Environment

LASA Environment Section Report July 2024

BUSINESS MEETING, 13 June 2024, Bogotá: 21 members present.

SECTION ELECTIONS:

Remaining as Co-Chair 2024/2025: Elena Alvarez

New Co-Chair 2024/2025: César Gamboa

CO-CHAIRS:

• Elena Alvarez Ciencia Andina-Universidad del Pacifico Perú
• Cesar L. Gamboa Balbin, DAR-Derecho, Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, Peru

BOARD MEMBERS:

• Linda Etchart, Kingston University London – UK
• Maria Alessandra Woolson, University of Vermont - USA
• Elizabeth Pettinaroli, Rhodes College- USA 
• Consuelo Guayara Sánchez, University of Iowa – USA
• Mark Ungar Graduate Center, City University of New York -USA
• Jennifer Adair, Fairfield University – USA
• Hilda Alburqueque, Universidad Nacional de Piura- Peru
• Todd Eisenstadt, American University - USA

Activities 2023-2024

o A series of Open Access webinars with leading environmental scholars.

o Reception in conjunction with other sections, 13 June 2024 in Bogotá.

o Section awards for best books 2022-2023.

Best Publication award winners:

Best Book 2022: Sarah T. Hines, University of Oklahoma

Honorable Mentions for Best Book 2022: Amalia Leguizamón, Tulane University; Peter Taylor Klein, Bard College

Best Book 2023: Carolina Sá Carvalho, University of Toronto

Honorable Mentions for Best Book of 2023: Gisela Heffes, Rice University; Cindy McCulligh, Center for Research and Advanced Studies in Social Anthropology (CIESAS), Guadalajara, Mexico.

Publication Awards Committee: Carolyn Fornoff (Chair) Elizabeth Pettinaroli, Jennifer Adair.

Activities planned for 2024-2025:

• Continuation of webinars series to enable Section members to present their work.
• Coordination of pre-conference with LASA-FARS
• Developing a second pre-conference for Environment Section members.
• Annual awards for best books and best articles with expanded publication committee.
• Travel scholarships for LASA Congress San Francisco 2025.
• Coordinating Section Reception with other LASA sections.

Report of Minutes
LASA Environment Section Business Meeting
2pm – 3pm pm, Tuesday August 15, 2023

Co-Chairs: Linda Etchart and Elena Alvarez Facilitator: Elena Alvarez
Present: Chairs: Elena Alvarez, Linda Etchart, Maria Alessandra Woolson, Mark Ungar, Cesar L Gamboa Balbin, Jennifer Adair, Carolyn Fornoff, Christine Hunefeldt, Julie Bourdoiseau. Apologies: Elizabeth Pettinaroli

OLD BUSINESS

Board of Directors for the section (Mesa Directiva)
Linda Etchart has remained in the role of Senior Co-Chair; Elena Alvarez has been elected Co-Chair. Maria Alessandra Woolson, who has stepped down, remains on the Board and in charge of the Environment Section website.
Mesa Directiva new board members: Mark Ungar, Cesar Gamboa Balbin, Ivan Ojeda Pereira, Jennifer Adair
Section's Officers (Co-Chairs and Board Members)
NOMBRE CONTACTO
CO-CHAIRS
Linda Etchart, Co-Chair
Kingston University London – UK L.Etchart@kingston.ac.uk
Elena Alvarez, Co-Chair
Instituto del Peru-USMP – Perú ealv111@aol.com

BOARD MEMBERS
Maria Alessandra Woolson, Board member, University of Vermont – USA 

Elizabeth Pettinaroli, Board member, Rhodes College- USA 

Consuelo Guayara Sánchez, Board member University of Iowa – USA 
NEW BOARD MEMBERS
Mark Ungar
Graduate Center, City University of New York 
Cesar L. Gamboa Balbin, Board member Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú 
Ivan Ojeda-Pereira, Board member Universidad Católica del Norte - Chile 
Jennifer Adair, Board member Fairfield University – USA 

We are pleased that our former Senior Co-Chair, Maria (Sasha) Woolson has confirmed that she will remain on the Environment Section Board of Directors, maintaining the Section website, and providing guidance when needed.
Social Media communications committee:
In maintaining the Environment Section Website Maria Woolson will be joined by new Board members César Gamboa and Iván Ojeda-Pereira, who have volunteered to become part of the Social Media team and manage the Facebook account and other outlets.

BUSINESS UPDATE:
Scholarship Funding for Bogotá 2024
Voted at Congress meeting and again approved at business meeting 15 August 2023: the section will continue to offer scholarship funding for LASA Congress 2024, in-person in Bogotá, of $1,200.00, to be distributed equitably in support of Latin American scholars travelling internationally to the Congress, to cover congress registration and/or attendance costs. The Environment section's scholarship is not intended as the sole form of funding but rather as complementary to other forms of funding that a colleague may seek with either the general LASA scholarship fund or external entities.
The Environment Section 2023-24 scholarship committee appointments are ongoing. The Co-chairs will request volunteers; in the meantime, they will send out an announcement of the scholarship, and receive applications to their email addresses until a committee is established.
LASA Bogotá 2024 reception. A LASA joint-reception has been designated funding in the amount of $250.00. Reception will be organized jointly with other sections.
Awards Committee
Environmental section best article and best book biannual award on alternating years
Prize. $200 best article or chapter in a book, and $100 for honorable mention in the article and chapter category; $300 for best book and $150 for honorable mention in the book category. Minimum, three proposals. Carolyn Fornoff will chair the Best Publication Award committee as she did last year, working with Jennifer Adair. This year, 2023-2024, the award will be for the best book.
An announcement will be sent out inviting members to submit digital copies of their books to the awards committee.
LASA Environment Webinar Series 2023-2024
Scheduled webinars for 2023 are as follows:
10 October 2023, at 12:00 hrs, Eastern time: "Extractivism, Neocolonialism and the Water Crisis in Uruguay," with Daniel Pena, Universidad de la República, Uruguay, and Dr Grace Livingstone, journalist, University of Cambridge.
14 November, 12:00 hrs. "Un futuro posible para la Amazonia." Dr Marc Dourojeanni, Forestry Engineer, Emeritus Professor, Agricultural University of La Molina, Lima, with the participation of Dr Deborah Delgado, Co-Chair, Amazonia Section.
For 5 December, Ivan Ojeda Pereira has offered to coordinate a panel on lithium.
More information will follow. We look forward to proposals from members for Webinars. Christine Hunefeldt suggested that the webinars should align with the themes of the Bogotá conference, Reacción y resistencia: Imaginar futuros posibles en las Américas.
For 2024, Julie Bourdoiseau suggested a Webinar on Climate Displacement in Honduras.

