The case of conflicting Finnish peatland management - Skewed representation of nature, participation and policy instruments

JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

卷:223

Article

Salomaa, Anna¹  Paloniemi, Riikka²  Ekroos, Ari³ 

[1] Univ Helsinki, Fac Biol & Environm Sci, Ecosyst & Environm Res Programme, POB 65, Helsinki 00014, Finland

[2] Finnish Environm Inst SYKE, Environm Policy Ctr, POB 140, Helsinki 00260, Finland

[3] Aalto Univ, Dept Built Environm, POB 14100, Aalto 00076, Finland

关键词: Land use;    Natural resources;    Participation;    Peat;    Policy;    Sustainable use;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.06.048

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

Peatlands that are close to a natural state are rich in biodiversity and are significant carbon storages. Simultaneously, peat resources are of interest to industry, which leads to competing interests and tensions regarding the use and management of peatlands. In this case study, we studied knowledge-management interactions through the development of participation and the resulting representation of nature (how nature was described), as well as the proposed and implemented conservation policy instruments. We focused on the years 2009-2015, when peatland management was intensively debated in Finland. We did an interpretative policy analysis using policy documents (Peatland Strategy; Government Resolution; Proposal for Conservation Programme) and environmental legislation as central data. Our results show how the representation of nature reflected the purpose of the documents and consensus of participants' values. The representation of nature changed from skewed use of ecosystem services to detailed ecological knowledge. However, simultaneously, political power changed and the planned supplementation programme for peatland conservation was not implemented. The Environment Protection Act was reformulated so that it prohibited the use of the most valuable peatlands. Landowners did not have the chance to fully participate in the policy process. Overall, the conservation policy instruments changed to emphasize voluntariness but without an adequate budget to ensure sufficient conservation.

【 授权许可】

Free