Environment

Informe Sección LASA Medio Ambiente
Elena Alvarez, PhD Co-presidenta- 6/9/2025

Síntesis de la reunión de negocios el día 23 de mayo, 2025 en San Francisco Marriott Marquis

La reunión fue atendida por muy pocos miembros de la sección. La lista de los que asistieron incluye en orden alfabético; Hilda Alburqueque, Elena Alvarez, Linda Etchart, Cesar Gamboa, Alvaro Hofflinger, Cindy McCulligh, Pablo Millalen, Julio Postigo, Mark Unger. Se envió una agenda a todos los miembros y se cubrió la agenda en su totalidad. Se informo que la sección contaba con 152 miembros y una cuenta de alrededor de $3500. De esta cantidad se habrían distribuido $2100 en becas de viaje y $700 para cubrir los costos de la recepción en el restaurante Mariposas. A posteriori se nos informo que solo tres de los becarios se presentaron a recoger la becas ($900) y el gasto final de la recepción fue de $1760, nuestro grupo contribuyo con $760. La sección también acordó contribuir con $200 para el costo del autobús de la excursión rural en California. todavía no tenemos el saldo final de nuestra cuenta que debe ser
alrededor de $1800.

Se discutió el trabajo de la sección durante el año, es decir, los seminarios virtuales que se llevaron a cabo desde noviembre hasta abril de este año. Ver Lista de reuniones en anexo. Se discutió la limitada asistencia a los mismos pero varias personas indicaron que han visto las
grabaciones de las presentaciones y desearían que se continuasen. Es importante resaltar que las reuniones virtuales fueron auspiciadas por DAR (Derecho, Ambiente y Recursos Naturales), una ONG en el Peru en la que Cesar Gamboa nuestro otro coordinador está afiliado, La sección convoco dos tipos de premios: Uno sobre mejores libros y artículos liderados por Linda Etchart y Carolyn Fornoff, respectivamente y otro para proveer ayuda suplementaria con el costo del viaje a San Francisco. Ver lista detallada en anexos.

La última reunión virtual fue sobre los libros y artículos que recibieron los premios de la seccion. 

Eventos en LASA 2025: La sección organizo dos pre-conferencias, una de ellas con la seccion FARS, cuatro paneles incluyendo una interseccional con FARS. Alvarez ayudo a coordinar dos paneles adicionales con las propuestas de ponencias enviadas a la sección; además se llevo a cabo una recepción conjunta con Amazonia, y Salud, Ciencia y Tecnología (HST) que fue asistida por más de 50 miembros. Álvarez fue invitada a participar en un panel presidencial sobre asuntos ambientales. También se informó de la reunión de directorio virtual que se llevó a cabo el 12 de mayo con casi todos los miembros del directorio y la elección de la excoordinadora de la sección Linda Etchart
como secretaria del grupo. Ver acta de reunión en anexos.

Respecto a las actividades para el congreso de LASA en Paris 2026 se espera tener tres paneles y un cuarto interseccional con FARS o Amazonia. Continuar con las pre-conferencias y la recepción conjunta con otras secciones. Otros anuncios incluyeron a) la posibilidad de ser “Friends of LASA Sections” por $12 sin tener que ser miembro oficial de LASA. Esto ayuda en el conteo de miembros y el número potencial
de paneles a organizarse en el 2027. Por ejemplo si sumamos 48 “Friends of LASA Environment” podríamos tener 200 miembros y derecho a 4 paneles. b) otro anuncio fue el que LASA2026 será solamente presencial debido a los costos prohibitivos de hacerlo hibrido.

Anexos al reporte de LASA Medio Ambiente- LASA Medio Ambiente presentaciones virtuales:

octubre 2024- abril 2025

1. 'Infrastructure for Life: Challenges and Opportunities,' where opportunities and challenges for promoting infrastructure with environmental sustainability, climate resilience, and social inclusion will be discussed, with an emphasis on cases from the Pan-Amazon region (Brazil, 2. Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru). Oct. 16, 2024
2. Agriculture, Agroexports, and Environmental Issues. The Case studies of Chile, Mexico and Peru. Dec 10, 2024 
3. Reflections from experts and civil society on climate and biodiversity negotiations," - Feb. 14, 2025
4. "El nuevo contexto global y los ambientalismos" March 18, 2025 
5. LASA Environment Best Book and Article Awards. April 22, 2025

LASA Environment Awards
Best Article
Winner:
· Damian Clavel and Susanna B. Hecht, “Colonial Exiles: The Tambora Volcanic Explosion, Environmental History, and Swiss Immigration to Nova Friburgo, Brazil, 1815–1821.” Hispanic America Historical Review, vol. 104, no. 4, 2024, pp. 551-586.

Honorable Mention:
· Pablo Lapegna, Johana Kunin, and Tomás Palmisano, “Between Regulation and Practice: Situated Pesticide Governance in Argentina.” Studies in Comparative International Development, vol. 59, 2024, pp. 288-312.
· Charlotte Rogers, “A Multispecies Caribbean: The Aesthetics of Ecological Reinvention in Art by Dhara Rivera.” Small Axe, vol. 28, no. 1, 2024, pp. 20-38.
Panel Chair: Carolyn Fornoff

Best Book
LASA Environment Best Book Prize of 2025 (books published in 2024):

First prize:
Marston, Andrea (2024) Subterranean matters: Cooperative mining and resource nationalism in plurinational
Bolivia. Durham and London: Duke University Press. andrea.marston@rutgers.edu.

