Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Nov 1, 2020
A common challenge for Northern communities is how to retain local benefit from resource-based in... more A common challenge for Northern communities is how to retain local benefit from resource-based industries. This study assesses the process of developing a local smart specialisation strategy in two municipalities, Storuman and Sodankylä, both located in the Northern Periphery. The assessment framework applied is based on the concept of 'strategic dimensions' (Healey, 2009), along with a qualitative set of process and outcome criteria (Innes and Booher, 1999). Our assessment of the strategic process indicates that all dimensions required for strategic planning were represented within it, but that they were mostly responsive rather than transformative in character. When comparing results from process criteria and outcome criteria, the process criteria score significantly higher. The strategic process engaged social networks and involved local stakeholders in discussion and joint prioritisation. According to the participating stakeholders, the local smart specialisation strategies in Storuman and Sodankylä enhanced local preparedness. However, a significant limitation was a lack of long-term human and financial resources to address challenges in relation both to resource-based industries and local territorial development.
AQUA — Water Infrastructure, Ecosystems and Society
Stormwater harvesting via managed aquifer recharge in retrofitted infrastructure has been posited... more Stormwater harvesting via managed aquifer recharge in retrofitted infrastructure has been posited as a method for resource augmentation in Cape Town. However, the existing guidelines on stormwater retrofits are technically inclined, occidental, and generally misaligned with the realities and socio-economic contexts of developing nations like South Africa. Water and urban practitioners from developing nations cannot just 'copy and paste' existing guidelines as different socio-economic dimensions and colonial histories typically hinder 'traditional' approaches. This paper assesses how a transdisciplinary team navigated these realities in a case study of a retrofitted pond in Mitchells Plain, Cape Town. A decolonial thinking framework was applied for reflection and thematic content analysis. The framework was used to unpack how the team encountered, addressed, and learned from the challenges during the retrofit process. The research team found that the retrofit process ...
A common challenge for Northern communities is how to retain a local benefit from resource-based ... more A common challenge for Northern communities is how to retain a local benefit from resource-based industries. This study assesses the process of developing a local smart specialisation strategy in two municipalities, Storumanand Sodankylä, both located in the Northern Periphery. The assessment framework applied is based on the concept of 'strategic dimensions'(Healey, 2009), along with a qualitative set of process and outcome criteria(Innes and Booher, 1999). Our assessment of the strategic process indicates that all dimensions required for strategic planning were represented within it, but that they were mostly responsive rather than transformative in character. When comparing results from process criteria and outcome criteria, the process criteria score significantly higher. The strategic process engaged social networks and involved local stakeholders in discussion and joint prioritisation. According to the participating stakeholders, the local smart specialisation strategi...
Climate change may significantly impact the assets, activities and income of rural households thr... more Climate change may significantly impact the assets, activities and income of rural households throughout developing countries. Estimating possible future vulnerability is therefore essential to climate change impact assessments. This case study paper aims to assess household-level coping and adaptation possibilities in high altitude villages in Lower Mustang, Nepal. These are generally characterised as having limited economic resources, low levels of technology, low skill levels, poor infrastructure and weak institutions, and are thus likely to have low coping and adaptive capacity. Village-level background information was collected using qualitative techniques. This was followed by a structured household survey (2009), emphasizing household assets and income, and a separate survey focusing on households' response to economic shocks. Livelihood strategies were identified using cluster analysis and adaptive responses to shocks (coping strategies) were modelled on the basis of the...
New ideas suggest that a distinctive feature for successful rural development includes a high deg... more New ideas suggest that a distinctive feature for successful rural development includes a high degree of mobilization and organization of local actors and institutions. These relationships are referred to as an area's "relational assets" and are argued to be central local factors for rural development since they draw on social properties of networks made up of local institutions, economic agents and rural residents. This paper explores "relational assets" and their relevance and perspectives for the Baltic countryside. The paper is an initial discussion on whether networks and relational assets are meaningful notions in Baltic rural development work. What are the assets, how can they be assessed and what challenges does a post-socialist setting pose?
