Chapter "The semiotics of predation and the Umwelten of large predators" revised

Today I finished revising my forthcoming book chapter «The semiotics of predation and the Umwelten of large predators», based on editorial feedback. At 14-15.000 words, this will be one of the longest pieces I´ve published.

See also:
Large predators chapter completed

Talk on official and unofficial predator management advertised

The one-woman company "Natur, Utvikling og Design", run by Lisbet Baklid, has released an invitation to its annual conference on large carnivores and grazing animals (to be arranged at Hamar, Norway, Oct 31 - Nov 1), where I will be giving the talk "Offisiell og 'uoffisiell' rovviltforvaltning i Norge sett med et humanøkologisk blikk - Hva er motivene og handlingene?" [Official and "unofficial" predator management in Norway, as seen in a human ecology perspective - What are the motives and actions?]".

My talk is one of six advertised in the 3 pp invitation. Other speakers include John Linnell and Petter Wabakken.

Turku: Predator panel report

The Turku ESEH panel "Never cry wolf. Human-predator interactions", which I mentioned before it took place yesterday, was not attended by all that many - around 25 people including panelists and local staff. But contentwise it was good, really good. Even all contributions from the audience (made up of environmental historians) were without exception relevant and stimulating. The panel session lasted for 2 hours.

Heta Lähdesmäki was there instead of Jukka Bisi. Chair and initiator Timo Vuorisalo had brought a stuffed wolverine for the occasion. We the four panelists did not fundamentally disagree on any point, though there were some cases where the situation in Poland was not comparable to that in Norway, Sweden and Finland.

The 6th European conference in environmental history was my second conference in that field. In 2009 I participated at the 1st world congress in environmental history, in Copenhagen, where I introduced my notion of alienated wolves.

Carnivore settlement? Nope

Tonight at around 3 a.m. the negotiations involving all political parties represented in the Norwegian parliament, which had been aiming to reach a new carnivore settlement replacing that of 2004 (effective from 2005), ended without results. The negotiations were supposed to conclude before Christmas 2010. After several delays, and critique from the opposition for the coalition government's lack of any joint proposal, it was said that the negotiations would conclude before the parliament's summer break. Instead, the negotiations are now over. And after a year or so of conflicting expectations and promises, there is no policy review whatsoever. Nada. There will be no deal. It is totally uncertain as of today when a new attempt will be made - perhaps in a couple of years, when Sweden moves on with their policy review. In the meantime everything is as it was - except that nobody wants it to stay like it is - a status quo that benefits neither carnivores nor farmers nor sheep. In this particular case stasis - inaction - is not an acceptable compromise, but an outright failure to deal with this whole problematique.

Norwegian wolf management is my PhD case study. I am covering historical times before and after the wolf got status as protected species, plus contemporary times (2006-2011).