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Report of Minutes

LASA 2023, Vancouver, CA – Pensar, Representar y Luchar por los Derechos.

Environment Section Annual Business Meeting

5/25/2023 05:15 PM - 06:45 PM Pacific Time 05:15 pm – 06:45 pm Pacific Time, Thursday May 25, 2023

Co-Chairs: Maria Alessandra Woolson and Linda Etchart

Facilitator: Maria Alessandra and Linda

OLD BUSINESS

1. The section successfully sponsored 4 well-attended and dynamic sessions: 1. An Intersectional Workshop co-sponsored with the Student Section: “Emerging Issues in Latin American Environmental Research,” 2. A Round Table: “CONO SUR and thinking creatively to mobilize for socio-ecological transformation,” and 3. Two Panels: “Territories, bodies and alternative epistemologies: reimagining modernity from below,” and “The human right to a healthy environment under threat: extractive industries, weakened democratic representation and organized crime in Latin America.” The section also supported the circulation of information about two additional panels organized by the section’s members, “Ecofeminist Imaginations in Latin American Cultural Production,” and “Actividades ilícitas y organizaciones criminales como principales amenazas en contra de defensores indígenas y ambientales en Perú, Colombia, y Brasil.” Co-chair Maria Woolson facilitated most of the pre-congress communications related to organizing the sessions, which were intended to maximize member participation during the congress.https://sections.lasaweb.org/sections/environment/?pg=16

2. The section successfully sponsored and co-sponsored two other well-attended events:1. The Pre-LASA excursion, which was organized by the FARS section whose co-chairs generously welcomed a collaboration with the Environment section. In this case, FARS organized the pre-LASA excursion and opened participation to members of both sections. Board member Elena Alvarez facilitated communications with section members and encourage them to participate and register, while the actual registration was conducted by FARS section’s co-chairs. The Environment section reciprocated by welcoming FARS members to the Environment section’s reception. 2. The section also hosted a section’s reception. Co-chair Linda Etchart organized the event and reached out to other LASA sections to increase networking and collaboration. The reception was hosted at a venue external but adjacent to the Convention Center, on Thursday May 25th at 7:30 pm Pacific Time and it included limited food and drinks for all attendees, which was sponsored by the section. The section received a donation in the amount of $250.00 from the Center for Brazilian Studies de UCLA for support if the reception, facilitated by Susanna Hecht. https://sections.lasaweb.org/sections/environment/?pg=7

3. Review of scholarships’ reach

The scholarship fund supported three members by funding a contribution to their travel expenses to Vancouver in order to attend in person. The scholarship committee included: Lidia Blásquez Martínez, UAM- Mexico; Marcela López Vallejo, Universidad de Guadalajara- Mexico; and Elena Alvarez, Instituto del Peru-USMP.

The awardees are:

• Cesar Leonidas Gamboa Balbin - Perú
• María Inés Nieves - Argentina
• Gabriela Rosario Dongo Arevalo – Perú

4.  New Environment section award for best publication

As voted during the 2022 Congress, as of LASA 2023 the Environment section is awarding a prize for best publication. This is a biannual award given on alternating years to best published article or single chapter (one year) and best book (the following year). Submissions will be accepted for publications spanning the two years prior to the award year: for example, for the first ever Environment Section award for best publication of LASA 2023, the section accepted submissions published in 2021 and 2022. The biannual Publication Prize awards $200 for best article or single chapter and $100.00 for honorable mention, and $300 for best book and $150 for honorable mention. A minimum of three submissions is required to award a prize. The winner is notified prior to the congress and recognized during the congress at the section’s social gathering event. This award is for members of the section, so any external submissions will require a registration with the section prior to consideration. Books published in 2022-23 will be eligible for the 2024 award.

The Best Publication committee included: Chair Carolyn Fornoff, Cornell University – USA; Susanna Hecht, UCLA School of Public Affairs/Urban Planning and Director of the UCLA Brazilian Centre –USA; and Elizabeth Pettinaroli. Rhodes College – USA.

For LASA 2023, the committee voted to award two best publication awards, in other words, a tie. The awardees are:

• Annick Benavides, Harvard University. “Spiritual Mining: Augustinian Images of Extraction in Colonial Peru,” The Art Bulletin, 104:4, 46-69, (2022) ADOI: 10.1080/0004307 9.2022.2070393.
• Gustavo S. Azenha, Columbia University. “A Political Ecology of Fetishism in Brazil’s “Discovery Coast”: Crisis, Socioenvironmental Hybridization, and Historical Amnesia in the Frontiers of Global Liberalism.” Global Power and Local Struggles in Developing Countries. Contemporary Perspectives On: Europe and the People without History, by Eric R. Wolf. Paul Stacey (ed.). Brill, 2022.

NEW BUSINESS

Section Members in Attendance at Business Meeting

Attendance at the business meeting included six peoples in person and two online, in addition to co-chairs Maria Alessandra Woolson and Linda Etchart. Board members in attendance included Elena Alvarez, Consuelo Guayara Sánchez (virtual attendance) and Elizabeth Pettinaroli (virtual attendance), while Lidia Blásquez Martínez and Marcela López Vallejo excused themselves due to health reasons. Other members included María Inés Nieves, James Thackara, Cesar Leonidas Gamboa Balbin, Ivan Ojeda-Pereira, and two other attendees.

