debates and to discuss future perspectives of this field.

The conference has been endorsed by the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change Programme (IHDP), by the Earth System Governance Scientific Planning Committee and the German Association for Ecological Economic Research (VÖW). The papers can be downloaded at http://web.fu-berlin.de/ffu/akumwelt/bc2008/index.htm

– 20^th ZUG Minisymposium: Martin Knoll

„Schreiben und Schweigen über Natur. Vom umweltgeschichtlichen Quellenwert historisch-topographischer Literatur der Frühen Neuzeit.“

Dr. Martin Knoll, Neuere Geschichte/Schwerpunkt Stadt- und Umweltgeschichte, Technische Universität Darmstadt

Universität Wien – Institut für Geschichte, Dr.-Karl-Lueger-Ring 1, 1010 Wien

Wednesday, 23. January 2008, 20h00

– IFF Lecture and Guest Professorship: Eugene Rosa

“Sustainability and Other Grand Risks: New Challenges to Risk Analysis”

Eugene A. Rosa, Professor of Sociology, Edward R. Meyer Distinguished Professor of Natural Resource and Environmental Policy, Washington State University

IFF Vienna, Schottenfeldgasse 29

Monday, 14 January 2008, 18h30-20h

Eugene Rosa visited the Institute of Social Ecology for a Guest Professorship on “Structural Human Ecology” from January 14 to 17, 2008.

– ENVIRDANUBE – ESF Exploratory Workshop

Financed by an ESF Exploratory Workshop grant, researchers from 10 countries met in Vienna in February to discuss possible long-term-socio-ecological research covering the entire Danube watershed. This workshop was conducted in co-operation between IFF Social Ecology and the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna. An informal network of information exchange was set up.

If you are interested in participating in the network, please contact Martin Schmid: martin [dot] schmid [at] uni-klu [dot] ac [dot] at

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+ Selected Publications 2007

Books

Fischer-Kowalski, Marina and Haberl, Helmut (2007): Socioecological transitions and global change: Trajectories of Social Metabolism and Land Use. Cheltenham, UK, Northampton, USA: Edward Elgar

Schmid, Martin and Veichtlbauer, Ortrun (2007): Vom Naturschutz zur Ökologiebewegung. Umweltgeschichte Österreichs in der zweiten Republik. Innsbruck: Studienverlag (Österreich – Zweite Republik. Befund, Kritik, Perspektive; 19)

Winiwarter, Verena and Knoll, Martin (2007): Umweltgeschichte. Eine Einführung. Köln: Böhlau

Articles in journals

Erb, Karl-Heinz, Gaube, Veronika, Krausmann, Fridolin, Plutzar, Christoph, Bondeau, Alberte, and Haberl, Helmut (2007): A comprehensive global 5min resolution land-use dataset for the year 2000 consistent with national census data. In: Journal of Land Use Science 2(3), pp. 191-224.

Gaube, Veronika and Sedlacek, Sabine (2007): Nachhaltige Regionalentwicklung – Die Rolle regionaler Institutionen in Österreich. In: Zeitschrift für angewandte Umweltforschung 18(1), pp. 113-132.

Gingrich, Simone, Erb, Karl-Heinz, Krausmann, Fridolin, Gaube, Veronika, and Haberl, Helmut (2007): Long-term dynamics of terrestrial carbon stocks in Austria. A comprehensive assessment of the time period from 1830 to 2000. In: Regional Environmental Change 7(1), pp. 37-47.

Haberl, Helmut (2007): Measuring the global human impact on terrestrial ecosystems – the HANPP approach. In: Bridges 15 [online] http://www.ostina.org/content/view/2562/

Haberl, Helmut, Erb, Karl-Heinz, Krausmann, Fridolin, Gaube, Veronika, Bondeau, Alberte, Plutzar, Christof, Gingrich, Simone, Lucht, Wolfgang, and Fischer-Kowalski, Marina (2007): Quantifying and mapping the human appropriation of net primary production in earth’s terrestrial ecosystems. In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 104, pp. 12942-12947.

Ohl, Cornelia, Krauze, Kinga, and Grünbühel, Clemens M. (2007): Towards an understanding of long-term ecosystem dynamics by merging socio-economic and environmental research. Criteria for long-term socio-ecological research sites selection. In: Ecological Economics 63(2-3), pp. 383-391.

Ramos-Martin, Jesus, Giampietro, Mario, and Mayumi, Kozo (2007): On China’s exosomatic energy metabolism: An application of multi-scale integrated analysis of societal metabolism (MSIASM). In: Ecological Economics 63(1), pp. 174-191.

Smetschka, Barbara, Gaube, Veronika, and Lutz, Juliana (2007): Bäuerinnen gestalten Land(wirt)schaft. Ein Computermodell zur Entwicklung der Landwirtschaft. In: Zoll+ 17(10), pp. 70-72.

