EEDN was initiated in early 2018 in order to bring together academics and practitioners working on issues of environment and development from around Edinburgh. Image The network aims to promote discussion around topics of interest, a sharing of knowledge and experience, a greater awareness of each other’s work, potential to collaborate on proposals and projects, and just a chance to get to know each other. We meet once a month (except in the summer; June-August) for discussions on topics introduced by members of the network, with facilitation aimed at sharing expertise and experiences amongst all those present.Sessions take place on Thursdays 16:00-17:30 at ECCI, with refreshments provided.We welcome all new members and all ideas for topics and formats for meetings, so please do get in touch if you’d like to join or share your ideas: Sam Staddon (sam.staddon@ed.ac.uk) and Clare Barnes (c.barnes@ed.ac.uk).Sept - December 2025 sessionsDate and timeTitleSpeaker(s)Location22 Jan 4-6pmThe Gola REDD+ Project: Securing a future for forests, people, and biodiversityRyan WilkieThe Pod, ECCIPast sessionsSept - December 2025Date and timeTitleSpeaker(s)11 Dec Decolonising Indigenous-Led Research in Practice Majdouline El Hichou and Dr Marisa Wilson, School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh20 November Howling for moderation: living with wolves in the American West Dr Rogelio Luque-Lora, Leverhulme Early Career Fellow, School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh 30 OctoberNavigating cuts in the Environment and Development sector: upheaval and uncertainties about the futureClare Barnes, Dhaval Joshi and Sam Staddon, University of Edinburgh 25 SeptemberFire as a conservation tool: Lessons from Southern Africa for ecosystem management in an era of increasing wildfiresDr Elliot Convery-Fisher, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh Past sessionsJanuary - June 2025 Date and timeTitleSpeaker(s)16 January 16:00 - 18:00Sustainability Dilemmas: governing landscapes and a changing polity in NepalAndrea Nightingale, University of Oslo13 February 16:00 - 18:00Art as collaborative practice: Socio-environmental learning with communitiesAna Cabrera PachecoCordula Marks VentersLaura Johnson27 March Screening of documentary Our Blue World followed by a panel discussion including Water Witness International.EEDN and WSP. As spaces are limited, we ask you to register for this event using this link (places are available on a first-come-first-served basis).15 May What role can group farms play in supporting sustainable agricultural intensification in South Asia? Fraser Sugden, University of Birmingham and Bina Agarwal, University of Manchester19 June Exploring Power and Emotions in Human-Elephant co-existence in Kenya Maureen Kinyanjui, University of Edinburgh 3 July Imminence of Trees: Rhizomatic narrative encounters with indigenous and invasive socioecologies, water, food and livelihoods in Cape Town followed by summer socialGrace O'Donovan, University of Edinburgh Sept - December 2024 sessionsDate and timeTitleSpeaker(s)26 Sept 16:00 - 18:00Knowledge exchange between international development and Scottish climate, community and sustainability practice ECCI and EEDN joint event17 Oct 16:00 - 18:00Who stewards our forests?Arpitha Kodiveri14 Nov 16:00 - 18:00Partnering with Mongolian herders to enhance forest resilience and productivity to deliver sustainable global, national and local benefitsPat Hardcastle and Andy Inglis 2023/2024 Spring sessionsDate and timeTitleSpeaker(s)25 January 16:00 - 18:00Regenerative forestry, what is it and is Scotland ready for it? Addendum in response to Q&A: Look to Ireland for how to move gently towards different silvicultural systems: Landmark Continuous Cover Forestry (CCF) Scheme Announced - Pro Silva IrelandWillie McGhee, The Forest Policy Group15 February 16:00 - 18:00Urbanisation and Environmentalism in Malawian State Building: Turning Tensions into Synergies?Matt Lane, University of Edinburgh21 March 16:00 - 18:00 Christianity and conservation agriculture in KenyaPeter Rowe, University of Edinburgh2 May 16:00 - 18:00 Just transformations: Grassroots Struggles for Alternative Futures Iokiñe Rodríguez, University of East Anglia20 June, 16:00 - 18:00Adapting in Adversity, and EEDN summer social with food provided by Edinburgh Food SocialSarah Knight and Simon Mercer, Mercy Corps2023/24 Autumn sessionsDate and timeTitleSpeaker(s)24 August 16:00 - 18:00Why promoting a conservation ethos in Australia is a challengeDr Rochelle Steven, School of Environmental and Conservation Sciences, Murdoch University21 September 16:00 - 18:00'Cattle in the Community Forest': Documentary Film Screening & DiscussionJames Robinson12 October 16:00 - 18:00Supporting community-led conservation in Scotland International conservation organisation Fauna & Flora, and the community initiatives Edinburgh Shoreline and Restoration Forth will discuss their experiences in supporting and delivering community led conservation in Scotland, including supporting the Coastal Communities Network30 November 16:00 - 18:00Restoring Peace with Nature - to coincide with 'Lost Species Day' https://www.lostspeciesday.org Julian Caldecott14 December 16:00 - 18:00Nitrogen with a social sciences twistDr Annie Yang, University of Edinburgh 2022/23 sessionsDateTitleSpeaker(s)15 June 16:00 - 18:00Presentation of a short film showcasing Clare and Sam's recent