25 research outputs found
Voluntary participation for sustainability transition : experiences from the 'Commitment to Sustainable Development 2050'
Voluntary and active participation by a wide variety of actors is a prerequisite for successful societal transitions towards sustainability. The âCommitment to Sustainable Development 2050â is a national-level initiative in Finland, aiming to mobilise a large-scale transition involving various societal actors through openly communicated commitments to concrete actions. Each commitment should focus on at least one of the eight nationally defined sustainability objectives connected to the global Sustainable Development Goals. This article assesses the implementation and the development needs of the commitment process based on a range of materials. The results highlight the importance of securing adequate resources for long-term coordination and continuous development of the commitment process, trust creation through long-term and open communication, and flexibility allowing for experimentation aimed at finding new modes of interaction between the public and private sectors
Muted by a crisis? COVID-19 and the long-term evolution of climate change newspaper coverage
The reasons for the emergence of environmental issues in public debate have been widely studied, while the reasons for the disappearance of environmental issues from the public agenda are researched to a far lesser extent. This article presents how the newspaper coverage of climate change has evolved in Finland. The study is based on long-term (1990â2020) data from the leading national-level newspaper. The climate coverage has been characterized by an increasing overall trend and remarkable fluctuations in the intensity of debate. The monthly coverage of climate change had four distinctive peak periods. The drops from peak levels are explained by several factors, such as the end of a specific news event or policy process (e.g., international climate policy meetings), lack of weather anomalies (e.g., normal winter weather and snow coverage), silence of key influencers (policy-makers, business elite), and news competition together with reporting fatigue following abundant climate coverage. The first months of the intense phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 showed a deep, but not unprecedented drop in climate coverage from the preceding peak level. The persistence of anthropogenic climate change, gradual mainstreaming of climate concerns across different societal sectors, and recent policy debates around so-called green or sustainable recovery suggest that climate coverage is not likely to be muted in the near future
Literature syntheses to inform marine ecosystem management: lessons learned from stakeholder participation
Systematic literature syntheses are a key element in the scientific realm, considering the steadily growing amount of available knowledge. Involving stakeholders in the research process brings a wide range of advantages, like broadening the perspectives on the problem in question, increasing the relevance of results for policy- and decision-making, the public and other end-users and thus enhancing the impact and acceptance of research. While participatory approaches are on the rise, reflections on stakeholder involvement in systematic syntheses on environmental management are scarce. We reflect on the process of involving stakeholders with expertise also from outside academia during three literature syntheses with different foci of marine and coastal ecosystem services in the Baltic Sea. Our analysis is based on notes, e-mails, minutes and recordings of internal project meetings, interviews and workshops involving both researchers and stakeholders. We discuss the challenges the participatory approach introduced and develop lessons learned to support the planning of stakeholder engagement for future literature syntheses. We conclude that stakeholder identification, communication, collaboration and knowledge translation are highly time- and resource-intensive processes. Furthermore, appropriate training and experience are necessary for the design, execution and evaluation of participatory methods tailored to each project stage. Therefore, we underline the importance of adequate consideration of the required resources during project planning and implementation. To encourage and support valuable stakeholder engagement and knowledge exchange between the research community and actors of policy and practice, more appreciation of such efforts by funding institutions and within the wider scientific community is needed
KestÀvÀn kehityksen toimenpidesitoumustyökalu: kokonaisarvio ja kehittÀmismahdollisuudet
KestÀvÀn kehityksen yhteiskuntasitoumus on Suomen kansallinen linjaus kestÀvÀn kehityksen tavoitta-miseksi vuoteen 2050 mennessÀ. Sen toteuttamisen keskeinen vÀline ovat toimenpidesitoumukset, jotka ovat eri tahojen antamia julkisia lupauksia konkreettisista ja vapaaehtoisista toimista. TÀssÀ rapor-tissa esitetÀÀn kokonaisarvio toimenpidesitoumusprosessin tÀhÀnastisesta toteutumisesta ja hahmote-taan suositukset jatkokehitystÀ varten. Esitetyt arviot perustuvat toimenpidesitoumusten antajien rapor-toimiin tietoihin, toimijoille tehtyyn verkkokyselyyn, kahteen yhteistoiminnalliseen työpajaan, media-analyysiin, toimenpidesitoumuksille asetettujen kriteereiden analyysiin sekÀ vertailutietoihin muista vastaavista vapaaehtoisuuteen perustuvista aloitteista ja jÀrjestelmistÀ. Hankkeen tulokset auttavat luomaan edellytyksiÀ nykyistÀ huomattavasti laajemman toimijajoukon aktiiviselle ja vaikuttavalle osal-listumiselle kestÀvÀn kehityksen tavoitteiden toteutuksee
ImeytystÀ, suodatusta ja linnunlaulua: Luontopohjaisen vesienhallinnan moninaishyödyt Porissa
Erilaiset luontopohjaiset ratkaisut ovat viime vuosina herÀttÀneet kasvavaa
