Hanna Laako

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Transboundary Conservation is a strategy that promotes biodiversity conservation along and across borders. Such is the case of Maya Forest, created by conservationists and scientists to safeguard biodiversity in the rainforest borderlands of Mexico, Guatemala and Belize, and inherited from the ancient Mayans. Currently composed of heritage sites and biosphere reserves, the Maya Forest contains many paradoxes and challenges. Yet, it reinforces nature states and builds subtle environmental international relations. Read the discussion articles in the Versus-online magazine.

During her years in Mexico, Senior Researcher Hanna Laako took a large leap in the multidisciplinary research of global politics. Empirical and fieldwork-based research is slowly gaining relevance in International Relations. Read the interview by Sari Eskelinen.

Somewhere far away, biodiversity is dwindling and rainforests are being cut down. Nature conservation is a hot topic of conversation, but people who live in the midst of environmental disputes are often overlooked in such debates. Science journalist Mikko Pelttari asked researchers of sparsely populated border regions how we could better understand areas with the most to protect and the most to lose. Read the project-interview by Mikko Pelttari in the Kone Foundation Different Routes-series.