Review of the Board of Directors for the section (Mesa Directiva)

Co-Chairs: Maria Alessandra Woolson informed she wishes to step down in her role as senior co-chair and instead become a member of the Board of Directors. Board member Elena Alvarez (based in a Latin American institution) volunteered to replace the vacant position in the role of co-chair. Linda Etchart (based at a U.K. institution) will remain as co-Chair for one more year and become senior co-chair. No further nominations were offered by members virtually or via email in response to the message sent prior to the LASA congress when Maria A. Woolson announced her need to end her role. Passed unanimously by members who were present. Due to low attendance at our business meeting, this nomination will need to be confirmed via email with the entire section.

Board Members: Two new section members volunteered to join the Board of Directors; Cesar Leonidas Gamboa Balbin and Ivan Ojeda-Pereira. The Board of Directors or Mesa Directiva will otherwise remain mostly in place to further increase the institutional memory, and to help distribute the section’s tasks. Due to low attendance at our business meeting, three board seats will be reaffirmed at the next section’s meeting or via email, in June 2023. In addition, all section’s members who may be interested in becoming more involved with the Environment Section have been invited to send an email to that end. Jennifer Adair has also recently volunteered to take a role with the Board of Directors.

Section’s Officers (Co-Chairs and Board Members) for the Environment Section:

CO-CHAIRS:

• Linda E. Etchart, Co-Chair Kingston University London - UK

• Elena Alvarez, Co-Chair Instituto del Peru-USMP - Perú 

BOARD MEMBERS

1. Maria Alessandra Woolson, Board member University of Vermont - USA 

2. Elizabeth Pettinaroli, Board member Rhodes College- USA 

3. Consuelo Guayara Sánchez, University of Iowa - USA 

NEW BOARD MEMBERS

4. Cesar L. Gamboa Balbin, board member Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú- Perú

5. Ivan Ojeda-Pereira, board member Universidad Católica del Norte - Chile 

6. Jennifer Adair, Board member Fairfield University - USA 

BOARD MEMBERS TO BE CONFIRMED

7. Waleska Sanabria-León, Board member Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico-USA 

Officers’ responsibilities: Tasks covered in the past remain and include: communications of special topics to members (by co-chairs via email), create a digital presence with photographs of field trips, maintain and share the website (by committee assigned to website maintenance in conversation with co-chairs), expand visibility in social media (by committee assigned to social media: twitter and fb, in conversation with co-chairs), support travel scholarship committee (by committee assigned to travel scholarship), support publication award committee (by committee assigned to best publication), prepare for annual congress (organized and communicated by co-chairs via email), and support other opportunities for members (facilitated by co-chairs via email).

All present at the meeting in agreement. All in favor.

Other business:

1. The section will decide on the total offered in scholarship funding for LASA Congress 2024 at the summer meeting once the new chairs can evaluate post-congress finances. Total amount to be distributed equitably in support of Latin American scholars travelling internationally to the Congress, to cover congress travel costs. It was reaffirmed that the Environment section’s scholarship is not intended as the sole form of funding but rather as complementary to other forms of funding that a colleague may seek with either the general LASA scholarship fund or external entities. The 2023-24 scholarship committee will be decided at the next meeting in June.

2. Proposal was put to the floor to call for a second business meeting prior to the end of June or early July and invite section members to attend. Passed unanimously.

3. The section will continue with the best publication award described above. Carolyn Fornoff agreed to remain as chair of this committee. The remainder of the 2023-24 committee will be confirmed or decided at the next meeting in June-July. Passed unanimously.

4. Following communications with Ghisselle Blanco from the LASA administration, a call to confirm elected officials and invite new members to take active roles will be sent via email by mid-June.

5. Proposal was put to the floor to invite section members to take active roles in organizing activities and/or events such as webinars and collaboration towards publications. New board member Ivan Ojeda proposed to explore a collaboration among section members towards the publication of a book, and César Gamboa Balbín agreed to support the section by leading webinar opportunities and tech support.

6. Environment section committees: the section will continue with committees currently in place:

• Committee for assessment and grading travel scholarship for Latin American scholars and one graduate student; committee members to be decided at the next meeting in June-July.
• Social Media communications committee; César Gamboa Balbín offered to Tech support with this task, although full committee members to be decided at the next meeting in June-July.
• Pre-LASA excursion and joint-reception committee, for which funding needs to be designated. Committee members to be decided at the next meeting in June-July.
• Committee for assessment and grading best publication to support Environment section members; Carolyn Fornoff, Chair. Confirmation of past members or selection of new members to be decided at the next meeting in June-July.
• Website maintenance committee; Maria A. Woolson agreed to retain this task, others welcome to join.
• Other section activities and events to be led by interested members. For example, a Webinar series (anticipating one webinar in late fall 2023 and one in early spring 2024). To be decided via email as activities and events are proposed.

All committees operate in consultation and conversation with the co-chairs and board of director.

Adjourned meeting.

Report by Maria Alessandra Woolson & Linda E. Etchart

 

Report of Minutes LASA Virtual Board Meeting, 22 Feb. 2023

co-Chairs:
In attendance: Senior co-Chair: Maria (Sasha) Woolson and Junior co-Chair Linda Etchart
Board members
In attendance: Elena Alvarez, Susanna Hecht, Elizabeth Pettinaroli, Carolyn Fornoff
Unable to attend: Waleska Sanabria León, Consuelo Guayara Sánchez, Marcela López Vallejo

Agenda

LASA 2023 Vancouver budget planning/update of summer budget for:
1. Environment Section field trip (Tuesday 23 May 2023)
2. Reception (Thursday 25 May 2023)
3. Annual awards for publications
4. Travel grants for Vancouver

Business Update:

1. Vancouver Pre-congress field trip: confirmed allocation of $ 250.00 for funding of transportation to venue. Field trip date: Tuesday 23 May, in collaboration with Food, Agriculture and Rural Studies section. Trip organized by FARS section's Gerardo Otero.

