Culture in, for and as Sustainable Development: Conclusions from the COST Action IS1007 Investigating Cultural Sustainability

Culture matters in sustainable development. Yet, almost 30 years after the Brundtland publication "Our Common Future"and despite a few recent attempts by transnational and international organisations, and some cross-disciplinary and transdisciplinary scientific endeavours, the incorporation of culture into sustainability debates seems to be great scientific and political challenge, and one that questions the prevailing conventional sustainability discourses

Assessment of possible adverse consequences for biodiversity when planting vascular plants outside their natural range in Norway - Scientific Opinion of the Panel on Alien Organisms and Trade in Endangered species (CITES) of the Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food and Environment (VKM)

We sow or plant vascular plant species on a large scale in revegetation and restoration projects in Norway today. Some of the species used are already found in Norway, but many of the species, subspecies or populations used though native are not local, that is, they are regionally alien. A regionally alien species is a species that is native to Norway (has been in Norway since 1800) somewhere in the country, but which has been spread by humans to places in Norway where they do not occur. In theory, and according to the Biodiversity Act, it is desirable to use local seeds or plants to preserve local biodiversity. The aim of this report is to define guidelines that helps prevent the planting of vascular plant species with a high potential for negative effects on local biodiversity. It is assumed that the native or local populations are better adapted to local environmental conditions than populations from other areas or regions, and the risk of harmful genetic changes is therefore considered small when using local plant and seed sources. Arriving at a common definition for the area within which plants are “local” is difficult, though; vascular plant species are numerous (3317 species in mainland Norway, of which more than half are alien species introduced after 1800, Artdatabanken 2015), have different growth forms, different environmental requirements, and different reproductive and dispersal ecology. Even closely related vascular plant species can differ in such characteristics and hence in the extent of the "place" or “area”. The dispersal ecology of a plant species is of great importance for whether the species has genetically distinct populations within its range or not. Different strategies (wind pollination vs. insect pollination, vegetative propagation vs. seed dispersal, large seeds vs. small seeds) have an impact on the degree of gene flow between populations and thus also how locally adapted the species is in different areas. Whether the species has primarily vegetative reproduction or whether it spreads mainly by means of seeds, and whether the seed dispersal takes place ballistically, with wind or water, or by zookori (attached to animals or eaten by animals) determines how far the species can spread and how large gene flow there is between different populations. Whether the species is pollinated by wind or by the help of insects also affects the degree of gene flow differently. In Norway, there is great variation in many biophysical and ecological conditions (climate, topography, hydrology, and geology) over relatively short distances. This means that species that grow only a few meters apart can grow under different environmental conditions. This large variation in environmental conditions - on different spatial scales - can give rise to local genetic adaptation. However, plants have been moved around the landscape for several hundred years by our livestock (as seeds in fur and hooves, and in faeces) from lowland pasture to mountain pasture and along traffic arteries across the country due to the extensive transport of animals and people. Over time, this has led to expanded geographical distribution for several species and increased gene flow between populations over relatively large distances. .............publishedVersionpublishedVersio

Assessment of the risk to Norwegian biodiversity from import and keeping of crustaceans in freshwater aquaria. Scientific Opinion of the Panel on Alien Organisms and trade in Endangered Species (CITES) of the Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food and Environment

