HERC Seminar: Current Trends in
Environmental Research 20.9.2007 New Models in Nature Resource Management
Erland EklundIn collaboration with Susanna Björkell & Ville Klemets20.9.2007
Svenska social- och kommunalhögskolan
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Objectives & aims of the NERM study
analysing new models of co-management in nature resource management
models targeted to meet tasks especially at the regional and local level of environmental administration
-implementation of specific biodiversity regulations in protection programmes
-new environmental regulation concerning agricultural and forest land
-regulation concerning leisure / tourist use of private land
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Objectives & aims (2)
Test together with regional authorities and other regional and local institutions & associations the model in one or two actual tasks
Chosen region: the Kvarken coast & archipelago. Cases based on Kvarkenrådets (Kvarken Council) development projects in environmental administration (Kvarken miljö)
Analysing multiple forms of knowledge”The quest for participation and co-
management”
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Historic local
knowledge on use
of nature and its
regulation
Multiple forms of knowledge
Professional /expert knowledge on
nature and its formal regulations
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Personnel
Susanna Björkell, PhD student (biology)
Erland Eklund, Senior Researcher (sociology; Professor of Rural Studies)
Ville Klemets, Pol.Stud., Sociology
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International co-operation
a) Two Swedish-Norwegian-Finnish workshops on ”Förvaltning av omstridda naturresurser – nordiska trender och utmaningar” (Management of disputed nature resources – Nordic trends and challenges). Book will be published late 2007 (in Sweden). Eds. Eva Falleth & Camilla Sandström
b) Cornell University Workshop, October 2007 on Sustainability and project management (Prof. Steven Wolf)
c) Comparative research on sustainability and rural development Wales-Ostrobothnia. (Marsden, Eklund, Franklin)
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Study sites
Bergö-Malax outer Archipelago (Rönnskären)
Köklot village (Mustasaari / Korsholm)
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Study sites
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Natura 2000 areas in Kvarken
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Foto:Carina Järvinen
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Foto: Carina Järvinen
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Methods
Interviews with key persons / actorsParticipatory observation at formal & informal
meetingsPublic documents, working documentsComparative seminars with researchers on co-
management in other countries
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The quest for citizen participation in nature resource management
General acceptance of the need for more participatory planning & decision making in nature protection (& nature resource management). “Lets forget Natura 2000!”
See e.g. B. Gilligan, N. Dudley, A. Fernandez de Tejada,
H. Toivonen 2005: Management Efectiveness Evaluation
of Finland's Protected Areas. Metsähallitus. Series A 147
BUT:Different laws on nature resource management
give different room for participation: Nature Conservation Act (&) Decree is extremely poor in this sense; Land Use and Building Act gives much room for citizen participation
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Case 1: Use and Management Plan for Bergö-Malax outer Archipelago (Rönnskären)
What is a U&M Plan?
Nature Conservation Act 1996, Section 19:
“A special plan shall be drafted for the management and use of
a national park, specifying the measures necessary for
attaining its conservation objectives. As necessary, a
management plan may also be drafted for a strict nature
reserve or other nature reserve. The management plan
shall be drafted by the authority or agency in charge of the
nature reserve. The plan shall be ratified by the Ministry of
the Environment”
-a handbook where users – authorities and the citizens - are
informed about what can be done or not done in the area
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Content of U & M Plan
1. General information about the site & planning process
2. Site description and state of knowledge & documentation (geology, cultural history, land use, specificity of nature etc)
3. Use and protection guidelines; endangered species, risks, restrictions of building, movement, hunting etc.
U & M Plan for Bergö Malax is worked out with extra financial support from the Kvarken Council in order to fulfil high expectations on participation and co-management. Metsähallitus in charge of the U & M planning work.
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Background
Long time Kvarken-Interreg co-operation on participatory methods in nature conservation management:
”skapa förutsättningar för en dialog och delaktighet mellan medborgare, politiker och tjänstemän i naturskyddsfrågor; engagera fler aktörer i naturvårdsarbetet”
Natura 2000: Bergö-Malax outer Archipelago (Rönnskären) has an endangered population of greater scaup (lapasotka, bergand). Preservation required according to the Bird Directive. A Use and Management Plan needed.
