Johann Friedrich Gustav von Eschscholtz – a pioneer naturalist and explorer of the Pacific Islands and Western North America

Johann Friedrich Gustav von Eschscholtz (1793-1831) was a Baltic-German naturalist, scholar and explorer. In the early 19th century he took part in two expeditions to the Pacific Ocean and to Russian America, present Alaska. During these expeditions he collected extensive scientific materials and described a great number of new species from many animal groups. Eschscholtz’s work formed the basis for the significant pioneer study of the beetle fauna of Western North America by the Finnish statesman and entomologist Carl Gustaf Mannerheim (1797–1854)

Ground-living arthropods along pollution gradient in boreal pine forest

We studied the occurrence of arthropods in a polluted pine forest at Harjavalta, southwestern Finland. Significantly fewer beetles (Coleoptera) were trapped near (0.5 km) a smelter and fertilizer factory than at sites further away (3, 5, 9 km). No differences in total numbers (inds./trap) along the distance (pollution) gradient were found for spiders (Araneae), ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) or bugs (Heteroptera). Marked differences were observed in diversity and species composition of the studied groups between the most polluted site (0.5 km) and the other sites (3, 5, 9 km). There were permanent arthropod populations (e.g. ants and wolf spiders) living at the most polluted site. Differences in ground-living fauna were explained by changes in ground vegetation due to pollution. The contents of Cu, Fe, Ni and Cr in ants and wolf spiders were clearly highest near the pollution source; those of Cd, Zn and Al were high at all sites

Effects of reindeer on the re-establishment of Betula pubescens subsp. czerepanovii and Salix phylicifolia in a subarctic meadow

The effect of reindeer browsing on the regeneration of Betula pubescens subsp. czerepanovii and Salix phylicifolia was studied in a subarctic meadow in Finnish Lapland. The aim of the study was to see whether tree recovery from seeds is possible under heavy reindeer-browsing pressure. After removal of the ground and field layer vegetation in 1986, two exclosures were established so that the effect of reindeer on the secondary succession, starting from seeds, could be studied. The size and the number of B. pubescens and S. phylicifolia were recorded in 1994, 1996, 1997 and 1999. Reindeer significantly reduced the height and the number of saplings (plants > 10 cm high) of B. pubescens and S. phylicifolia but the number of seedlings (plants < 10 cm high) did not differ between browsed and unbrowsed plots. Furthermore the heightclass distribution of saplings was different inside the exlosures compared to control areas. Over time browsed plots continued to have high densities of small saplings while in protected plots an increasing number of larger saplings appeared. In our study site, regeneration from seeds seemed possible although the height of B. pubescens and S. phylicifolia was limited by reindeer.&nbsp

Arctic potential : could more structured view improve the understanding of arctic business opportunities?

The increasing interest towards the Arctic has been witnessed during the past decades. However, the commonly shared definitions of the Arctic key concepts have not yet penetrated national and international arenas for political and economic decision making. The lack of jointly defined framework has made different analyses related to the Arctic quite limited considering the magnitude of economic potential embedded in Arctic. This paper is built on the key findings of two separate, yet connected projects carried out in the Oulu region, Finland. In this paper's approach, the Arctic context has been defined as a composition of three overlapping layers. The first layer is the phenomenological approach to define the Arctic region. The second layer is the strategy-level analysis to define different Arctic paths as well as a national level description of a roadmap to Arctic specialization. The third layer is the operationalization of the first two layers to define the Arctic business context and business opportunities. The studied case from Oulu region indicates that alternative futures for the Arctic competences and business activities are in resemblance with only two of the four identified strategic pathways. Introduction of other pathways to regional level actors as credible and attractive options would require additional, systematic efforts