Key words: Risk assessment, Crayfish, Shrimps, Crabs, Climate change, Aphanomyces astaci, White spot syndrome, Alien species, Biological invasion Introduction The Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food and Environment (VKM) was requested by the Norwegian Environment Agency to assess the risk of negative impacts to biodiversity in Norway resulting from import of crustacean decapods for keeping in freshwater aquariums. VKM was asked to 1) list species of crayfish, crabs and shrimps that are currently kept in freshwater aquaria in Norway, and species that are likely to be kept in freshwater aquaria in Norway within the next 10 years, 2) assess the ability of the species to survive under Norwegian conditions and cause impacts on ecosystems and other species, and 3) state the potential negative effects on the biological diversity of diseases caused by pathogens, regulated under the Norwegian Food Act. Methods The risk assessment, without focus on pathogens, was performed in two steps. First, we used a pre-screening toolkit to identify species of crayfish, crabs and shrimps with potential to become invasive in freshwater habitats in Norway. Each species was given an invasiveness score based on 55 questions on biogeography, ecology, and climate change. In a second step, a full risk assessment, including the potential impacts of pathogens, was conducted on those species receiving the highest invasiveness score. This assessment included questions on the organism’s probability of entry and pathways of entry, establishment and spread, potential impacts on biodiversity, and how climate change scenarios might affect the assessment. Likelyhood and confidence was assessed for each question. In conclusion, each species was designated as either low-, moderate-, or high risk. Many crustacean decapod species are confirmed or suspected carriers of pathogens that can cause mass mortality among native crustaceans. The risk posed by crustaceans as carriers of pathogens may be independent of the environmental risk that they pose through ecological interactions. Therefore, the four crustacean disease pathogens that are regulated under the Norwegian Food Act, were assessed separately. These include Aphanomyces astaci causing crayfish plague, white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) causing white spot disease, Taura syndrome virus (TSV) causing Taura syndrome, and yellow head virus genotype 1 (YHV1) causing yellow head disease. The assessments comprised questions on the pathogen’s probability of entry (as a hitchhiker organism with imported crustaceans), pathways of entry, establishment and spread, and potential impact on crustacean biodiversity. Likelihood and confidence were assessed for each question. In conclusion, each pathogen was designated as either low-, moderate-, or high risk. In a third step, we categorized the likelihood that a crustacean species introduces a pathogen associated with a high- or moderate risk into: I) known chronic carriers, II) suspected chronic carriers, III) suspected situational carrier, IV) possible pathogen transmitters, and V) no direct or circumstantial evidence for carrier status or pathogen transmission in the genus. Results Based on information from the Norwegian Pet Trade Association, the project group listed 112 taxa (mainly species and some genera) of freshwater crayfish, crabs and shrimps that are relevant for trade in Norway. These included 38 crayfish taxa, 28 crab taxa, and 45 shrimp taxa. In addition, one marine crab was included. Sixteen species of crayfish, four species of shrimps, and two species of crabs underwent a full ecological risk assessment. The probabilities of entry both into the aquarium trade in Norway, and potentially further into Norwegian nature, were based on the prevalence of the species in the aquarium trade in Norway. We assumed that all species were equally likely to escape captivity or to be .........publishedVersionpublishedVersio

Assessment of the risk of negative impact on biodiversity from import and release of eggs or live fish from landlocked Atlantic salmon from Klarälven in Sweden to Trysilelva in Norway. Scientific Opinion of the Panel on Alien Organisms and Trade in Endangered Species of the Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food and Environment

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Impacts of climate change on the boreal forest ecosystem. Scientific Opinion of the Panel on Alien Organisms and Trade in Endangered species (CITES) of the Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food and Environment

Source at https://vkm.no/</a

Fuktmåling i LVL med trådløse sensorer

Masteroppgaven har til hensikt å undersøke fuktopptak i LVL (Laminated Veneer Lumber) og forskjellige målemetoder for å finne fuktinnholdet eller ”moisture content” (MC) i treverk utsatt for klima med forskjellig fuktighet. Det er i dag begrenset med forskning og kunnskap på dette området. Fuktberegningsmetoder som er brukt i forsøket er tørke-/veie metoden (gravimetric method) og en elektrisk motstandsmåler (resistance method) og er gjort i henhold til NSEN13183-1 og NS3512:2014, med noen få unntak. (Norsk Standard, 2014; Norsk Standard, 2002) Målingene ble gjort med 20 fuktsensorer fra Omnisense, som ble skrudd inn i 6 furu prøver og 14 LVL prøver. Prøvene ble undersøkt for klima variasjoner som man typisk kan finne i løpet av sommeren på byggeplasser i Norge. Temperaturen i forsøket ble stilt inn på 23°C og fuktigheten ble variert mellom 23%-98% i relativ fuktighet. Prøvene ble jevnlig veid under forsøket for å kunne beregne fuktinnholdet igjennom tørke-/veie metoden. Det ble observert at LVL prøvene tok opp raskere fuktighet sammenlignet med furu prøvene. Når prøvene ble flyttet fra luftfuktighet 50%RF til 75%RF absorberte LVL fukt betydelig raskere sammenlignet med furu. Ved måling med elektriske motstandsmåler fikk LVL et høyere fuktinnhold (%WME) enn furu i samme klima, der forskjellen økte ved høyere luftfuktighet. Resultatene fra tørke-/veie metoden viste at LVL og furu tok opp nesten like mye fukt. Motstandsmetoden målte for høyt fuktinnhold for LVL og for lavt for furu. Fra litteratursøket ble det bekreftet at limet påvirker ledningsevnen til limtre. Den betydelige forskjellen mellom de to metodene viser at limet i LVL leder strøm bedre i fuktighet over 65%RF. I oppgaven er det laget to korrigeringstabeller, en for LVL og en for furu. Disse tabellene viser forskjellen på målte fuktverdier fra den elektriske motstandsmåleren og den antatte reelle fuktverdien. Ved testing av posisjonene til sensorene, ble det observert 1-2 vektprosent forskjell i fuktinnholdet mellom de forskjellige posisjonene. Disse forskjellene ga ingen tydelig påvirkning på måleresultatene. Sensorene som ble brukt har ifølge leverandørene en rekkevidde til Gatewayen på 100m, avhengig av bygningselementer i mellom. I enkelte tilfeller har det oppstått problemer med å få kontakt mellom Gatewayen og fuktsensorene. I et enkelt forsøk ble Gatewayen flyttet rundt på SINTEF laboratoriet for å undersøke hva som skal til for å blokkere signalene fra sensorene helt. Fra forsøket mistet gatewayen kontakt med sensorene etter 28m på samme plan og signalene nådde over to etasjer opp. Forsøket var ikke gjennomført systematisk nok til å trekke en klar konklusjon, men det kom tydelig frem at vegg og dekkeelementer blokkerer signalene betraktelig