Winiwarter, Verena (2007): Nationalized Nature on Picture Postcards: Subtexts of Tourism from an Environmental Perspective. In: Global Environment 00, pp. 164-187.

Winiwarter, Verena (2007): Soils and Society. An environmental history of challenge and response. In: Die Bodenkultur 57 (4), pp. 231-242.

Winiwarter, Verena (2007): Vom stummen Frühling zum Lärm um den Klimawandel. Wie Umweltthemen Karriere machen. (Editorial). In: GAIA 16(4), pp. 241-241.

Book chapters

Bauler, Tom, Douglas, Ian, Daniels, Peter L., Demkine, Volodymyr, Eisenmenger, Nina, Grosskurth, Jasper, Hak, Tomas, Knippenberg, Luuk, Martin, Jock, Mederly, Peter, Prescott-Allen, Robert, Scholes, Robert J., and van Woerden, Jaap (2007): Identifying Methodological Challenges. In: Hak, Tomas et al. (Eds.): Sustainability Indicators. A Scientific Assessment. Washington,D.C., Covelo, London: SCOPE, Island Press, pp. 49-64.

Dearing, John A., Graumlich, Lisa J., Grove, Richard, Grübler, Arnulf, Haberl, Helmut, Hole, Frank, Pfister, Christian, and van der Leeuw, Sander E. (2007): Integrating socio-environment interactions over centennial timescales: needs and issues. In: Costanza, Robert et al. (Eds.): Sustainability or Collapse? An Integrated History and Future of People on Earth. Cambridge, MA, London, UK: The MIT Press, pp. 243-274.

Eisenmenger, Nina and Giljum, Stefan (2007): Evidence from Societal Metabolism Studies for Ecological Unequal Trade. In: Hornborg, Alf and Crumley, Carol L. (Eds.): The World System and the Earth System: Global Socioenvironmental Change and Sustainability since the Neolithic. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press, pp. 288-302.

Eisenmenger, Nina, Fischer-Kowalski, Marina, and Weisz, Helga (2007): Indicators of Natural Resource Use and Consumption. In: Hak, Tomas et al. (Eds.): Sustainability Indicators. A Scientific Assessment. Washington, D.C.: SCOPE, Island Press, pp. 193-209.

Eisenmenger, Nina, Schandl, Heinz, and Ramos-Martin, Jesus (2007): Transition in a modern context: patterns of development in a globalizing world. In: Fischer-Kowalski, Marina and Haberl, Helmut (Eds.): Socioecological Transitions and Global Change: Trajectories of Social Metabolism and Land Use. Cheltenham, UK, Northampton, USA: Edward Elgar, pp. 179-222.

Erb, Karl-Heinz, Haberl, Helmut, and Krausmann, Fridolin (2007): The fossil-fuel powered carbon sink. Carbon flows and Austria’s energetic metabolism in a long-term perspective. In: Fischer-Kowalski, Marina and Haberl, Helmut (Eds.): Socioecological Transitions and Global Change: Trajectories of Social Metabolism and Land Use. Cheltenham, UK, Northampton, USA: Edward Elgar, pp. 60-82.

Fischer-Kowalski, Marina and Haberl, Helmut (2007): Conceptualizing, observing and comparing socioecological transitions. In: Fischer-Kowalski, Marina and Haberl, Helmut (Eds.): Socioecological Transitions and Global Change: Trajectories of Social Metabolism and Land Use. Cheltenham, UK, Northampton, USA: Edward Elgar, pp. 1-30.

Fischer-Kowalski, Marina, Haberl, Helmut, and Krausmann, Fridolin (2007): Conclusions: Likely and unlikely pasts, possible and impossible futures. In: Fischer-Kowalski, Marina and Haberl, Helmut (Eds.): Socioecological transitions and global change: Trajectories of Social Metabolism and Land Use. Cheltenham, UK, Northampton, USA: Edward Elgar, pp. 223-256.

Fischer-Kowalski, Marina (2007): Multidisziplinäre Wurzeln der Industrial Ecology. In: Isenmann, Ralf and Hauff, Michael v. (Eds.): Industrial Ecology. Mit Ökologie zukunftsorientiert wirtschaften. München: Elsevier, pp. 89-100.

Grünbühel, Clemens M., Singh, Simron J., and Fischer-Kowalski, Marina (2007): The local base of transitions in developing countries. In: Fischer-Kowalski, Marina and Haberl, Helmut (Eds.): Socioecological Transitions and Global Change: Trajectories of Social Metabolism and Land Use. Cheltenham, UK, Northampton, USA: Edward Elgar, pp. 139-178.