The Relationship of EU Law and Bilateral Investment Treaties of EU Member States

This dissertation analyses the relationship of EU Law and International Investment Law from a number of different perspectives. These perspectives relate to two distinct debates that concern the future of investment treaties in Europe. The first debate relates to the formal relationship of EU law and bilateral investment treaties (BITs) of EU member states. The Commission has argued that BITs concluded between two EU member states (so called intra-EU BITs) are incompatible with EU law and have to be terminated. The Commission has raised these arguments not only before the European Court of Justice (ECJ) but also before arbitral tribunals presiding over investment disputes raised under intra-EU BITs. The ECJ will take issue with the Commission's arguments in the near future, but arbitral tribunals have rejected them in each case. The first purpose of the thesis is to examine whether the Commission's arguments hold water by analysing the relevant case law of the ECJ, and to explain why arbitral tribunals have consistently rejected the arguments. The discussion highlights the reasons behind the different perspectives of the Commission and arbitral tribunals as well as analyses a number of related issues, such as applicable conflict rules, the role of party intent, and the (limited) role that courts and tribunals can play in the resolution of treaty conflicts. The second relevant debate relates to the broader political and economic implications of investment treaties. This debate is relatively polarised and centres on the ability of investors to challenge host state measures in ad hoc arbitration. The critics argue that investment arbitration constrains the regulatory autonomy of host states, as investors are able to challenge measures adopted in sensitive areas of public policy, such as public health. As the EU is now competent to negotiate investment agreements with its major trade and investment partners, such as the United States and Canada, the critics fear that the inclusion of investment protection provisions in EU-level agreements will expose the member state to a high number of investor claims challenging legitimate public interest measures. On the other side of the argument, the proponents argue that the critique is based on misunderstandings and hyperbole, with arbitral tribunals showing a high measure of deference to the public interests of host states. The second purpose of the thesis is to understand the plausibility of these opposing arguments by analysing both the assumptions that undergird them as well as the materials on which they rely. The analysis shows that the arguments are based on anecdotal evidence and contested assumptions, rather than on empirically proven hypotheses or on rigorous analyses of the case law that arbitral tribunals have hitherto produced. My analysis also shows that the disagreement is ultimately political, as the opposing arguments rely on contrasting understandings about how state-market relations should be arranged in the global economy. The broad argument of the thesis is that the relationship of EU law and member states' investment treaties should not be decided on the basis of the Commission's formal arguments, but by discussing the different political visions upon which the opposing arguments depend. The same argument applies with equal force in respect of the EU's external investment policy.Tämä väitöstutkimus tarkastelee EU-oikeuden ja ns. investointisuojasopimusten välistä suhdetta. Investointisuojasopimuksia on solmittu maailmanlaajuisesti yli kolme tuhatta, ja EU-jäsenvaltioilla on voimassa olevia sopimuksia yli tuhat, joista suurin osa on solmittu kolmansien valtioiden kanssa. Tyypillisessä investointisuojasopimuksessa sopimusten osapuolet sitoutuvat myöntämään toisesta sopimusvaltioista tuleville sijoituksille oikeudenmukaisen ja tasapuolisen kohtelun, sekä täysimääräisen ja jatkuvan suojan. Lisäksi sijoituksia ei saa pakkolunastaa muuten kuin syrjimättömällä tavalla yleisen edun sitä edellyttäessä, ja lunastuksesta on maksettava välitön ja riittävä korvaus. Tilanteissa, joissa investoija kokee investoinnin isäntävaltion rikkoneen sopimuksen suojastandardeja, hän voi viedä riidan kansainväliseen välimiesmenettelyyn. Menettelyssä molemmat osapuolet nimittävät yhden välittäjän, jotka sitten valitsevat yhdessä kolmannen välittäjän puheenjohtajaksi. Välimiehet tekevät ratkaisunsa kulloisenkin riidan tosiasiaseikaston sekä siihen sovellettavan investointisuojasopimuksen nojalla. Kriitikoiden mukaan sopimukset rajoittavat sopimusvaltioiden sääntelyoikeutta, koska investoijat voivat riitauttaa sopimusvaltion lainsäädäntöuudistuksia sekä kansallisten viranomaisten toimivaltansa puitteissa tekemiä hallinto- ja tuomioistuinpäätöksiä silloin kun nämä ovat epäedullisia investoijan näkökulmasta. Sopimusten puolustajien mukaan välimiesmenettely ei rajoita valtioiden sääntelyoikeutta, vaan takaa toimintaympäristön ennakoitavuuden ja sen, että sopimusvaltiot toimivat tasapuolisesti ja syrjimättömästi kotimaisten ja ulkomaisten sijoitusten suhteen. Sopimusten nähdään myös edistävän oikeusvaltioperiaatetta, koska ne suojelevat investoijien perusoikeuksia. EU:n piirissä käydään myös keskustelua jäsenvaltoiden välisten investointisuojasopimusten tulevaisuudesta. Komissio on vaatinut jäsenvaltioita irtisanomaan kahdenväliset investointisuojasopimuksensa. Komission mukaan sopimukset rikkovat EU-oikeuden syrjimättömyys- ja autonomiaperiaatetta. Väitöstyöni tarkastelee näitä kahta erillistä investointisuojasopimuksia koskevaa keskustelua. Tarkastelun kohteena on siis toisaalta jäsenvaltioiden investointisuojasopimusten ja EU-oikeuden välinen muodollis-oikeudellinen suhde, ja toisaalta investointisuojasopimuksia koskeva kriittinen keskustelu. EU-tuomioistuimen aiemman oikeuskäytännön tarkastelu osoittaa, että EU-tuomioistuimella on liikumavaraa päättäessään jäsenvaltioiden investointisuojasopimusten tulevaisuudesta. Kriittisen keskustelun tarkastelu puolestaan osoittaa, että keskustelun osapuolet nojaavat kiistanalaisiin oletuksiin keskustellessaan investointisuojasopimusten hyvistä ja huonoista puolista. Heidän vastakkaiset argumenttinsa rakentuvat myös erilaisille poliittisille näkemyksille siitä miten julkisen sektorin ja yksityisten toimijoiden välistä suhdetta tulisi säännellä globalisoituneessa maailmantaloudessa. Tutkimuksen yksi keskeinen johtopäätös on se, että investointisuojasopimusten tulevaisuutta koskevan keskustelun ei tulisi perustua muodollis-oikeudelliseen argumentaatioon, vaan keskusteluun, joka nostaa etualalle ne erilaiset poliittiset näkemykset, joihin sopimusten vastustajat ja kannattajat nojaavat