work with colleagues in Nepal: Collective Reflective Learning for Social Justice in Nepal’s Community-Based Natural Resource ManagementEEDN annual summer social Sam Staddon and Clare Barnes25 May 16:00 - 17:30"What is 'coexistence'? Considering the case of Nepal's tigers and people"Bivishika Bhandari, WWF Nepal30 March 16:00 - 17:30"Land for What? Land for Whom? Senses of Place and Conflict in the Scottish Highlands"Bonnie Vandesteeg12 January 16:00 - 17:30"The health effects of air pollution: democratizing models and measurements to inform global policy decisions"Dr Sumil Thakrar, Department of Applied Economics, University of Minnesota1 December 16:00 - 17:30"A clash between project desires and investor desires: Examples from the voluntary carbon market". Discussing the market trade-offs when it comes to scaling up the conservation or restoration projects around the world. Luke Howard, Plan Vivo27 October"What can Conservation and Agriculture take from Political Ecology?" We aligned with the POLLEN online workshop 'Political Ecology, Conservation & Agrarian Change'; watching some of the presentations and following with a panel discussionPanelists:Dr Shubbhi Sharma, feminist political ecologist, School of Social and Political Sciences Dr Silvia Perez-Espona, conservation geneticist and Coordinator of Edinburgh Conservation Science)Dr Alfy Gathorne-Hardy, agricultural scientist, Global Academy of Agriculture and Food Systems12 October 16:00 - 17:30 "Gendered Surplus People, Food Security, and Maladaptation to Climate Change in Northern Ghana", a co-sponsored event between the Centre for African Studies, EEDN, and POLLEN (the Political Ecology Reading Group) Hanson Nyantakyi-Frimpong29 September16:00 - 18:00 PhD Sharing (...of passion, tips, connections, ideas, solidarity from across the network) Document One piece of advice to other PhD students and to yourself (180.43 KB / PDF) Anyone wanting to share their PhD-related experiences 2021/22 sessionsDate and time TitleSpeaker(s) 23 JuneEEDN Summer Social catered for by Edinburgh Food Social, with delivery by Farr Out. 7 April Document 'Tipping points and deadline-aware climate emergency investments' (3.61 MB / PDF) You can click on the pdf link above for slides of the talk, or watch it here.Dr Julian Caldecott 17 March Document 'Opening the ‘black box’ of international development projects: methods and opportunities for exploring project practices' (770.65 KB / PDF) Jack Covey, PhD candidate at University of Edinburgh27 January Document Water Witness on 'How to solve the global water crisis: five imperatives and the key questions we face' (6.26 MB / PDF) Gaia Marini and Nick Hepworth from Water Witness18 November Document Policy making: science or scientists-led? Exploration of the use of evidence in development and environment policy and practice (3.94 MB / PDF) Yvan BiotSpring 2020 sessions Date and timeTitleSpeaker(s)23 January, 16:00 - 17:30 Document Long-term engagement in Nepal's environmental governance (5.16 MB / PDF) Prof Andrea Nightingale,University of Oslo, Norway27 February, 16:00 - 17:30(cancelled due to the pandemic)UK housing policy learning from former colonies in the global South Matt Lane, University of Edinburgh26 March, 16:00 - 17:30(cancelled due to the pandemic)Indigenous map making in the Ecuadorian Amazon Aliya Ryan, Digital DemocracyAutumn 2019 sessionsDate Title Speaker(s)17 October Document When tree planting damages ecosystems (4.89 MB / PDF) Caroline Lehmann, University of Edinburgh14 November Document Pracademic: bridging the gap between science and practice for disaster management and climate change adaptation (6.33 MB / PDF) Kate Crowley, University of Edinburgh12 December Document Faith in the Forest: the enjoyments and challenges of working for an environmental Christian organisation (5.92 MB / PDF) Nicholas Warren, A RochaSpring 2019 sessions17 January Coastal livelihood interventions Mike Riddell, The Landscapes and Livelihoods Group28 February Learning lessons from projects, places & people Clare Barnes, Gary Watmough, Sam Staddon, University of Edinburgh 14 MarchTechnologies in natural resource governanceMargherita Scazza, University of Edinburgh4 April Ecosystems and urban vulnerability: why is research evidence ignored in Asia and beyond? Jim Jarvie, ThismiafocusAutumn 2018 sessions25 October Livelihoods and Rights-based approaches to natural resource management Peter O’Hara, Participatory Natural Resource Management22 NovemberInvolving business in conservation and developmentTillem Burlace, LTS International13 DecemberIndigenous communitiesPeter Branney, a private consultant Some thoughts from our members I really liked the dynamic of the EEDN session, nice interaction between practitioners and researchers I thought. Great initiative…nice to catch up with old colleagues and meet new people. It was a fantastic session, and really great to see you and lots of familiar faces, and of course the students who really bring a lot to it. The presentation and research was really topical and thought-provoking, particularly as I came to the session from designing a similar project ...and so really nice to have a space to step back and think about these approaches. A quick note to thank you and your team for the event yesterday. A stimulating talk and great to meet people with similar interests. I’m certainly interested in continuing attendance. This article was published on 2022-10-27