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Case study 2 : Köklot village vision
Objective: A plan for sustainable development of the village
Original strategy: local meetings without steering from public agencies with the objective to put together a common (sustainable) vision for the village community. Parallel case in Sweden
Not enough local interest at the startAlternative strategy: Questionnaire to find out
about common visions for the future → guest harbour / marina suggested
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For the moment: a village association is being founded in order to take care of the marina project and the future work on a village plan for sustainable development
Köklot case indicates: Participation has to be regarded as relevant by the participants
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Design for participation, Bergö-Malax U&M Plan
Info meetings for the publicThematic working groups: hunting, fishing, tourism & recreation,
history & culture biotops OBS! Co-production of text (local citizens &
planners) for the Use and management plan
Follow-up teamUsing the Web for information & document
publication
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Stakeholder representation at the opening meeting
Local associations for fishery Local associations for ancient monuments Local associations for hunting The board of local community landowners (skifteslag,
jakokunta) The Bergö island council (Bergö is the closest inhabited
village) The municipality of Malax Seasonal inhabitants The Swedish Ostrobothnian hunting district The regional environment centre
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Key form of participation: open thematic meetings
A series of open stakeholder / thematic meetingsAll the parts sit together and discuss, exchange
knowledge and write the text for the planLandowners, users, local visitors and distant visitors
etcCivil servants have an important role – set the
agenda and steer the meetings
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Results and reflexions (1):two management regimes - in dialog
Historical local
co-management of
village commons –
common pool
resources. OBS the
landelevation
process
Public efforts to enhance
participation in nature
conservation planning
(establish co-
management?)
The peasant state regime The ecological state regime
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Results and reflexions (2): Participation or co-management
Co-management:A collaborative and participatory process of regulatory decision-making among representatives of user-groups, government and research institutions (Jentoft et al. 1998)
The Bergö-Malax case: local stakeholders & their knowledge are influencing
the process (“hörda i sak”) but not co-partner in decision making
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Some key questions
How ”far” can the civil servants go (if they want) in ”compromising” / follow local suggestions / recommendations? Do regional authorities have mandate to truly make regional / local U& M Plans? (“regional derogations”, NC Act, 16)
Can a new co-management regime be developed within the frame of the NC Act? Or must the NCA be reformed?
From “hands off” to “hands on” in nature conservation policy?
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Some key questions
What will happen if the representatives of the local land & water owners (skifteslaget) do not accept the U&M Plan
Who are participating on the behalf of the local community? Are there important “internal voices” that have not been heard?
To which degree can the U & M planning be described as a “learning process”
The question of administrative continuity (change of personal during the process); the “projectification tendency”
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Results and reflexions (3)
Re-framing of the U & M planning process during the last year:
The status of Bergö-Malax archipelago as a Unesco World Natural Heritage Site (www.kvarken.fi)
Some consequences:-less conservation and more tourist development
discourse-some hope of getting more development
resources for the village
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Results and reflexions (4): what could “protecting cultural heritage” be?
”Cultural heritage in the spotlight” (Metsähallitus Natural Heritage Service Annual Report 2006)
“Protecting cultural heritage is becoming increasingly interlinked with the NHS nature conservation work” (p.10)
Innovative understanding of Cultural heritage needed: Cultural heritage is built every day among people living in nature preservation areas. Nature preservation needs the presence of the all people living today in the area.
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Reflexions on method
Researching co-management / participation requires participation of the researchers – practical problems of time & costs & transports
In the NERM project a large amount of empirical findings has been gathered - key person interviews, written materials from meetings – gives room form more analyses and comparisons with development in other countries
The question of timing: how to synchronize ”real” planning processes with research projects
Multidisciplinary: biology & sociology & policy studies is a very fruitful compot