The 3rd annual meeting of the Forests and Livelihoods: Assessment, Research, and Engagement, FLARE network will take place in Stockholm in the end of September 2017. The meeting will provide a unique space for discussions about forests and livelihoods and will foster collaboration, favouring younger researchers. Submit your abstract before June 20, 2017 if you wish to participate in this great knowledge sharing event.
The FLARE network meeting is being organized in partnership with Stockholm University, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), the Swedish International Agricultural Network Initiative (SIANI), Forest, Climate and Livelihoods Research Network (FOCALI), and the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI). The meeting will continue to advance discussion and collaboration around the forest-livelihood relationship, with special attention to three core themes:
1. Forests, Livelihoods, and the SDGs
2. Small and Medium Forest Enterprises and Livelihoods
3. Policy Ethics for Forests and Livelihoods
Call for Abstracts deadline June 20! Registration open on July 8. For complete descriptions of the themes, abstract guidelines, details about financial assistance for students and scholars from lower income countries, and to submit your abstract, please visit the webpage here.
In addition, the 2017 Stockholm meeting will go deeper into the topics explored during the previous FLARE meetings in Paris, 2015 and in Edinburgh, 2016, like linking practice and research; implementing forest & livelihood policies; and agricultural commodities. As with prior meetings, one to two special issue journal publications will be developed using accepted abstracts and submitted meeting papers. The meeting will also include workshops aimed at strengthening capacity in writing research proposals and increasing impact of research through knowledge and information sharing. There also will be a workshop dedicated to the development of the Livelihoods and Wellbeing app (LivWell) being developed by FLARE; a tool for social-ecological impact estimation by measuring livelihood and well-being amid social-ecological interventions.
The main aim of the FLARE network is to advance the state of knowledge about forest-based livelihoods, looking at theory, implementation and impacts. By building on and leveraging the existing expertise, FLARE brings together donor organizations, environmental and social NGOs, development agencies, and research organizations, creating opportunities to share and advance cutting edge knowledge and stimulate discussions about forest-based livelihoods. Ultimately, FLARE strives to generate practical information and methodologies as well as the ways of implement such tools for improving the quality of the development interventions made for improving forest-based livelihoods around the world. The network is supported by the UK Department for International Development and coordinated from the School of Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Michigan.
The FLARE meeting will be part of the week dedicated to land rights, forests and livelihoods issues to be held in Stockholm in autumn of 2017. Starting off with the 3rd annual FLARE network meeting on September 29th to October 2nd, followed by a Sida Development Talk on land rights on October 3rd, and the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI) conference on October 4th-5th.
More information on the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI) here, and the related event here.