2024 IASNR Conference

Cairns, Australia

June 22-26, 2024

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The IASNR Conference (formerly known as ISSRM)​

The annual meeting of the International Association for Society and Natural Resources (IASNR) is the IASNR Conference (formerly known as the ISSRM). The IASNR conference emphasizes local to global resource management issues, environmental justice, collaborative stakeholder processes, and the social impacts of natural resource management. It is also a venue for presenting cutting-edge research and engaging in productive discussions focused on the sustainable management of natural and cultural resources.

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Our Mission

The International Association for Society and Natural Resources (IASNR) strives to be the premier international association of social scientists, policy makers, and practitioners studying and managing human relationships with the environment and natural resources. It is our mission to foster better scientific understandings of society-natural resource relationships; assist in the professional development of social scientists, policy makers, practitioners, and students from around the world studying these issues; and provide opportunities for them to meet and share their work with each other.

Commitment to Diversity & Ethics

The International Association for Society and Natural Resources (IASNR) is committed to fostering a welcoming and vibrant community with members of all races and ethnicities, genders, religions, political affiliations, nationalities, language groups, ages, experience, education levels, and abilities. IASNR has a Code of Ethics in place to ensure mutual respect and trust for all members. The organization condemns racism, and stands with the members of our community advocating for equality and justice. Please contact [email protected] if you have any questions or concerns.

Conference Diversity Pledge

Our aim is to facilitate a safe and inclusive conference that welcomes all voices and encourages the free exchange of ideas and opinions. We invite participation from people of all races and ethnicities, genders, religions, political affiliations, nationalities, language groups, ages, experience, and abilities. Additionally, all conference attendees must agree and adhere to our Code of Ethics in order to attend the conference.

As organizers, we are working to provide a balanced and diverse program. You can help us build a better, more inclusive conference by forwarding our Call for Abstracts throughout your network, and by sending along your suggestions for presenters and participants that might help to diversify the conference.

2023 IASNR Conference Chairs

Tom Measham, Conference Organizer

The University of Queensland - Queensland, Australia

Stewart Lockie, Conference Organizer

James Cook University - Townsville, Australia

Conference Theme: Re-creating landscape and culture in a time of global change

Re-creating landscape and culture in a time of global change recognizes the interconnections between people and places across scales from local to global. At one level, the theme is about the resource extraction and economic activity affecting ecosystems as areas of profound natural beauty and traditional culture. At another level, the theme recognizes that landscapes are in a continuous state of change. The pace of change may vary considerably from place to place, with some locations experiencing rapid transition and others being re-created slowly through the ways they are represented variably as places of nature, recreation, culture, beauty and production and wilderness. The theme builds on previous ISSRM Symposia themes and brings together a suite of interconnected sub-themes.

Re-creating landscapes including:

  • cultural landscapes
  • world heritage
  • landscape multifunctionality
  • place-making and senses of place
  • recreation and tourism
  • rehabilitation

Culture, collaboration and contest, including:

  • Indigenous knowledge
  • local knowledge
  • competing and complementary land uses
  • cultural management
  • co-management
  • co-production of knowledge

Resources, extraction and restoration, including:

  • fossil fuel extraction
  • mining
  • renewable energy
  • forestry and agriculture
  • social impacts
  • economic impacts
  • resource dependent communities

Changing social processes, including:

  • social license to operate
  • demographic change 
  • new mobilities and media
  • governance
  • migration
  • environmental justice and just transitions
  • new rural economies
  • place attachment

Environmental management and global change, including:

  • climate change
  • coastal and marine management
  • water
  • erosion
  • waste management
  • weeds and feral animals
  • human dimensions of wildlife

Location: Cairns, Australia

Cairns is a tropical city located within the northern part of Australia and within the tropics at 16.9 degrees south of the Equator. Cairns is also located between two World Heritage areas.

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Venue, Lodging, & Travel

Conference sessions and the majority of events will be at the Shangri-La The Marina, Cairns. The hotel is a five star accommodation located in downtown Cairns.

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Conference Field Trips

Pre and post conference tours are planned for the conference. Tours will be offered through experienced Cairns tourist operators who work with local guides and specialist transport providers.

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Local Attractions

Cairns and the surrounding area have a lot to offer in terms of tourism and attractions. Create your own adventure! There are over 600 day tours departing from Cairns.

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Submission, Registration, & Schedule Information

Organized Session Proposals

Organized session proposals are now being considered! Submissions are due November 1, 2023. Decisions will be sent by December 15, 2023.

Organized Sessions represent an opportunity to bring together a group of scholars to present and discuss work focusing on a particular integrative theme or topic. These sessions can be structured in multiple ways:

  • A collection of 3-5 thematically-linked oral presentations (with or without a discussant).
  • A panel of experts on a given topic.
  • A roundtable discussion.
    An author-meets-critics session.
  • A workshop/training activity.
  • Or, you can propose your own idea!

Panels and paper sessions will last 90 minutes. Organizer(s) should recruit and receive commitments from participants in advance of proposal submission, and include details regarding who will participate and what they will be doing as part of the session proposal. Organized sessions will be highlighted and given priority in the program.

Abstract Submissions

Abstract submissions are now being considered!  Submissions are due February 1, 2024. We do not anticipate an extension beyond that date and strongly encourage you to submit your abstracts well before the deadline! Decisions will be sent by February 22, 2024.

We encourage submissions that are relevant to the symposium theme and those that focus on the interactions between social and ecological systems. Individuals will be limited to serving as lead presenter on only one oral paper presentation. This does not include co-authorship and individuals may present both an oral paper presentation and organize a session, present a poster, or serve on a panel.

Guidelines for Abstracts:
Abstracts should be in paragraph form, without bullet points. Additionally, the abstract body should include details regarding the background, purpose, methods, results, and conclusions. Please also indicate the theory/analytical framework for the work and provide a description of the research methods used.

Registration

Conference participants and attendees must register to attend the conference. IASNR membership is required for conference participation. The deadline for early bird registration is March 31, 2024. This is also the deadline for all presenters (oral, poster, organizers, and panel) to register. Sessions, papers, and posters will be dropped from the symposium program after March 31, 2024 if the presenter is not registered. Registration prices will be available soon.

Information on student scholarships will be available soon. Please email [email protected] if you have any questions about registration, student scholarships,  or the conference in general.

Conference Outline

Click here to view the conference outline of keynotes, sessions, and events.

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