2. Vancouver Environment Section Reception organized by Elena Alvarez and Waleska Sanabria León: this will be Environment Section's first official reception, following virtualization of LASA Guadalajara annual conference. Members of other sections will be welcome. Discussion: proposed increase of reception budget from US$250.00 to US$ 500.00 due to high costs in Vancouver. All in favour. Discussion: proposed serving of wine and beer in addition to a non-alcoholic beverage and simple snacks, in the spirit of returning to in-person networking. All in favour. Susanna Hecht, in her capacity as Director and representative of the UCLA Brazilian Centre, offered a matching donation of US$ 250.00 for the reception, to increase attendance and attract would-be members. The board and co-Chairs are grateful for this gesture and contribution and the Centre's support will be acknowledged at the reception. Publication awards will also be announced during the reception. Discussion: proposed location to be no more than 10 blocks away from convention centre. Gerardo Otero will assist with venue selection.
Note: Emerging research workshop, field trip and reception provide opportunities for networking and support for scholars and students; also attract new members that bring in funds, which in turn enables Environment Section to qualify for more panels and workshops.

3. Budget: Discussion: current available funds are higher than in pre-pandemic years because of a spill-over from funds not used for events or travel scholarships during the three virtual Congresses in 2020 , 2021 and 2022. Balance on account as of 7 July 2022, US$4,920.00.

4. Publication Awards (Carolyn Fornoff committee lead): During the 2022 congress business meeting Environment Section discussed the decision to offer annual awards for best article and best book on alternate years, with books and articles to be considered within a two-year —biannual— time frame. This was approved during the section's summer meeting. Discussion: budget increase proposed for best book award from US$ 300.00 to US$450.00, in order to accommodate two prizes: a "best book" award receiving the already approved award of $ 300.00 dollars and adding an "honourable mention" award receiving US$150.00. All in favour. Discussion: budget increase proposed for best article award from the approved US$ 150.00 to US$300.00, in order to accommodate two prizes: a "best article" award receiving an award of $ 200.00 dollars and adding an "honourable mention" award receiving US$100.00. All in favour. Discussion: prize winners will be invited to join the Environment Section Publication Awards Committee for the following year, as suggested by Carolyn Fornoff.

5. Travel grants: (Marcela López Vallejo committee lead). Discussion: proposed extension of travel grants to not only Latin American scholars at Latin American institutions but also at US/Canadian/European institutions, who may need funding to attend the congress, given the high cost of Vancouver. All in favour. Discussion: Susanna Hecht recommended a flexible policy depending on supply and demand. All supported the recommendation, so this will be a proposed topic for discussion at the section's business meeting during the congress. Discussion: increase the travel scholarship for current year from $250 per person, to US$400 per person, due to the low demand for travel grants. All applications must be sent to Marcela before the March 7th deadline. All in favour. Applications for travel scholarships to date: two. The general assumption is that the low demand for travel grants relates to a potential lower in-person attendance and the decision by some colleagues to attend the congress virtually.

Report by Linda Etchart and Maria Alessandra Woolson

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Report of Minutes LASA Virtual 2022 

-Crisis Global, desigualdades y centralidad de la vida.

Environment Section Annual Business Meeting 07:00 pm – 08:45 pm, Friday May 06, 2022

Co-Chairs: Maria Alessandra Woolson and Lidia Ivonne Blázquez Martínez

Facilitator: Maria Alessandra and Lidia

OLD BUSINESS

The section successfully sponsored

3 well-attended and dynamic sessions: 1. A Round Table: “Extractivism, Agribusiness, and the complex dimensions of social (in)justice,” 2. Two Workshops: “Emerging Issues in Latin American Environmental Research I & II,” and co-sponsored an additional session with the Mexico Section, An Intersectional Panel: “Capitalist "Green" Transitions? Extractivism, Embodied Territories and Nature's Rights.” The section also supported the circulation of information about two additional sessions organized by the section’s members, A Round Table: “Mujeres diversas en paisajes neoliberales entre la toxicidad y la resistencia,” and A Panel: “Climate migration in Latin America: Geopolitics and socio-environmental vulnerability.”

Section Pre-LASA committees for excursion, networking reception and scholarship discussed.

Like its predecessors LASA 2020 and LASA 2021, the circumstances of a continued pandemic world-wide forced this LASA 2022 Congress to be virtual and the section suspended the advancement of all anticipated in-person activities. This included the suspension of the fieldtrip and reception. We hope that a similar trip and reception can be carried out during the LASA 2023 Congress. The details and context will be addressed at later section’s meetings. Which will include a June section’s meeting and a second meeting for late summer. All in agreement. No vote was necessary.

Review of the Board of Directors for the section (Mesa Directiva)

Lidia Blásquez Martínez requested to terminate her role as co-chair and become a member of the Board of Directors. Thank you, Lidia, for your invaluable contributions to the LASA’s Environment Section during your tenure as co-chair. Board member Linda Etchart volunteered to replace Lidia in the role of co-chair. Thank you, Linda, for taking on this responsibility and offering your time to the LASA’s Environment Section. We welcome you in your new role. No further nominations were offered by members, so Maria Alessandra Woolson (based at a U.S. institution) will remains as co-Chair for one more year. Passed unanimously

The Mesa Directiva or Board of Directors will mostly remain in place to further increase the institutional memory, and to help distribute the tasks of the co-chairs. Due to low attendance at our business meeting during LASA 2022, four Board seats will be reaffirmed at the section’s meeting scheduled for June, 2022. All section’s members who are interested in becoming more involved with the Environment Section will be invited and encouraged to send an email to co-chairs and join the meeting or send their area of interest. Tasks covered in the past remain and include communications of special topics to members, create a digital presence with photographs of field trips, maintain and share the website, expand visibility in social media, support scholarship committee, support other opportunities for members. A call for new members during the congress’ virtual meeting, and existing members from the Environment Section yielded the following names:

Section’s Officers (Co-Chairs and Board Members)

• Maria Alessandra Woolson, Co-Chair Universidad de Vermont
• Linda E. Etchart, Co-Chair Kingston University London
• Lidia Blásquez Martínez, Board member UAM, México
• Marcela López-Vallejo, Board member Universidad de Guadalajara, México
• Waleska Sanabria-León, Board member Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico

TO BE CONFIRMED

• Gabriela Muñoz Meléndez, Board member El Colegio de la Frontera Norte
•  Isabella Alcaniz, Board member University of Maryland
• Catherine Tucker, Board member University of Florida
•  Elena Alvarez, Board member Instituto del Peru-USMP

All present at the meeting in agreement. All in favor.