ABSTRACT Global warming has reduced the extent of permafrost, increased permafrost temperatures, ... more ABSTRACT Global warming has reduced the extent of permafrost, increased permafrost temperatures, and deepened the active layer across the Arctic. Permafrost degradation has detrimental effects on infrastructure and negative impacts on ecosystem services for many Arctic communities. This study examines the adaptive capacity for managing permafrost degradation in Northwest Greenland. The methods are based on questionnaire and interview data from fieldwork, frozen ground temperature records and published data forecasting the deepening of the active layer. Results illustrate the impact of permafrost degradation on the physical environment, hunting and harvesting, housing, and the economy in Northwest Greenland. House owners are mending damage caused by ground movement, and local institutions are concerned with the maintenance of roads and other public infrastructure impacted by permafrost. The scientific knowledge needed to inform decision-making is useful for identifying overall changes, but existing data sources are scarce, and more detailed permafrost maps are needed for long-term town planning. The study concludes that many individuals and institutions engage in autonomous adaptation on an ad hoc basis, rather than pursuing an overall strategy to increase the adaptive capacity in advance of future permafrost degradation in Northwest Greenland.
Rural areas in the Nordic countries often face challenges such as demographic change and the clos... more Rural areas in the Nordic countries often face challenges such as demographic change and the closure of public services. To address this situation, some rural communities have developed solutions which can be characterised as social innovation. This paper analyses 18 such community-driven social innovation projects across the Nordic countries and seeks to examine the importance of different actors in the initiation and implementation phases of such projects. Based on qualitative analysis, focusing on the different stages of community-driven social innovation, the paper assesses the importance of different actors in developing each of the projects. The analysis demonstrates the relative importance of community members, civil society organisations, the local public sector, the private sector, and regional and national authorities, in terms of their respective involvements in the initiation and implementation processes for these projects. The key findings from this paper emphasise the differences between initiation and implementation for each of these community-driven social innovation projects. The initiation phase is highly dependent upon community members, civil society organisations and the local public sector, whereas it is primarily civil society organisations which dominate the implementation phase. Central to initiating and sustaining community-driven projects is the capacity of local actors to develop ideas, to find resources and to manage decision-making.
This article explores how livelihoods in two typical communities, condominium housing and urban a... more This article explores how livelihoods in two typical communities, condominium housing and urban agriculture cooperatives, in Addis Ababa manage water resources and green spaces in order to identify key challenges and potentials for building water-resilient livelihoods. Results show that livelihoods in the two communities are heavily affected by water stress. Being dependent on natural assets makes the farming community vulnerable, but also more flexible than people in condominiums who are locked into a malfunctioning water infrastructure. However, there is potential for building water-resilient livelihoods, if broader policy frameworks are bottom-linked with locally specific situations using landscape-based stormwater management.
Climate change may significantly impact the large number of households in developing countries de... more Climate change may significantly impact the large number of households in developing countries depending on agricultural production, not least through changes in the frequency and/or magnitude of climatic hazards resulting in household income shocks. This paper analyses rural households' responses to past experiences of and future expectations to substantial and unexpected negative and positive agricultural income shocks. Empirical data is derived from an environmentally-augmented structured household (n = 112) survey in the high mountains of central Nepal. Multinomial logit regression, using data on rural household demographics, assets (agricultural land, livestock), value of other assets such as furniture, bicycles, and agricultural implements, and income sources showed that household coping choices are determined by opportunities to generate cash. We argue that public policies should enhance the ability of rural household to generate cash income, including through environmental products.
The church is the oldest and most constant institution in many rural areas. Despite closures of m... more The church is the oldest and most constant institution in many rural areas. Despite closures of many types of rural services such as schools, post offices, elderly homes etc., the church has managed to keep its position in the local rural communities. Today, however, it is an institution which, although physically visible and open to everyone, is living a somewhat limited existence due to the general populations’ lower interest in religious influence on their everyday life. In the Danish context, this means that smaller church councils are merged into larger councils, and to some extent the church is in a situation where it has to redefine its role in the local community in order to maintain its position. This working group invites papers dealing with the role of the church in rural development in general but also the ways in which the church enters into cooperation with other interest groups and associations in the local rural community to keep both the church and the local communi...
This paper investigates and broadens the discussion of nature-based climate adaptation for storm ... more This paper investigates and broadens the discussion of nature-based climate adaptation for storm water management and coastal flooding. Based on three Copenhagen cases of locally initiated innovative flagship projects and framed by governance and transition theory, we investigate how nature-based solutions can be understood in a real-life context, and how hybrid projects joining technical and nature-based solutions might work; the governance methods of such projects; and their transitional potential. The cases underscore the importance of nature perception for the design of the project, and the role of daily recreational users as crucial for project legitimacy. Innovative projects might seem local, but often they are embedded in larger strategies and serve to flesh out such strategies and might even change them in a longer perspective. New problems and projects foster a need for new types of partnerships, which can challenge co-operation. Finally, it is questioned how – and if – exp...