Catches of Ips duplicatus and other non-target Coleoptera by Ips typographus pheromone trapping

Catches of non-target Coleoptera in Ips typographus pheromone traps baited with Ipslure® were analysed along a geographic gradient running from southwestem Finland to eastern Finland and Russian Karelia. Besides I. typographus, two other bark beetles, Pityogenes chalcographus and Ips duplicatus were caught in high numbers. I. duplicatus occuned on northeastern sites only, suggesting a more restricted distribution than previously known. High numbers of Thanasimus spp. beetles indicate that I. typographus pheromone is also an effective attractant for bark beetle predators. In addition, the originally North American ambrosia beetle Gnathotrichus materiarius, now widely spread in Europe was found for the first time in nature in Finland

The Investment Protection Rules of the EU-Canada Trade Agreement : Emulating the Rule of Law or Still Granting Supersized Protection to Investors? A Case Study on Industrial Mining in Finland

Publisher Copyright: © 2021 Brill Nijhoff. All rights reserved.This article provides an in-depth analysis of the substantive protection provided to investors against indirect expropriations under the EU-Canada Free Trade Agreement (ceta) and under the Constitution of Finland. More specifically, we analyse these respective spheres of protection in a regulatory context in Finland where Canadian investors operate actively: industrial mining. The purpose of the comparative analysis is to provide tentative answers to three broad research questions: Can investors challenge legitimate public interest measures under ceta's investment protection rules? Is the protection provided under ceta co-extensive with the protection provided under the constitutions of countries placing high on global rule of law rankings? And are countries upholding the rule of law safe from investor claims under ceta's reformed investment protection rules? A more general purpose is to bring more depth and nuance into the debates concerning the reform of the investment treaty regime, which often travel at a high level of abstraction. c koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2021.Peer reviewe

Suhtautuminen kriisinhallintaoperaatioihin jakaa maavoimia

This article focuses on the culture of the recruitment and selection for the international crisis management operations within the Finnish Defence Forces. e aim of the study was to understand the recruitment and selection process of personnel experienced by the applicants and recruiters. e data was collected through semi-structured interviews from nine (N=9) army o cers served in the UNIFIL III (Lebanon) during years 2013–2014 and through an open questionnaire in 2015 from the recruitment personnel of the human resource (HR) sections (N=21) located in the all Bridages of the Finnish Army.The results showed that the current recruitment process requires the applicant’s activity and ability to take advantages of the opportunities found in the process. In addition, the study showed that personnel attitudes towards crisis management tasks can be interpreted to re ect two separate and distinct organizational subcultures; crisis-management-orientation appeared to be encouraging and supporting applicants, while domestic-orientation appeared for them as resistance. In conclusion, to ensure the quality of the recruitment 1) the recruitment process should be made more open and transparent, 2) the ow of information should be straightforward, 3) the applications of the selection criteria should be clari ed as well as, 4) di erent approaches towards crisis management need to be harmonized. is article is based on CPT Niemelä’s Master’s thesis on Finnish National Defence University in 2016

Johann Friedrich Gustav von Eschscholtz – a pioneer naturalist and explorer of the Pacific Islands and Western North America

Johann Friedrich Gustav von Eschscholtz (1793-1831) was a Baltic-German naturalist, scholar and explorer. In the early 19th century he took part in two expeditions to the Pacific Ocean and to Russian America, present Alaska. During these expeditions he collected extensive scientific materials and described a great number of new species from many animal groups. Eschscholtz’s work formed the basis for the significant pioneer study of the beetle fauna of Western North America by the Finnish statesman and entomologist Carl Gustaf Mannerheim (1797–1854).</p