Review of scholarships’ reach

The scholarship fund, supported three members by funding their registration fees:

• Peter May. - Brazil
• Alejandro Retamal Maldonado - Chile
• Rebeca R. Arguedas – Costa Rica

NEW BUSINESS

1. Voted at meeting and approved by those present: the section decided to offer a one-time increase in scholarship funding for LASA Congress 2023, assumed to be in-person in Vancouver, to $1,500.00, to be distributed equitably in support of Latin American scholars travelling internationally to the Congress, to cover congress registration and/or attendance costs. It was reaffirmed that the Environment section’s scholarship is not intended as the sole form of funding but rather as complementary to other forms of funding that a colleague may seek with either the general LASA scholarship fund or external entities. The 2022-23 scholarship committee will be decided at the next meeting in June. Passed unanimously.

2. Proposal was put to the floor to call for a second business meeting prior to the end of June and invite section members to attend. Proposal Passed unanimously.

3. Regarding the renewal of the section's board of directors (Mesa Directiva), and following the guidelines established by LASA, no elections were held this year during the business meeting because there was limited attendance and no mail-in nominations for positions. However, Linda Etchart will replace Lidia Blásquez Martínez and Waleska Sanabria León will join the board. Both have been very active in administrative matters leading to LASA 2022 and have participated in two sessions during the 2022 congress. Passed unanimously.

4. Vote to maintain one Co-Chair. Discussion. Given the low participation from board members in the congress or related activities, Maria Alessandra Woolson (based at a U.S. institution) will remains as co-Chair. Passed unanimously.

5. Call for elections to renew the board of directors during Lasa 2022 will be discussed in June. Maria Alessandra Woolson has expressed a desire to step down after Lasa 2022. In addition, it was reiterated that board members need to participate at some level in at least one capacity during the year in order to retain their position as active board members: either in an organizing committee, or in an award-evaluation committee, or attend the congress in an active role (presenter, discussant or chair of a session), or attend at least one of the section’s business meetings held during the year. Passed unanimously.

6. Proposal was put to the floor to continue the scholarship committee for supporting international travel in order to attend LASA Congress 2022. Discussion to again earmark support for Latin American Scholars to attend the meeting, expected to be in-person. Committee will be organized during the June online business meeting from members of the Mesa Directiva (Board of Directors). It will include two co-chairs and general members (see website for last year’s Board of Directors and Scholarship Committee). Passed unanimously.

7. Vote to expand the section’s scholarly activities and opportunities for networking among members, as well as the section’s visibility to increase membership.

This includes continuation of existing committees:

1. LASA 2021 committee for assessment and grading of the travel scholarship for Latin American scholars and one graduate student;

2. Social Media communications committee;

3. Pre-LASA excursion and joint-reception committee, for which funding n the amount of $ 500.00 was designated (see website for current and last year’s committee members). Passed unanimously.

New proposals:

4. Webinar series committee (anticipating one webinar in late fall 2022 and one in early spring 2023). The Webinars committee will make every effort to invite scholars with unique knowledge and/or experience in a topic related to the section’s interests;

5. Environmental section best article and best book biannual award on alternating years (steps to be defined and voted on during the late summer meeting). TO BE FINISHED

Membership and participation in existing and new committees will be decided at the June and summer meetings when any other matter regarding new committees will also be further discussed. Passed unanimously.

8. Adjourned virtual meeting.

Section Members in Attendance at Business Meeting

•  Maria Alessandra Woolson Universidad de Vermont, USA
• Lidia Blásquez Martínez UAM, México
• Marcela López-Vallejo, Universidad de Guadalajara, México  
• Linda E. Etchart Kingston University London, UK
• Waleska Sanabria-León, Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico
• Samuel Johnson; University of Miami, USA

Report by Maria Alessandra Woolson & Linda E. Etchart

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Report of Minutes LASA Virtual 2021

- Crisis Global, desigualdades y centralidad de la vida.

Environment Section Annual Business Meeting 07:00 pm – 08:45 pm, Thursday May 27, 2021

Co-Chairs: Maria Alessandra Woolson and Lidia Ivonne Blasquez Martínez

Facilitator: Maria Alessandra and Lidia

OLD BUSINESS

The section successfully sponsored 3 well-attended and dynamic sessions: 1. A Panel: “Centrality of life and new relational perspectives towards the common good.” 2. A Focused Workshop: “Bio-centric proposals towards environmental justice,” 3. A Round Table: “Centrality of life: from anthropocentrism to biocentrism.” The section also shared a Workshop with Student Section sponsorship: “Emerging Issues in Latin American Environmental Research.”

Section Pre-LASA committees for excursion, networking reception and scholarship discussed. Like its predecessor LASA 2020, the circumstances of a continued pandemic world-wide forced this LASA 2021 Congress to be virtual and the section suspended the advancement of all anticipated in-person activities. This included the suspension of the fieldtrip and reception, both of which were being planned in conjunction with another LASA section–FARS–. We hope that a similar trip and reception can be carried out during the LASA 2022 Congress in San Francisco, May 5-8, 2022, Polarización socioambiental y rivalidades entre grandes potencias. The details and context will be addressed at a later section board meeting in late summer when more information regarding the congress is available. All in agreement. No vote was necessary.