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Nov 1, 2020
A common challenge for Northern communities is how to retain local benefit from resource-based in... more A common challenge for Northern communities is how to retain local benefit from resource-based industries. This study assesses the process of developing a local smart specialisation strategy in two municipalities, Storuman and Sodankylä, both located in the Northern Periphery. The assessment framework applied is based on the concept of 'strategic dimensions' (Healey, 2009), along with a qualitative set of process and outcome criteria (Innes and Booher, 1999). Our assessment of the strategic process indicates that all dimensions required for strategic planning were represented within it, but that they were mostly responsive rather than transformative in character. When comparing results from process criteria and outcome criteria, the process criteria score significantly higher. The strategic process engaged social networks and involved local stakeholders in discussion and joint prioritisation. According to the participating stakeholders, the local smart specialisation strategies in Storuman and Sodankylä enhanced local preparedness. However, a significant limitation was a lack of long-term human and financial resources to address challenges in relation both to resource-based industries and local territorial development.
AQUA — Water Infrastructure, Ecosystems and Society
Stormwater harvesting via managed aquifer recharge in retrofitted infrastructure has been posited... more Stormwater harvesting via managed aquifer recharge in retrofitted infrastructure has been posited as a method for resource augmentation in Cape Town. However, the existing guidelines on stormwater retrofits are technically inclined, occidental, and generally misaligned with the realities and socio-economic contexts of developing nations like South Africa. Water and urban practitioners from developing nations cannot just 'copy and paste' existing guidelines as different socio-economic dimensions and colonial histories typically hinder 'traditional' approaches. This paper assesses how a transdisciplinary team navigated these realities in a case study of a retrofitted pond in Mitchells Plain, Cape Town. A decolonial thinking framework was applied for reflection and thematic content analysis. The framework was used to unpack how the team encountered, addressed, and learned from the challenges during the retrofit process. The research team found that the retrofit process ...
A common challenge for Northern communities is how to retain a local benefit from resource-based ... more A common challenge for Northern communities is how to retain a local benefit from resource-based industries. This study assesses the process of developing a local smart specialisation strategy in two municipalities, Storumanand Sodankylä, both located in the Northern Periphery. The assessment framework applied is based on the concept of 'strategic dimensions'(Healey, 2009), along with a qualitative set of process and outcome criteria(Innes and Booher, 1999). Our assessment of the strategic process indicates that all dimensions required for strategic planning were represented within it, but that they were mostly responsive rather than transformative in character. When comparing results from process criteria and outcome criteria, the process criteria score significantly higher. The strategic process engaged social networks and involved local stakeholders in discussion and joint prioritisation. According to the participating stakeholders, the local smart specialisation strategi...
Climate change may significantly impact the assets, activities and income of rural households thr... more Climate change may significantly impact the assets, activities and income of rural households throughout developing countries. Estimating possible future vulnerability is therefore essential to climate change impact assessments. This case study paper aims to assess household-level coping and adaptation possibilities in high altitude villages in Lower Mustang, Nepal. These are generally characterised as having limited economic resources, low levels of technology, low skill levels, poor infrastructure and weak institutions, and are thus likely to have low coping and adaptive capacity. Village-level background information was collected using qualitative techniques. This was followed by a structured household survey (2009), emphasizing household assets and income, and a separate survey focusing on households' response to economic shocks. Livelihood strategies were identified using cluster analysis and adaptive responses to shocks (coping strategies) were modelled on the basis of the...
New ideas suggest that a distinctive feature for successful rural development includes a high deg... more New ideas suggest that a distinctive feature for successful rural development includes a high degree of mobilization and organization of local actors and institutions. These relationships are referred to as an area's "relational assets" and are argued to be central local factors for rural development since they draw on social properties of networks made up of local institutions, economic agents and rural residents. This paper explores "relational assets" and their relevance and perspectives for the Baltic countryside. The paper is an initial discussion on whether networks and relational assets are meaningful notions in Baltic rural development work. What are the assets, how can they be assessed and what challenges does a post-socialist setting pose?
