my recent topics & projects the effects of reindeer grazing and conservation in malla
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My recent topics & projects www.metla.fi/pp/625/index-en.htm
The effects of reindeer grazing and conservation in Malla nature reserve www.metla.fi/hanke/3312/index-en.htm
Criteria for social sustainability at northern tourist destinations www.arcticcentre.org/landscapelab
Sustainable multiple use of forests in northern Lapland www.metla.fi/hanke/3400/index-en.htm
PhD study, today's topic:
Cultural Factors of Nature-use in Lapland
Study objectives
trace cultural meanings that nature and nature-use are loaded among local people in Finnish Lapland
trace general needs and interests concerning local nature-use
trace tools and practises for culturally sound and successful nature conservation
study conditions for integration of different livelihoods and land-use patterns
Motives
many environmental conflicts in recent decades have shown that there is a remarkable demand for land-use management that recognizes especially social and cultural sustainability
due to rapid economical and cultural change there is also a social demand for integration of new and traditional livelihoods
Material & methods
1) personal interviews; target group local people, 88 persons were picked up using purposive & snowball sampling qualitative text analyses
2) survey; 1000 persons from stratified random sampling; population: local people aged 18-70, 500 Saami and 500 non-Saami; response rate 38.1% statistical analyses and qualitative text analyses
3) appealed writings from open writing contest targeted to local adults and youngsters; 60 writings qualitative text analyses
Theoretical background
is anchored on cognitive anthropology that studies relation between human society and human thought
cognitive anthropology studies how people in social groups conceive and understand reality of physical (like forests) and abstract (like sustainable forestry) entities
the study tracks shared cultural meanings that these entities are loaded
Theoretical background continued
shared meanings are organised and represented as cultural models that steer human behaviour together with biological base (genes) and physical environment
cultural models are building bricks for understanding the reality and cosmos, and how to operate there
concept meme comes fairly close to cultural model by studying cultural models of nature-use we can
track needs, hopes, beliefs and values concerning sustainable use of nature
Dawkins 1996; D´Andrade 1995; Shore 1996; Strauss & Quinn 1997; Blackmore 1999
Study area – Facts and figures
Study area consists of three municipalities: Enontekiö, Inari and Utsjoki
Study area
Facts and figures
Study area consists of three municipalities: Enontekiö, Inari and Utsjoki
Facts and figures
91.0 % of land is state owned 65.5 % of land and waters are under some level
nature conservation
Nature conservation areas
Facts and figures
91.0 % of land is state-owned 65.5 % of land and waters are under some level
nature conservation 2/3 of timber wood (115 00 m3) comes from state
forests of Inari hunting is free for local people in their home
municipality tourism is major business nowadays, reindeer
herding, public services and forestry (in Inari) are important employers too
Who should have power of decision on nature-use issues? – given increase and decrease counts at scale 0 to 100; means, N=321-356
Hallikainen et al. 2006.
Who should have power of decision on nature-use issues? Survey in Inari 2005
Important goals for state-owned forests– divide count 100 between different goals; means, N=331-348
Importance of activities on state forests– evaluate from 0 to 10; means, N=331-348
Significant differences between groups concerning nature-use
Nature conservation rate is high and conservationists disliked…
conservation rate 66 % in study area is high while Finland’s total protection rate is 10 % (mainly bogs and non-woodlands)
differences between municipalities are strong; woodlands in Inari are less protected and there has been ongoing forestry conflicts since 1980s
nature conservation and especially conservationists carry a negative label in local people’s minds at study area
But:
people are happy with existing land-use decisions, they don’t want to reverse them
paradox: when asked, people dislike conservation but are satisfied with status quo
reason: present land-use decisions support traditional activities and livelihoods like subsistence use and reindeer herding, and they restrict non-local use
We want to rule!
there is large demand for increment of local decision-making
at the background lies generations old antagonism between north and south, periphery and centre
polarisation between north/south or local/non-local is a very strong cultural model that steers the opinions what is acceptable, right or reliable
it also produces rhetoric and jargon that is sometimes a barrier against fruitful discussion and collaborative management
But who are we, locals?
it is not clear who is considered as “local” Saami as indigenous people are locals (if living in
the area) but also non-Saami families with centuries old occupation history feel like local and are afraid to be marginalised and considered as general Finns
locals with one generation occupation history feels also themselves as local
government considers local as anybody who is registered in the municipality and therefore he/she has equal extended local rights to natural resources
Timescapes of change
structural and cultural changes after 1950s have been remarkable rapid in the arctic
the time shift that took hundreds of centuries in mid-Europe occurred within one generation in the arctic
in my study area, northern Lapland, traditional livelihoods and subsistence use are not major source of living anymore
Timescapes of change continued…
although, the mental change is always slower than technical and economical change of culture
thus people appreciate traditional nature-use patterns even though modern ones like tourism are a much better business and source of living; modern activities are not considered ”real use” in that sense
people seem to live some kind of double life somewhere between a forever lost past and the present day
Timescapes of change continued…
that tends to cause minor or major troubles for socio-cultural adaptation
it is no wonder if elderly people have problems with synchronising their lifestyle and worldview to present modernity
the hybrid timescape local people live by in northern Lapland sets also a challenge for sustainable land-use management that has to operate with needs of past and future
Tips for management people, conservationists and authority
Be moderate when you import. People in northern Lapland are very sensitive - rational or not - to ideas or ideologies that have a mental label “imported from south” (but modern technology goes anytime).
Do not stress the importance of culturally distant biological entities (like insects and microbes), the message is easily misunderstood like: “we don’t care for local peoples’ needs”. Stress the support (if it exists) that operation gives to local culture.
Tips for management people, conservationists and authority continued…
seek and use common “language” for mutual understanding
avoid behaviour that could be interpreted – right or wrong – arrogant
be honest good sense of humour helps!