Available online at www.sciencedirect.com 1877-0428 © 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.03.010 Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences 14 (2011) 1–8 1877-0428 © 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.03.010 Regional Environmental Governance: Interdisciplinary Perspectives, Theoretical Issues, Comparative Designs (REGov) Major challenges in regional environmental governance research and practice Jörg Balsiger a * and Bernard Debarbieux b a Institute for Environmental Decisions, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Universitätsstrasse 22, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland b Department of Geography, University of Geneva, Uni-Mail, Av. Pont-d’Arve 40, 1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland Abstract The international workshop “Regional environmental governance: international approaches, theoretical issues, comparative designs” (REGov) – held at the University of Geneva on 16-18 June 2010 – was organized as a collaborative initiative of scholars and practitioners who share a concern with the regional dimensions of environmental governance. The workshop’s overarching objective was to foster constructive encounters and fruitful exchange. To this end, the organizers identified and invited internationally renowned scholars from the fields of geography and political science, as well as senior practitioners from such organizations as the United Nations Environment Programme, European Environment Agency, International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, and the European Association of Elected Representatives from Mountain Areas. Additionally, a competitively selected group of doctoral students and young scholars presented original research. This article presents the major themes and challenges in regional environmental governance research and practice, which were discussed at the REGov workshop. All presentations were recorded and are available as streaming video at http://reg- observatory.org/outputs.html. © 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Keywords: Regions; Regionalism; Regionalization; Environment; Governance; Multilevel governance; Environmental Security; Regional integration. 1. Introduction The international workshop “Regional environmental governance: international approaches, theoretical issues, comparative designs” (REGov) – held at the University of Geneva on 16-18 June 2010 – was organized as a collaborative initiative of scholars and practitioners who share a concern with the regional dimensions of environmental governance. The workshop’s overarching objective was to foster constructive encounters and fruitful exchange. To this end, the organizers identified and invited internationally renowned scholars from the fields of geography and political science, as well as senior practitioners from such organizations as the United Nations * Corresponding author. Tel.: +41 44 632 49 61; fax: +41 44 632 11 10. E-mail address: joerg.balsiger@env.ethz.ch