Haberl, Helmut, Erb, Karl-Heinz, Plutzar, Christof, Fischer-Kowalski, Marina, and Krausmann, Fridolin (2007): Human appropriation of net primary production (HANPP) as indicator for pressures on biodiversity. In: Hak, Tomas et al. (Eds.): Sustainability Indicators. A Scientific Assessment. Washington, D.C., Covelo, London: SCOPE, Island Press, pp. 271-288.

Haberl, Helmut, Erb, Karl-Heinz, and Krausmann, Fridolin (2007): Human appropriation of net primary production. In: Neumayer, Eric (Ed.): Online Encyclopedia for Ecological Economics. The International Society for Ecological Economics

Haberl, Helmut and Krausmann, Fridolin (2007): The local base of the historical agrarian-industrial transition, and the interaction between scales. In: Fischer-Kowalski, Marina and Haberl, Helmut (Eds.): Socioecological transitions and global change: Trajectories of Social Metabolism and Land Use. Cheltenham, UK, Northampton, USA: Edward Elgar, pp. 116-138.

Haberl, Helmut and Weisz, Helga (2007): The potential use of the Materials and Energy Flow Analysis (MEFA) framework to evaluate the environmental costs of agricultural production systems and possible applications to aquaculture. In: Bartley, Devin M. et al. (Eds.): Comparative Assessment of the Environmental Costs of Aquaculture and Other Food Production Sectors. Methods for Meaningful Comparisons. Rome: FAO, pp. 97-120.

Krausmann, Fridolin and Haberl, Helmut (2007): Land-use change and socio-economic metabolism. A macro view of Austria 1830-2000. In: Fischer-Kowalski, Marina and Haberl, Helmut (Eds.): Socioecological transitions and global change: Trajectories of Social Metabolism and Land Use. Cheltenham, UK, Northampton, USA: Edward Elgar, pp. 31-59.

Rickard, Louise, Jesinghaus, Jochen, Amann, Christof, Glaser, Gisbert, Hall, Stephen, Cheatle, Marion, Le Kama, Alain A., Lippert, Erich, McGlade, Jaqueline, Ruffing, Kenneth, and Zaccai, Edwin (2007): Ensuring Policy Relevance. In: Hak, Tomas et al. (Eds.): Sustainability Indicators. A Scientific Assessment. Washington, D.C., Covelo, London: SCOPE, Island Press, pp. 65-82.

Schandl, Heinz and Krausmann, Fridolin (2007): The Great Transformation: A socio-metabolic reading of the industrialization of the United Kingdom. In: Fischer-Kowalski, Marina and Haberl, Helmut (Eds.): Socioecological transitions and global change: Trajectories of Social Metabolism and Land Use. Cheltenham, UK, Northampton, USA: Edward Elgar, pp. 83-115.

Schmid, Martin (2007): Zur Rolle von Wissenschaft in einer vorsorgenden Gesellschaft: Ein normativer Entwurf am Beispiel historischer Wissenschaften. In: Krainer, Larissa and Trattnig, Rita (Eds.): Kulturelle Nachhaltigkeit: Konzepte, Perspektiven, Positionen. München: oekom Verlag, pp. 369-394.

Smetschka, Barbara, Gaube, Veronika, and Lutz, Juliana (2007): GenderGAP: Geschlechtsspezifische Auswirkungen der Reform der EU-Agrarpolitik. In: Lutter, Christina and Balti, Sonya (Eds.): Forschungsprogramm Transdisziplinäres Forschen Geistes-, Sozial- und Kulturwissenschaften (TRAFO). Einblicke und Rückblicke. Wien: BMWF, pp. 15-20.

Sonnlechner, Christoph and Winiwarter, Verena (2007): Cultural landscape development in Europe: taking the long view on European history and its landscapes. In: Bicik, Ivan and et al. (Eds.): Land use/land cover changes in the period of globalization. Proceedings of the IGU-LUCC International Conference Prague 2001. Prag, pp. 15-22.

Weisz, Helga (2007): Combining Social metabolism and Input-Output Analyses to account for Ecologically Unequal Trade. In: Hornborg, Alf et al. (Eds.): Rethinking Environmental History: World System History and Global Environmental Change. AltaMira: Rowman & Littlefield, pp. 289-306.

Weisz, Helga (2007): Metabolismus von Industriegesellschaften. In: Isenmann, Ralf and Hauff, Michael v. (Eds.): Industrial Ecology. Mit Ökologie zukunftsorientiert wirtschaften. Heidelberg: Elsevier, Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, pp. 209-224.

Winiwarter, Verena (2007): Zum Umgang mit Zufall und Kontingenz in den Geschichtswissenschaften – mit einem Ausblick in die Technik- und Umweltgeschichte. In: Zeilinger, Anton et al. (Eds.): Der Zufall als Notwendigkeit. Wien: Picus, Wiener Vorlesungen im Rathaus, pp. 71-84.

IFF Social Ecology e-Newsletter Nr. 15 – February 2007