Review of the Board of Directors for the section (Mesa Directiva)

The Mesa Directiva or Board of Directors will remain in place to further increase the institutional memory, and to help distribute the tasks of the co-chairs. Tasks covered in the past remain and include communications of special topics to members, create a digital presence with photographs of field trips, expand website, expand visibility in social media, support scholarship committee, support other opportunity for members. A call for new members during the July 2020 virtual meeting, and existing members from the Environment Section elicited 6 names: 1. Isabella Alcaniz/University of Maryland; 2. Catherine Tucker, Universidad de Florida; 3. Elena Alvarez, Instituto del Peru-USMP (new member 2020-21); 4. Miriam Melton-Villanueva, University of Nevada, Las Vegas; 5. Gabriela Muñoz Meléndez COLEF- México; 6. Marcela López Vallejo, CIDE-México. All present at the July meeting in agreement. No vote was recorded due to low attendance from Board members.

Review of scholarships’ reach

Voted in July 2020 meeting and reviewed and approved by the section’s board via email, the section decided to extend the scholarships, previously meant to only support Latin American scholars travelling internationally to the Congress, to cover the costs of the virtual congress registration, and to extend this opportunity to the entire section’s membership. The 2021 scholarship committee members were Gabriela Muñoz Meléndez, Catherine Tucker and Isabella Alcaniz. However, no request for scholarship was received.

NEW BUSINESS

1. Proposal was put to the floor to call for a second business meeting prior to September and invite section members to attend. Proposal passed unanimously.

2. Regarding the renewal of the section's board of directors (Mesa Directiva), and following the guidelines established by LASA, no elections were held this year during the business meeting because there was limited attendance and no nominations for positions. However, Linda Etchart was invited to join the board due to her active role in administrative matters leading to LASA 2021, her participation in two sessions during the congress and her interest in contributing to committee work. Passed unanimously.

3. Vote to maintain Co-Chairs. Discussion. Given the low participation from board members in the congress or related activities, Maria Alessandra (based at a U.S. institution) and Lidia Blásquez Martínez (based in a Mexican institution) will remains as co-Chairs. Passed unanimously.

4. Call for elections to renew the board of directors during Lasa 2022 will be discussed in September. Both co-chairs have expressed a desire to step down after Lasa 2022. In addition, it was agreed that board members need to participate at some level in at least one capacity during the year in order to retain their position as active board members: either in an organizing committee, or in an award-evaluation committee, or attend the congress in an active role (presenter, discussant or chair of a session), or attend at least one of the section’s business meetings held during the year.

5. Proposal was put to the floor to continue the scholarship committee and reverse the decision to fund conference registration and return to supporting international travel in order to attend LASA Congress 2022. Discussion to again earmark support for Latin American Scholars to attend the meeting, expected to be in-person: San Francisco. Committee will be organized during the September online business meeting from members of the Mesa Directiva (Board of Directors). It will include two co-chairs and general members (see website for last year’s Board of Directors and Scholarship Committee). Passed unanimously.

6. Vote to expand the section’s scholarly activities and opportunities for networking among members, as well as the section’s visibility to increase membership. This includes continuation of existing committees:

1. LASA 2021 committee for assessment and grading of the travel scholarship for Latin American scholars and one graduate student;

2. Social Media communications committee;

3. Pre-LASA excursion and joint-reception committee (see website for current and last year’s committee members). It also includes new proposals:

4. Webinar series committee (anticipating one webinar in late fall 2021 and one in early spring 2022);

5. Environmental section best article and best book biannual award on alternating years (steps to be defined at the late summer meeting).

Membership and participation in existing and new committees will be decided at the summer meeting when any other matter regarding new committees will also be further discussed. Passed unanimously.

7. Adjourned virtual meeting.

Section Members in Attendance at Business Meeting

• Maria Alessandra Woolson Universidad de Vermont, USA

• Lidia Blásquez Martínez UAM, México

• Marcela López-Vallejo Universidad de Guadalajara, México

• Gabriela Muñoz Meléndez El Colegio de la Frontera Norte, México

• Isabella Alcaniz University of Maryland, USA

• Linda E. Etchart Kingston University London, UK

• Catherine Tucker University of Florida, USA

Section’s Officers (Co-Chairs and Board Members)

• Maria Alessandra Woolson, Co-Chair Universidad de Vermont, USA

• Lidia Blásquez Martínez, Co-Chair UAM, México

• Marcela López-Vallejo, Board membe,r Universidad de Guadalajara, México

• Gabriela Muñoz Meléndez, Board member El Colegio de la Frontera Norte, México

• Isabella Alcaniz, Board member University of Maryland, USA

• Linda E. Etchart, Board member Kingston University London, UK

• Catherine Tucker, Board member University of Florida, USA

• Miriam Melton-Villanueva, Board member University of Nevada, Las Vegas, USA

• Elena Alvarez, Board member Instituto del Peru-USMP

Report by Maria Alessandra Woolson

________________________________________

Report of Minutes - LASA Virtual 2020

Environment Section Annual Business Meeting

07:00 pm – 08:45 pm, Thursday May 14, 2020

Co-Chairs: Maria Alessandra Woolson and Lidia Ivonne Blasquez Martínez

Facilitator: Maria Alessandra and Lidia

OLD BUSINESS

Discussion of section’s Pre-LASA Guadalajara Excursion and Networking Reception.

Unlike previous congresses, LASA 2020 was faced with exceptional circumstances that meant the cancellation of the field-trip and networking reception. Initial organizing phases for these events had been the work of Marcela López Vallejo, a resident of Guadalajara. For the first time in recent congresses, the section had planned these activities in conjunction with another LASA section –the FARS section–. We hope that a similar collaboration can take place for both the section’s next field trip and reception during the LASA 2021 Hybrid Congress in Vancouver: Crisis Global, Desigualdades y Centralidad de la Vida. The details and context will be addressed once more information becomes available. There were no expenses associated with these activities and no vote was necessary.

