Anthropocene Traps and Resilient Mountain Futures

This Scientific Workshop will elaborate on the relations between traps and transformative change. Workshop presentations will address novel theoretical and methodological perspectives on resilience as a coordinated transformative process or a persisting downward spiral.

We live in a complex world where sustainability challenges are deeply interconnected, often manifesting as persistent, self-reinforcing conditions that entangle human and natural systems. These challenges, or "traps," can take various forms—global, technological, structural, or political—and can be identified, characterised, and analysed through a range of concepts and methods. The concept of traps is frequently used in resilience studies, particularly in relation to resilience as persistence. This workshop focuses on two key aspects. First, traps rarely exist in isolation; instead, they often cluster together as “polytraps”, linking livelihoods, economies, ecosystems, and communities across different spatial and temporal scales. An example is rural shrinkage in "left-behind" areas, like mountainous regions. Second, traps are both system characteristics and dynamic processes. They manifest as path dependencies, where interconnected drivers reinforce an undesirable status quo, leading to escalating challenges over time.

MARGISTAR plans to develop a special issue featuring papers presented at the workshop. Following the event, authors will have several months to finalise their manuscripts. Further details will be provided during the workshop. Topic: Resilience as a Positive and Negative Transformative Process: Insights from European Mountainous Areas. Deadline: October 2025

Click here to learn more, and apply today!

Contact: Dr António Manuel Teixeira Monteiro (monteiroantonio@edu.ulisboa.pt)