Honourable Mentions:
Greenleaf, Maron (2024) Forest Lost: Producing Green Capitalism in the Brazilian Amazon. Durham and London:
Duke University Press. maron.e.greenleaf@dartmouth.edu
Fornoff, Carolyn (2024) Subjunctive Aesthetics: Mexican Cultural Production in the Era of Climate Change.
Nashville, Tennessee: Vanderbilt University Press. cfornoff@cornell.edu

Award panel:
Hines, Sarah sarahthines@ou.edu
Gisela Heffes gisela.heffes@rice.edu
Cindy McCulligh cindy@ciesas.edu.mx

LASA Travel Awards $300 por participante
Grace Livingstone (participación remota)
Lucas González
María Inés Nieves (no se presentó)
Vladimir Gil
María Teresa Ore (participación remota)
Javiera Madrid Salazar
Daniel Duhart Smithson (no se presento)

LASA Environment Section Board Meeting May 12, 2025 4 PM EDT (NY)
Present: Elena Alvarez, Cesar Gamboa, Elizabeth Pettinaroli, Jennifer Adair, Hilda Albuquerque, Mark Ungar,
Christine Hunefeldt Apologies: Consuelo Guayara Sánchez

Agenda
- Section performance June 2024-May 2025
- Activities in San Francisco Congress (panels, business meeting and reception)
- Organizing LASA Paris May 26–30, 2026 (3 panels) and pre-conference with FARS
- Election of additional board members (Elena and Cesar will continue-Elena is in 3rd year and Cesar is in 2nd). We need board members to assist with virtual meetings, pre-conference, reception and awards.

Section performance
• More members recruited
• Excellent webinars
• Excellent award submissions and award-winners
• Increase in number of panels at Congress
• Excellent Facebook page. [Should there be a link to that from the LASA environment website?]

To be improved
• LASA Environment website is disappointing: the LASA-provided template does not work, for LASA Environment and for other sections.
• Other sections have a link to their own designer websites, which are better.
• LASA Environment will ask LASA Secretariat to improve the template.
• Should LASA Secretariat be doing more? The sections require financial support to create better website for themselves.

LASA Congress 2025 San Francisco
• The Environment Section has 7 panels this year, including 4 intersectional panels.
• Preconference event:
• Reception Saturday 24 May, 6:30 p.m. coorganized with Peru, Health, Science & Technology sections at Restaurante Mariposas 825 Mission St., San Francisco, CA, a short distance from the Congress (Hotel Marriott Marquis). LASA environment has contributed US$700
• Panels attached
• LASA Environment Section Business Meeting: Friday 23 May 3:30 - 5:00 PM (Pacific Time), Salón 215 // MTG - Meeting - Friday, 03:30pm - 05:00pm, Pacific B. Not everyone will be attending in person, but members can participate on zoom. All members encouraged to attend and vote. We need a quorum.
• Elena’s presentation at LASA Presidential Panel Saturday 24 May 3.30pm to 5pm. PRES 4. “Ecopoéticas/Ecopolíticas: biodiversidad, prácticas sustentables y políticas públicas.”
• Membership
• we have a larger membership 170+, which is excellent, as it means we can have more panels and more (unpaid) staff
• participation: we would appreciate more input/feedback from members, e.g. requests, constructive criticism, proposals

Accounts
• Funds available: US$3,500
• Grants: $1,800 travel scholarship; $700 reception, San Francisco Congress.
• Balance: $1000
US government ongoing budget cuts to US universities 2025 onwards may mean a reduction in attendance by US scholars.

Mesa Directiva
• Election of Chairs: Elena Alvarez and César Gamboa happy to continue for another year, 2025-2026, after which Elena’s tenure officially comes to an end.
• Many thanks to Elena and César for their hard work and achievements for the Section in the year 2024 -2025.
• Mesa Directiva: members are encouraged to submit their names to join the Board.
• More participation from the Board would be welcome as the role of Chair is demanding.
• With the larger membership, the section is allowed more staff. Linda Etchart offered to stand for election as Secretary at the Business Meeting.

Awards
Congratulations to team of judges for 2024 publications and appreciation for their hard work. Excellent submissions and worthy winners.
Jennifer Adair has offered to continue as judge for the 2026 awards for best article and best book published in 2025.

LASA Congress 2025, Paris, France
• Both Elena and Cesar will go to Paris, as will Linda Etchart, Sasha Woolson, Elizabeth Pettinaroli, Jennifer Adair, Hilda Albuquerque
• Sasha is investigating her contacts there in the Latin American Environmental Academic Community there. Chair meetings with LASA Secretariat
• 2 this year. Feedback.

Webinars
A productive year, with webinar series, with an attendance of 70 for Eduardo Gudynas et al., though for the prizewinners’ presentations, there were very few participants, apart from the prize winners. We need more support from members to encourage others to submit their publications for awards and participate in members’ own presentations.
Suggestion that the time is not convenient: it was agreed that the webinars should take place at 7 pm Eastern time, 4pm Pacific time.
As many members cannot attend the presentations, it was agreed that there should always be portability, i.e., podcasts, so that members can listen to the presentations in their own time. Jennifer Adair has used the recordings/videos as teaching tools.
Elizabeth Pettinaroli will explore options in her university.
Any new business?
• Do we invite candidates, self-nominations for the Board from the membership? Elections will be held at the Business Meeting.
• What feedback is there from LASA Secretariat? Have there been any virtual meetings among LASA Secretariat and Section Chairs? Are there minutes of those meetings available?
• Thank you for Elena, Cesar, Maria Fe, for organizing the webinars. Are there plans for continuing the series in the autumn?
• Reminders will be sent of business meeting in San Francisco, for board members and membership. [It is essential to be an active member and to participate in business meetings to remain on the Board.]
• Encouragement of members to participate in Environment Section panels in person and on-line in San Francisco.

Linda Etchart. 19 May 2025