Voted in 2019 at the general business meeting in Boston was the decision to maintain the scholarships support for Latin American scholars to travel to Guadalajara for LASA 2020. The 2019-2020 Scholarship committee members were Gabriela Muñoz Meléndez, Catherine Tucker and Isabella Alcaniz. Due to the virtual nature of the Congress and the voluntary donation structure that LASA employed for the registration, no scholarships were awarded for congress attendance.

NEW BUSINESS

SECTION MEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE AT BUSINESS MEETING

• María Alessandra Woolson, Universidad de Vermont

• Lidia Blásquez Martínez, UAM, México

• Marcela López-Vallejo, Universidad de Guadalajara, México

1. Proposal was put to the floor to call for a Second Business Meeting prior to September and invite section members to attend. Proposal passed unanimously. No Board members attended the conference or the business meeting.
2. Regarding the renewal of the section's Board of Directors, and following the guidelines established by LASA, no elections were held at this year’s business meeting because there was limited attendance and no new nomination for vacant positions.
3. Proposal was put to the floor to reopen elections to renew the board of directors’ vacant positions in an early September’s Zoom meeting. An email was sent to all members in July inviting the community to present their applications for the vacant positions on the board of directors of our section. A second notification will be sent in August.
4. Proposal was put to the floor to continue the Scholarship Committee and improve the notification timing of the scholarship model to support section members to travel to Vancouver and attend LASA Congress 2021. Scholarships 2021 was discussed to again earmark support for Latin American Scholars and one graduate student to attend the meeting. A committee will be organized during the next online business meeting. It will be led by Isabella Alcaniz who has graciously accepted the task. Other members from the Board of Directors will assist her, similarly to what was proposed for last year, and include two co-chairs and general members. Passed unanimously.
5. No new Co-Chair. Due to limited attendance of the business meeting, the section will maintain the current co-chairs: Maria Alessandra Woolson, Senior co-chair (based at a U.S. institution) and Lidia Blásquez Martínez, Junior co-Chair (based at a Mexican institution). Marcela López Vallejo will once again organize the field trip and the conference reception, and has agreed to become a member of the Board of Directors. Passed unanimously.
6. Vote to maintain Mesa Directiva or Board of Directors for the section, in order to further increase the institutional memory, and to help distribute the tasks that would otherwise assigned solely to the chairs. Tasks discussed and maintained from previous year include: 1. Communications of special topics to members, 2. Enhance digital presence of section with photographs of field trips and future events, 3. Expand website and include new publications from members and other member-related information, 4. Support scholarship committee, 5. Support other unexpected networking opportunities for members, 6 Support social media presence. Passed Unanimously.
7. Adjourned meeting.
8. Board members were invited to attend a second board meeting on July 23rd, 2020. In attendance were Maria Alessandra Woolson, Lidia Blásquez Martínez, Marcela López Vallejo, Isabella Alcaniz, and Gabriela Muñoz Meléndez. Members that could not be in attendance but that have confirmed their interest in maintaining their position on the board include: Catherine Tucker, University of Florida; 4. Claudia Horn, University of London; 5. Miriam Melton-Villanueva, University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
9. Following the Board meeting on July 23rd 2020, the section held a section’s meeting. All members were invited. Tasks described in item 6 were discussed, and the following was added: 7. organize a webinar calendar with two webinar events in fall 2020 and two webinar events in spring 2021. A call for volunteers was presented. Section members that have decided to collaborate with the webinars and the social media presence include: Elena Elena Álvarez/ Consultant N.Y. & Universidad San Martín de Porres, Linda Etchart/ Kingston University London, Eve Bratman/ Franklin and Marshall College. The following committees were formed:

• Social Media committee: Isabella, Elena Alvarez, Linda and Lidia.
• Website committee: Maria Alessandra and Marcela.
• Webinar committee: Catherine, Maria Alessandra, Elena and Eve.

10. Adjourned meeting.

EXECUTIVE COUNCIL 2020-2021

• María Alessandra Woolson, Senior Co-Chair Universidad de Vermont, USA

• Lidia Blásquez Martínez, Junior Co-Chair UAM, México

• Marcela López-Vallejo, Board member, Field trip and reception organizer Universidad de Guadalajara, México

• Isabella Alcaniz, Board member, Scholarship committee University of Maryland, USA

• Miriam Melton-Villanueva University of Nevada, Las Vegas, USA

• Catherine Tucker Universidad de Florida, USA

• Gabriela Muñoz Meléndez COLEF- México

• Claudia Horn University of London C., UK

Report by Maria Alessandra Woolson

___________________________________________

Report of Minutes - LASA Boston 2019

Environment Section Annual Business Meeting

10:45am – 12:15 pm, Saturday May 25, 2019 in SB-Jefferson

Chairs: Miriam Melton-Villanueva and Maria Alessandra Woolson

Facilitator: Miriam and Maria Alessandra

OLD BUSINESS

Section Pre-LASA Excursion to Boston Harbor and Sustainable Fisheries Discussed. Like in LASA 2018, it was considered a great success. Applause to organizer, Maria Alessandra. An excellent opportunity to hear current leadership organizations working in sustainability of food systems in New England, whose reach is both local (New England-Boston area) and Latin American. Hosts: NorthWest Atlantic Marine Alliance (NAMA) and Red’s Best Sustainable Fishing Aggregation and Distribution center. Guests presenters: Tom Kelly from Food Solutions New England (FSNE) and Saulo Araujo US Food Sovereignty Alliance (USFSA). It was discussed that a donation in the amount of $250.00 to USFSA would be representative of the time and work that Niaz Dory put into organizing this event (she is affiliated with NAMA, FSNE and USFSA and explained that the most appropriate group to be the recipient of any moneys from LASA should be USFSA because it directly impacts the Latin American women’s groups presently working in food system resilience). All present agreed and voted in favor. The $250.00 amount was chosen based on the general fund money previously allocated for scholarships and not collected by scholarship recipients, due to their decision to not attend the conference. Passed unanimously.

Voted in 2018 at general meeting in Barcelona to give scholarships to support Latin American scholars to travel to Boston for LASA.

