The annual conference of the Swedish Anthropological Association (SANT) was held at Uppsala University from April 24-26, 2024. This year's theme was improvisation. In a world of increasing precarity and uncertainty, improvisation becomes a powerful tool to address both stagnation and transformation of power structures that produce and reproduce unequal social, political, and environmental conditions across the world. It also emerges as a provocation for people in and outside academia to reimagine the future, our relationships with one another and others, and the challenges of anthropological practice, both methodologically and theoretically, amidst the ever-changing milieu of climate change.
This year, SANT invited contributions reflecting on the many facets of improvisation: the Improvisation of Movements, Care, Livelihood, Infrastructure, Finance, Power, Wealth, Time, Space, Relationships, Knowledge, Methods, and Theory among many other possibilities. Among the participants, two of our doctoral candidates, Matias Menalled and Metztli Hernandez, presented the following papers, conceived within the C-urge framework.
Human-Water Relations, Drought Prediction, and Climate Change in Agro-Industrial Production of Wood and Rice in Esteros del Iberá, Corrientes, Argentina - Matias Menalled
Esteros del Iberá is a vast waterscape in north-eastern Argentina, characterized by marshes, lagoons, rivers, and grasslands with great biodiversity. Wetland conservation is promoted by national and provincial governments through nature reserves, by NGOs working to reintroduce endangered species, and by environmental activist movements pushing for a national wetlands law. Beyond the construction of the environment as something to be protected in its natural state, Esteros del Iberá also serves as a locus for development interventions and narratives. Water is a key element linked to productive activities such as ecotourism, cattle raising, hydroelectric production, rice, and forestry agro-industry. In this context, climatic, meteorological, and hydrological forecasts, used to anticipate future conditions, are simultaneously shaping human-water relations
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Following the Offset: Exploring Carbon Credit Markets in Argentina's Gran Chaco and the Quest to Preserve El Impenetrable Dry Forest - Metztli S. Hernández Garcia
The concept of the market inherently allows for ambiguity, creating space for improvisation. While social institutions may establish boundaries, the negotiations within them hinge on the actors' capacity to navigate the intricate web connecting them. This entails seeking their best interests, whether by bending rules, pushing boundaries, or reaching agreements, all due to the ever-changing rhythm of action, interactions, and responses within human and non-human elements. The present investigation aims to delve into the intricacies of the Carbon Credit Market from this perspective, focusing on Argentina. Through this exploration, it seeks to illuminate the dynamic interplay among market regulations, stakeholder negotiations, and the evolving landscape of environmental policies.
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