Exploring the scientific discourse on cultural sustainability

There has been growing interest in policy and among scholars to consider culture as an aspect of sustainable development and even as a fourth pillar. However, until recently, the understanding of culture within the framework of sustainable development has remained vague. In this study, we investigate the scientific discourse on cultural sustainability by analyzing the diverse meanings that are applied to the concept in scientific publications. The analysis shows that the scientific discourse on cultural sustainability is organized around seven storylines: heritage, vitality, economic viability, diversity, locality, eco-cultural resilience, and eco-cultural civilization. These storylines are partly interlinked and overlapping, but they differ in terms of some contextualized aspects. They are related to four political and ideological contexts, conservative, neoliberal, communitarian, and environmentalist, which provide interesting perspectives on the political ideologies and policy arenas to which cultural sustainability may refer. Some of the story lines establish the fourth pillar of sustainability, whereas others can be seen as instrumental, contributing to the achievement of social, economic, or ecological goals of sustainability. The eco-cultural civilization story line suggests culture as a necessary foundation for the transition to a truly sustainable society.201

Allsidig husdyrhold på Agder

Rapporten beskriver den økologiske drifta på gården Lillevåje i Agder. Gården deltok i de to gårdsstudieprosjektene "30 bruks-prosjektet" og GSP, i regi av Norsk senter for økologisk landbruk. Rapporten omtaler planteproduksjonen, husdyrholdet og økonomien på Lillevåje

Innledning - Fra industri til industriarv

Industrialisering er et vesentlig kjennetegn ved utviklingen av moderne samfunn. Når en rekke områder i dag både beskrives og behandles som postindustrielle, ryddes industrisamfunn inn i en ordnet fortid som omgås, erfares og gjøres bruk av på nye måter. Industriarv utgjør en sentral komponent i slike prosesser. Men endringene som akkompagnerer transformasjon av industri til industriarv varierer og er ofte sammensatte. Ikke minst fordi de vanskelig kan for­stås uten å ta hensyn til de historiske miljøene som industrien selv, ofte på radikalt vis, har bidratt til å skape

Steder i naturen: sted, natur og materialitet på ungdomstrinnet

I denne artikkelen utforskes teoretiske og empiriske perspektiver på sted i undervisningssammenheng, og det stilles spørsmål om hvordan læringsarenaer i naturen kan forstås som sted, natur og materialitet på ungdomstrinnet. Alle mennesker forstår seg selv i forhold til et sted, og alle menneskelige handlinger og forståelser er knyttet til meningsfulle steder. Selv om sted kan være mer levd enn tenkt, er gode forståelser av steder viktige for å forstå menneskelig identitet og hvem vi er som mennesker i verden. Artikkelens formål er å utvikle ny kunnskap om læringsarenaer i nærnaturen som verdifull i læringssituasjonen ved hjelp av stedsbegrepet. Drøftingene i artikkelen bygger på et empirisk eksempel fra et doktorgradsprosjekt for å problematisere og utvikle nye teoretiske perspektiver på sted og natur. Avslutningsvis presenteres materialitet som en viktig dimensjon ved sted når vi forstår læringsarenaer i naturen som både temporære, relasjonelle og dynamiske for læringssituasjoner.All human beings understand themselves in relation to a place, and human actions, practices and considerations are linked to meaningful places. This makes it crucial to understand more of where different learning situations take place. To enhance teaching and learning practices in nature, the article discusses theoretical perspectives on place and nature and introduces materiality as a vital and necessary aspect of nature as learning environment. Building on an empirical example from a Ph. D. research project, the article asks: How can we understand learning environments in a schools nearby surroundings as place, nature and materiality? In this article, we show how teachers and students draw upon multiple experiences from different contexts and view nature from an outsider perspective. The article concludes with discussions on teachers and students experiences on highlighting and appreciating more and new qualities and aspects of nature in learning situations