ABSTRACT Global warming has reduced the extent of permafrost, increased permafrost temperatures, ... more ABSTRACT Global warming has reduced the extent of permafrost, increased permafrost temperatures, and deepened the active layer across the Arctic. Permafrost degradation has detrimental effects on infrastructure and negative impacts on ecosystem services for many Arctic communities. This study examines the adaptive capacity for managing permafrost degradation in Northwest Greenland. The methods are based on questionnaire and interview data from fieldwork, frozen ground temperature records and published data forecasting the deepening of the active layer. Results illustrate the impact of permafrost degradation on the physical environment, hunting and harvesting, housing, and the economy in Northwest Greenland. House owners are mending damage caused by ground movement, and local institutions are concerned with the maintenance of roads and other public infrastructure impacted by permafrost. The scientific knowledge needed to inform decision-making is useful for identifying overall changes, but existing data sources are scarce, and more detailed permafrost maps are needed for long-term town planning. The study concludes that many individuals and institutions engage in autonomous adaptation on an ad hoc basis, rather than pursuing an overall strategy to increase the adaptive capacity in advance of future permafrost degradation in Northwest Greenland.
Rural areas in the Nordic countries often face challenges such as demographic change and the clos... more Rural areas in the Nordic countries often face challenges such as demographic change and the closure of public services. To address this situation, some rural communities have developed solutions which can be characterised as social innovation. This paper analyses 18 such community-driven social innovation projects across the Nordic countries and seeks to examine the importance of different actors in the initiation and implementation phases of such projects. Based on qualitative analysis, focusing on the different stages of community-driven social innovation, the paper assesses the importance of different actors in developing each of the projects. The analysis demonstrates the relative importance of community members, civil society organisations, the local public sector, the private sector, and regional and national authorities, in terms of their respective involvements in the initiation and implementation processes for these projects. The key findings from this paper emphasise the differences between initiation and implementation for each of these community-driven social innovation projects. The initiation phase is highly dependent upon community members, civil society organisations and the local public sector, whereas it is primarily civil society organisations which dominate the implementation phase. Central to initiating and sustaining community-driven projects is the capacity of local actors to develop ideas, to find resources and to manage decision-making.
This article explores how livelihoods in two typical communities, condominium housing and urban a... more This article explores how livelihoods in two typical communities, condominium housing and urban agriculture cooperatives, in Addis Ababa manage water resources and green spaces in order to identify key challenges and potentials for building water-resilient livelihoods. Results show that livelihoods in the two communities are heavily affected by water stress. Being dependent on natural assets makes the farming community vulnerable, but also more flexible than people in condominiums who are locked into a malfunctioning water infrastructure. However, there is potential for building water-resilient livelihoods, if broader policy frameworks are bottom-linked with locally specific situations using landscape-based stormwater management.
Climate change may significantly impact the large number of households in developing countries de... more Climate change may significantly impact the large number of households in developing countries depending on agricultural production, not least through changes in the frequency and/or magnitude of climatic hazards resulting in household income shocks. This paper analyses rural households' responses to past experiences of and future expectations to substantial and unexpected negative and positive agricultural income shocks. Empirical data is derived from an environmentally-augmented structured household (n = 112) survey in the high mountains of central Nepal. Multinomial logit regression, using data on rural household demographics, assets (agricultural land, livestock), value of other assets such as furniture, bicycles, and agricultural implements, and income sources showed that household coping choices are determined by opportunities to generate cash. We argue that public policies should enhance the ability of rural household to generate cash income, including through environmental products.
The church is the oldest and most constant institution in many rural areas. Despite closures of m... more The church is the oldest and most constant institution in many rural areas. Despite closures of many types of rural services such as schools, post offices, elderly homes etc., the church has managed to keep its position in the local rural communities. Today, however, it is an institution which, although physically visible and open to everyone, is living a somewhat limited existence due to the general populations’ lower interest in religious influence on their everyday life. In the Danish context, this means that smaller church councils are merged into larger councils, and to some extent the church is in a situation where it has to redefine its role in the local community in order to maintain its position. This working group invites papers dealing with the role of the church in rural development in general but also the ways in which the church enters into cooperation with other interest groups and associations in the local rural community to keep both the church and the local communi...
This paper investigates and broadens the discussion of nature-based climate adaptation for storm ... more This paper investigates and broadens the discussion of nature-based climate adaptation for storm water management and coastal flooding. Based on three Copenhagen cases of locally initiated innovative flagship projects and framed by governance and transition theory, we investigate how nature-based solutions can be understood in a real-life context, and how hybrid projects joining technical and nature-based solutions might work; the governance methods of such projects; and their transitional potential. The cases underscore the importance of nature perception for the design of the project, and the role of daily recreational users as crucial for project legitimacy. Innovative projects might seem local, but often they are embedded in larger strategies and serve to flesh out such strategies and might even change them in a longer perspective. New problems and projects foster a need for new types of partnerships, which can challenge co-operation. Finally, it is questioned how – and if – exp...
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