Kaisa Raitio

Development of Participatory Institutions for Reindeer Management in Finland: A Diagnosis of Deliberation, Knowledge Integration and Sustainability

The objective of this chapter is to diagnose the mechanisms by which a focused effort to integrate knowledge based on various professional and disciplinary backgrounds can result in emergent participatory institutions for resource management – in this case reindeer herding management in northern Finland. Considering knowledge integration as a process of institutionbuilding makes sense, since in environmental governance literature institutions are widely understood as working rules that are common knowledge to resource users (Ostrom 1990). In this context, the crucial point is the process of knowledge transfer through networking and communication. Three stages of knowledge integration characterize the entire research effort, which the authors conducted as Workpackage 1 (WP1) under the RENMAN project: (1) pioneer networking, (2) translational networking, and (3) modular networking (Bruun et al. 2002; Hukkinen et al. 2003b; Forbes et al. 2004). Our typology of knowledge integration draws from recent literature on organizational learning in innovation (Bruun et al. 2002; Langlais et al. 2004). The project became a prime example of a focused effort of knowledge integration, because every stage of it was based on participatory processes. We go on to show that the processes of knowledge integration hold the characteristics of emerging institutions for resource management: formal and informal rules were developed for the participatory process of the RENMAN project and proposed for future reindeer management; the rules were geographically specified; legitimate participants in the process were clearly defined; and conflict resolution and sanctioning mechanisms were proposed during the project (Hukkinen et al. 2002, 2003a; Heikkinen et al. 2003a).

Dismantling the barriers to entrepreneurship in reindeer management in Finland

We will (1) show that reindeer herders in Finland have a long tradition of entrepreneurship; (2) identify administrative and policy obstacles to fulfilling the entrepreneurial capacities and (3) recommend actions to remove the obstacles to indigenous entrepreneurship among herders. Successful herders in Finland have embraced key entrepreneurial virtues: positioning themselves honestly with respect to their challenges, sparing resources and thinking strategically about the future. Unfortunately, government policy and administration in Finland do not facilitate the full utilisation of the virtues. However, policies and administrative structures can be reformed with carefully designed participatory approaches that rely on the expertise of herders, government officials and researchers of reindeer management. Our data comes from interviews, field visits and workshops organised during a three-year EU project on sustainable Reindeer Management (RENMAN). In addition, we have collected success stories of self-employment and entrepreneurship from four decades of fieldwork among herders in Finland.

Governing Old-Growth Forests: The Interdependence of Actors in Great Bear Rainforest in British Columbia

The article explores the interdependence of state, civil society, and market actors in resolving environmental conflicts through new governance arrangements. Based on policy documents and in-depth interviews, the study shows that the government-led Land and Resource Management Plans concerning the coastal rainforests in British Columbia depended for their success on governance efforts that environmental organizations and forestry corporations initiated and carried through independently outside the formal planning processes. These nonstate actors, on the other hand, chose to engage with the provincial government, the First Nations, and the planning processes representing a large number of stakeholders, in order to gain the necessary legitimacy, certainty, and resources for the solutions created during their bilateral negotiations. The results show that when able to consciously coordinate separate processes and roles in the governance of forests, actors can create space for new solutions in seemingly intractable situations.

A potential role for EIA in Finnish forest planning: learning from experiences in Ontario, Canada

Reconciling diverse forest values within policy and decision-making processes is an ongoing challenge in forestry. The use of environmental impact assessment (EIA) provides potential for improving forest management and making it more responsive to diverse interests. This paper examines EIA in Canadian and Finnish forest planning. In Finland there has been a reluctance to see EIA as a tool for forest planning while in Canada some provinces have long applied EIA to forest management. Ontario, Canada, provides one example of applying EIA to forest planning at a range of scales in order to advance integrated planning and help conflict management. The paper provides a brief analysis of the Finnish forest planning system, an illustration of the Ontario EIA forest management experience, and then considers the application of EIA to Finnish forest management. The paper concludes that EIA may be workable for Finnish state forests and would likely enhance planning and management, but given the existing institutional frameworks EIA would be difficult to apply to private forests.

How Frames Matter—Common Sense and Institutional Choice in Ghana’s Urban Water Sector:

Ideas on what is best practice to provide more people in rapidly growing low- and middle-income cities with adequate water supplying services have changed during the 20th century. By applying a frame-theoretical approach, this article analyzes institutional choice in Ghana’s urban water sector. Special attention is paid to two major events: first, the establishment of the state water utility, Ghana Water and Sewerage Corporation, in 1965, and, second, the reform process in the 1990s and early 2000s that aimed at private sector participation in urban water management. By unraveling the arguments and the taken-for-granted assumptions underlying the two reforms, the article shows how the perceived space for policy alternatives available to decision makers at a certain point in time has been largely constrained by the dominant frames in a particular historical context. This conclusion is supportive of the argument that rationality is a highly contextual and time-dependent concept.

‘Parks with People’ in Mozambique: Community Dynamic Responses to Human–Elephant Conflict at Limpopo National Park

Drawing on experiences from a National Park inhabited by people in Mozambique, this article explores how the ‘parks with people’ approach has evolved within a complex context characterised by conflicts between wildlife conservation and farming-based livelihoods. It analyses how communities and the park management in Limpopo National Park have dealt with the dual conservation and livelihood needs shaped by climate adversities. The article also looks at the responses advanced by the people involved to ensure household food security. We investigate how the seasonal shifting between droughts and floods affects the intensity of wildlife conflicts and the communities’ coping strategies. We contrast the communities’ dynamic responses with the static, top-down management approach adopted by the park – often driven by donor priorities – and discuss opportunities for formulating means of adaptive co-management. Our results emphasise the value of contextual understanding when crafting strategies that are likely to reconcile conservation and livelihood goals. This requires a ‘Mode 2’ science approach that builds on a close collaboration with the affected communities and covers a time span of several seasons.