kiinnostusta kansainvÀlisissÀ ja kansallisissa toimijoissa. Luontopohjaiset ratkaisut tÀydentÀvÀt teknistÀ
lÀhestymistapaa painottavia maankÀytön ja suunnittelun ratkaisumalleja, sillÀ
niiden avulla voidaan ratkoa samanaikaisesti useita yhteiskunnallisia ongelmia. Luontopohjaisten ratkaisujen kysyntÀÀ ja ajankohtaisuutta
lisÀÀvÀt myös muut yhteiskuntien kohtaamat haasteet, kuten
kaupungistumisen hallinta, luonnon monimuotoisuuden turvaaminen sekÀ kestÀvÀn
kehityksen tavoitteisiin vastaaminen. Kaupunkisuunnittelussa luontopohjaisten ratkaisujen monihyötyisyyden tunnistaminen
voi edistÀÀ toimialojen rajat ylittÀvÀÀ toimintaa. Hyötyjen ja
kustannusten laaja-alainen tunnistaminen ja arviointi ovat edellytys myös
valittaessa kokonaisuuden kannalta parhaita vaihtoehtoja sekÀ arvioitaessa
maankÀytön ristiriitatilanteita. Laaja-alainen hyötyjen
tunnistaminen ja intressien yhteensovittaminen edellyttÀvÀt monitieteistÀ
tutkimustietoa sekÀ uudenlaisia suunnittelun ja pÀÀtöksenteon toiminta- ja
yhteistyömalleja. Luontopohjaisilla ratkaisuilla on mahdollista vastata myös moniin kuntien
velvoitteisiin, kuten vesienhallinnan, virkistyspalveluiden, viherrakenteen ja
biodiversiteetin kehittÀmiseen. Luontopohjaisten ratkaisuiden mahdollisuuksia vastata ilmastonmuutoksen
aiheuttamiin yhteiskunnallisiin haasteisiin on tutkittu âTehokkaat ja
vaikuttavat luontopohjaiset ratkaisut ilmastonmuutoksen sopeutumisen vĂ€lineinĂ€â
-hankkeessa (TASAPELI). Vuonna 2018 kÀynnistynyttÀ tutkimushanketta koordinoi Suomen ympÀristökeskus (SYKE) ja rahoittaa
valtioneuvosto. Turun yliopiston maisemantutkimuksen toteuttamassa tapaustutkimuksessa selvitettiin luontopohjaisten vesienhallintaratkaisujen
sosiaalista ja kulttuurista vaikuttavuutta. Tapaustutkimusta varten tehtiin haastatteluja ja
jÀrjestettiin sidosryhmÀtyöpaja. Haastatteluilla
pyrittiin selvittÀmÀÀn eri toimijoiden sekÀ kirjattuja
ettÀ muita tavoitteita ja nÀiden toteutumista heidÀn
nÀkökulmastaan.
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Stakeholders' perspectives on the operationalisation of the ecosystem service concept : Results from 27 case studies
The ecosystem service (ES) concept is becoming mainstream in policy and planning, but operational influence on practice is seldom reported. Here, we report the practitioners' perspectives on the practical implementation of the ES concept in 27 case studies. A standardised anonymous survey (n = 246), was used, focusing on the science-practice interaction process, perceived impact and expected use of the case study assessments. Operationalisation of the concept was shown to achieve a gradual change in practices: 13% of the case studies reported a change in action (e.g. management or policy change), and a further 40% anticipated that a change would result from the work. To a large extent the impact was attributed to a well conducted science-practice interaction process (>70%). The main reported advantages of the concept included: increased concept awareness and communication; enhanced participation and collaboration; production of comprehensive science-based knowledge; and production of spatially referenced knowledge for input to planning (91% indicated they had acquired new knowledge). The limitations were mostly case-specific and centred on methodology, data, and challenges with result implementation. The survey highlighted the crucial role of communication, participation and collaboration across different stakeholders, to implement the ES concept and enhance the democratisation of nature and landscape planning. (C) 2017 Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe
Knowledge co-production around the cormorant-fishing conflict using a joint fact-finding approach
Highlights
âą An important element of the cormorant-fishing conflict is disagreement over factual claims.
âą Knowledge-co production generated shared information among scientists and stakeholders.
âą Shifting the focus from fish stocks onto wildlife-induced damage to fishing would be helpful.
âą The conflict is sustained by ineffectual communication and interpersonal relationships.
âą Joint monitoring of cormorants could build trust and rapport among the local actors.
Abstract
The great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) has been a persistent source of humanâwildlife conflicts in the Baltic Sea area. Fishers have perceived cormorants as competitors for fish resources, while conservationists have resisted mass hunting of the birds. In this paper, we analyse the cormorant conflict in Finland, with a special focus on its factual dimensions and the previous attempts to address the conflict at the national and regional levels. We also present the results from a knowledge co-production process, structured as a joint fact-finding process to address the contested knowledge claims concerning cormorant-fishing interactions. The results suggest that the factual controversy about the cormorant effect on fishing livelihood is essentially a frame conflict resulting from different scales of analysis. Our findings support the assumption that knowledge co-production processes have the potential to address science-intensive environmental conflicts and create practically useful and contextually appropriate knowledge, which integrate scientific knowledge with place- and practice-based knowledge. The process developed a shared understanding of the fishersâ practical wildlife-induced problems and several other questions, including cormorant impacts on migratory fish in Finland. A key to generating shared information was that the participants had control over information used in the process. Furthermore, third-party facilitation was important to ensure effective dialogue. While interpersonal conflicts have not been the original source of the impasse, they have become an important part of it and prevented efforts to constructively address the conflict