• 2019 Scholarship committee members: Members: Pablo Toral; Marcela López-Vallejo; Isabella Alcaniz; and José Manuel Leal.

2019 Scholarship recipients of $240.00 each to assist in the attendance of the XXXVII Congress of the Latin American Studies Association: Nuestra América: Justice and Inclusion, to take place in Boston, MA, in May 2019.  

-Gabriela Muñoz Meléndez ( COLEF- México)

-Vladmir R Gil Ramon (PUCP- Peru)

-María Gabriela Merlinsky (Universidad de Buenos Aires- Argentina)

-Armando García Chang (UAM, México)

-Lidia Ivonne Blasquez Martínez (UAM, México)

• Acceptance of 2019 Scholarship in the amount of $240.00 each:

-Gabriela Muñoz Meléndez ( COLEF- México)

-Armando García Chang (UAM, México)

-Lidia Ivonne Blasquez Martínez (UAM, México)

NEW BUSINESS

SECTION MEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE AT BUSINESS MEETING:  

• Miriam Melton-Villanueva University of Nevada, Las Vegas

• María Alessandra Woolson Universidad de Vermont

• Lidia Blásquez Martinez, UAM- México

• Isabella Alcaniz University of Maryland

• Corinne Valdivia University of Missouri

• Ricardo Rivas Rivas

• Armando García Chang UAM, México

• Maria Belesis Ecoaméricas, Business Manager

• Marcela López-Vallejo CIDE México

• Catherine Tucker Universidad de Florida

• Gabriela Muñoz Meléndez COLEF- México

• Carla Granados Moya GEO Respect, applied geomorphology

• Machal Rajchl GEO Respect, applied geomorphology

• Claudia Horn BRICS Policy Center & London School of Economics

1. Proposal was put to the floor to have a volunteer organize the Guadalajara Pre-LASA excursion for our section to attend. Discussion. Guadalajara scholar Marcela López Vallejo offered to organize field trip with local grass-roots organizations. Proposal passed unanimously
2. Proposal was put to the floor to continue the scholarship committee and scholarship model to support section members to travel to Guadalajara and attend LASA Congress 2020. Scholarships 2020 discussed. Committee will be organized before September 1st from members of the Mesa Directiva and will include two co-chairs and general members (see Mesa directiva newly elected members below). Discussion to again earmark support for Latin American Scholars to attend the meeting. In this case, to Guadalajara. Passed unanimously.
3. Vote for new Chair. Discussion. Miriam transitioning out of leadership after one year of support training Maria Alessandra and retaining institutional memory. Maria Alessandra becomes Senior co-chair (she is based at a U.S. institution) and Lidia Blásquez Martínez (she is based in a Mexican institution) will become junior co-Chair. Maria Alessandra and Marcela López Vallejo will support Lidia. Passed unanimously.
4. Vote to institute a Mesa Directiva for the section, a Board of Directors, in order to further increase the institutional memory, and to help distribute the tasks of the chairs. Tasks discussed and include: communications of special topics to members, create a digital presence with photographs of field trips, expand website, support scholarship committee, support other unexpected opportunity for members. A call for volunteers among junior faculty to help the section for the next few years, in addition to senior members elicited 6 names: 1. Isabella Alcaniz/University of Maryland; 2. Corinne Valdivia, University of Missouri; 3. Catherine Tucker, Universidad de Florida; 4. Claudia Horn; 5. Miriam Melton-Villanueva, University of Nevada, Las Vegas; 6. Gabriela Muñoz Meléndez COLEF- México. Vote. Passed Unanimously.
5. Adjourned meeting, and went together to dinner downtown.

Report by Maria Alessandra Woolson

Emerging research workshop Participants, who Signed Environmental Section Sheet for Research Connections, Boston 2019

• Miriam Melton-Villanueva University of Nevada, Las Vegas Maguey economics early 19th c. Toluca, central Mexico Nahua communities

• María Alessandra Woolson Universidad de Vermont Intersections of Politiocal Ecology and the Humanities Biocultural Diversity, Easter Island (Chile) Climate Crisis

• Isabella Alcaniz University of Maryland Climate disaster policy Deforestation

• Corinne Valdivia University of Missouri Impact of climate change and agency at the local level

• Gabriel Cué México, tecnológico de Monterrey

• Jacob Blanc Rural movements, agrarian reform,Brazil, hydroelectric dams

• Maia Jaskoski Participatory institutions and extractive practices

• Tomofumi Nakazawa Political Science

• Mark Unger Environmental enforecement Politicy/Law in teh Ameazon and Central America

• Gisselle Vila Benites • PhD candidate Geography @ University of Melbourne

• Marcela López-Vallejo CIDE México

• Catherine Tucker Universidad de Florida

• Gabriela Muñoz Meléndez COLEF- México Climate Change (adaptation, GHG emissions) Energy (water, energy nexus Air quality )

• Lidia Blásquez Martínez UAM, México Yucatán peninsula, social change Socioenvironmental conflicts & institutions

• Carla Granados Moya GEO Respect, applied geomorphology

• Machal Rajchl GEO Respect, applied geomorphology

• Natalia Gavazzo -Migration • Gender • Climate change  

. Ruben Sanchez-Godoy

. Juliane Schlag IBES, Brwon University Forest, land use history

. Jeffrey W Rubin Social movements

. Steve Buttes

. Kerry Brosnan

. Joe Morley

. Lauren Hedbrink

• Estela Maria Neves UFRJ Environmental governance and politics and water governance

• Nick Copeland Virginia Tech Scoicilogy/ American indian studies, Guatemala/water politic

• Linda Etchart

• Ricardo Rivas

• Armando García Chang UAM, México

• Maria Belesis Ecoaméricas, Business Manager

• Marcela Vásquez-León

• Gabriela Muñoz Meléndez COLEF- México

• Trish O’Kane Birds & people, Nicaraguan revolution, Guatemalan genocide, extractive mining

• Claudia Horn BRICS Policy Center & London School of Economics Brazil, Amazon conservation aid

• Alonso Burgos

• Frederico Freitas