{"id":5039,"date":"2026-10-28T00:00:34","date_gmt":"2026-10-27T22:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kehitystutkimus.fi\/conference\/?page_id=5039"},"modified":"2026-10-28T09:50:44","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T07:50:44","slug":"wg-10-tropical-forest-governance-in-the-era-of-new-digital-technologies","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.kehitystutkimus.fi\/conference\/working-groups\/wg-10-tropical-forest-governance-in-the-era-of-new-digital-technologies","title":{"rendered":"WG 10: Tropical Forest Governance in the Era of New Digital Technologies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Coordinators:
\n<\/b>Heini Vihem\u00e4ki (Viikki Tropical Resources Institute, Dept. Forest Sciences, University of Helsinki)\u00a0<\/em>
\n<\/span>Maria Brockhaus (Dept. Forest Sciences, University of Helsinki)<\/em><\/b><\/p>\n

Description:<\/strong>
\nTropical forests and the people living within and around them are shaping and are shaped by rapid technological change. Remote sensing, use of artificial intelligence in resource management and planning, digital monitoring systems, traceability platforms, and other data driven tools are transforming in many ways how forest resources are measured, managed, governed, and how contestation takes place. At the same time, tropical forest landscapes have gained global importance as providers of biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and other “ecosystem services”, placing them at the heart of climate and conservation agendas globally. These developments are occurring alongside intensifying geopolitical competition over timber, minerals, arable land, energy, water, carbon storage, among other resources. These dynamics are creating new pressures and opportunities across tropical forest landscapes. Such dynamics may reshape access to and control over forest resources, while also exacerbating existing inequalities and conflicts, or inducing new ones.<\/p>\n

This working group seeks contributions that shed light on how technological innovations and digital governance tools interact with tropical forest governance, resource control, and socio-environmental change. We are particularly interested in how technologies influence power relations among states, private sector, local communities, minority groups, civil society, and\/or international institutions. We ask who and what is governed by whom, and for whose benefit? We welcome empirical, conceptual, and methodological contributions that examine how power is exercised, negotiated, and contested through emerging technologies and associated governance mechanisms. We also welcome contributions that analyse their social, political, economic, and\/or ecological consequences, including impacts on livelihoods, access to and rights over resources, equity, or land use changes or other bio-physical changes.\u00a0 Through these discussions, the working group hopes to advance critical understanding of the dynamics and implications of technological transformations in tropical forest landscapes.<\/p>\n

Type of call:
\n<\/b>Call for Abstracts\/Papers<\/p>\n

Participation mode:<\/b>
\nIn person only (TBC)<\/p>\n

Submission details:<\/b><\/p>\n

Email address for submissions and inquiries. heini.m.vihemaki@helsinki.fi<\/a><\/p>\n

Abstract word count limit is 500 words. Full papers are required two weeks prior to the conference<\/b>.<\/p>\n

Funding note:<\/b>
\nIn this working group, participants are expected to secure their own funding.<\/p>\n

Contacts:
\n<\/b>Heini Vihem\u00e4ki, University Lecturer, Viikki Tropical Resources Institute, Dept. Forest Sciences, University of Helsinki; heini.m.vihemaki@helsinki.fi <\/u><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Maria Brockhaus, Professor in International Forest Policy, Dept. Forest Sciences, University of Helsinki; maria.brockhaus@helsinki.fi<\/u><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Coordinators: Heini Vihem\u00e4ki (Viikki Tropical Resources Institute, Dept. Forest Sciences, University of Helsinki)\u00a0 Maria Brockhaus (Dept. Forest Sciences, University of Helsinki) Description: Tropical forests and the people living within and around them are shaping and are shaped by rapid technological change. Remote sensing, use of artificial intelligence in resource management and planning, digital monitoring systems, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"parent":3437,"menu_order":10,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kehitystutkimus.fi\/conference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5039"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kehitystutkimus.fi\/conference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kehitystutkimus.fi\/conference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kehitystutkimus.fi\/conference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kehitystutkimus.fi\/conference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5039"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.kehitystutkimus.fi\/conference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5039\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5077,"href":"https:\/\/www.kehitystutkimus.fi\/conference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5039\/revisions\/5077"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kehitystutkimus.fi\/conference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kehitystutkimus.fi\/conference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}