Special Issues Call for Papers
SPECIAL ISSUE: TROPICAL COASTS AND ISLANDS:
HOW CAN ETHNOBOTANY AND ETHNOECOLOGY BEST SUPPORT COMMUNITY RESILIENCE?
Guest Editors:
Farid Dahdouh-Guebas, Université Libre de Bruxelles and Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium and Jean Hugé, Open University of the Netherlands, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Hasselt University, Belgium
Our planet counts more than 45,000 tropical islands and covers over 270,000 km of coastline. More than 2.7 billion people live within 100 km of these coasts and depend on the functions, goods and services of a variety of ecosystems, including rainforests, dry forests, terrestrial woodlands, mangrove forests, marshes, and coral reefs. Understanding and raising awareness about the effects of habitat destruction, the biodiversity crisis and climate change for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) is paramount to help them build social-ecological resilience for (imminent) future change. In which ways can IPLCs and the academic community come together to co-create knowledge and mitigate predicted environmental and social change impacts on the intricate relationships between people and nature?
This Special Issue invites case-studies identifying coastal and island traditional botanical and ethnobiological knowledge threatened by environmental impacts (loss of habitats and biodiversity) and social change (disappearing cultural traditions) and building a path towards resilience. A non-exhaustive list of examples includes medicinal plants used in traditional medicine disappearing from ecosystems due to global warming, changes in distribution ranges of plants and animals on which IPLCs depend, effects of river rectification or other types of environmental management on ecosystem functioning affecting biota and people, loss of coastal vegetation due to sea-level rise, and impact of deforestation on human-wildlife conflicts. These and other case-studies on ethnobotany, ethnozoology, ethnoecology or any other ethnosciences are welcome as long as they include plants and/or plant-based ecosystems. In addition, papers should not merely be inventories of useful plants but instead ask and address (a) research question(s) and employ the use of qualitative or quantitative analyses and/or a theoretical framework. Prospective papers should convincingly argue how their work furthers the disciplines of ethnobotany and ethnobiology in new or innovative ways.
Abstract Submission Deadline:
Please email your abstract to econbot.seb@gmail.com for review to determine its suitability for this Special Issue.
Deadline for invited full papers (on a rolling basis, by invitation only): 31 March 2025 (submission through Springer’s online system Editorial Manager at https://link.springer.com/journal/12231)
ABOUT PROF. DR. FARID DAHDOUH-GUEBAS:
I work as a Full Professor at Université Libre de Bruxelles and Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium and direct the Systems Ecology and Resource Management research unit. Since the 1990s I study mangrove forests in a transdisciplinary manner with four main research areas: (i) the ecology and spatio-temporal dynamics of vegetation and landscape (botany and tropical phytosociology, very high resolution remote sensing, plant-animal interactions), (ii) ethnobiology and socio-ecology (investigations into ecosystem goods and services, resilience of mangrove socio-ecological systems), (iii) restoration ecology (consolidation of the functions of the ecosystem, state of health of the ecosystem), and (iv) management (preservation, restoration options, governance). Our studies are carried out on different spatial scales from local case studies in several tropical countries to the macro-ecological (global) level and also explore the interface between science and policy. Over the past 30 years, we conducted research in more than 25 (sub)tropical countries, resulting in several hundreds of peer-reviewed articles. I am also the Founding and Managing Director of the TROPIMUNDO excellence master (Erasmus Mundus Joint Master's Degree in Tropical Biodiversity and Ecosystems) and work for international institutions such as the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
ABOUT PROF. DR. JEAN HUGE:
New Content ItemI work as Assistant Professor at the Department of Environmental Sciences at the Open University of the Netherlands and a Visiting Professor at the Biology Departments of the VUB and ULB universities in Brussels, Belgium. I am also an Associate Researcher of Hasselt University’s Centre for Environmental Sciences. My work uses a social-ecological systems lens and zooms in on collaborative environmental governance, on conservation effectiveness, on conservation conflicts and on impact assessment processes. I am particularly interested in the environmental science-policy-society nexus. Model systems on which I focus my research include mangroves, marine protected areas and small islands. I am a member of the IUCN Commission on Environmental, Economic & Social Policy (CEESP). I teach in various Master programs such as the Master's in Environmental Sciences (OU), the TROPIMUNDO Erasmus Mundus Master Degree in Tropical Biodiversity and Ecosystems (VUB-ULB), the MSc. in Marine and Lacustrine Science and Management (VUB), and the International Environmental Management Master at Mines Paris PSL (France).
SPECIAL ISSUE: WILD FOOD PLANTS-EUPHORIA:
NAVIGATING THE RELATIONS BETWEEN CONTEMPORARY AND "TRADITIONAL" FORAGING
Guest Editors:
Prof. Dr. Andrea Pieroni and Dr. Naji Sulaiman, University of Gastronomic Sciences, Pollenzo, Italy
While "traditional" foraging practices (wild food plant collection) have been extensively studied in rural areas worldwide over the past two decades, contemporary foraging (mainly urban and peri-urban) has emerged as a recent focal point, mainly in social science-based surveys. This special issue aims to explore the horizons of these distinct sets of phenomena and deeply understand the visible and invisible links between them. Specifically, it seeks to explore the interplay between the foraging practices of previous generations and the evolving trends propagated through social media, influencing the Z-generation. Contributions that offer robust comparisons between these two trajectories are encouraged, along with works that examine the projections of foraging for food security and sovereignty, community-centered rural development, preservation of biocultural heritage, social cohesion, leisure, and sustainable gastronomies.
Abstract Submission Deadline:
Please email your abstract to econbot.seb@gmail.com for review to determine its suitability for this Special Issue.
Deadline for invited full papers (on a rolling basis, by invitation only): 31 March 2025 submission through Springer’s online system Editorial Manager at https://link.springer.com/journal/12231)
ABOUT PROF. DR. ANDREA PIERONI
New Content ItemI am an ethnobiologist whose research focuses on the temporal and spatial changes of LEK in relation to wild food plants, especially in the MENA and among diasporas and minorities. I am deeply convinced that ethnobiology's core ethos is about celebrating marginalized and excluded communities and providing them with tools for their empowerment and decolonizing processes. Born as a "village boy" in the mountains of Tuscany, I have always been deeply attracted by both remoteness and cosmopolitanism. I earned my Master's at the University of Pisa, moving later to the University of Antwerp (Belgium) and for my PhD at the University of Bonn in Germany. I joined UCL London and the University of Bradford as a Research Associate, tenured Lecturer, and Senior Lecturer before returning to Italy in 2009 at the University of Pollenzo as an Associate and, later, Full Professor. After starting my career as a medical botanist, I intensely perceived the potential of ethnobiology for a genuine reconciliation between my understanding of science and my green political activism and advocacy for minorities, freedom and justice. I am a forager myself (see picture), adore food and cooking, am a Eurovision Song Contest fan, and love contemporary poetry and art.
ABOUT DR. NAJI SULAIMAN
New Content ItemI am an Assistant Professor of environmental and applied botany at the University of Gastronomic Sciences, Italy. As an ethnobotanist, my research primarily focuses on the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East regions. I hold a PhD in Tropical Agrobiology and Bioresources Management from the Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, where I also earned a Master’s degree in Tropical Crop Management and Ecology. Before that, I completed a Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Engineering at Tishreen University in Latakia, Syria. In recent years, my research has concentrated on the relationship between people and wild plants under turbulent and warfare conditions. I have conducted several studies investigating the importance of traditional knowledge of wild plants during emergency situations. My research interests span various plant-related contexts, including food and beverage cultures, food heritage and perceptions, food security and sovereignty, and traditional food systems.