Browsing by master's degree program "Ympäristömuutoksen ja globaalin kestävyyden maisteriohjelma (ECGS)"
Now showing items 81-100 of 190
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(2024)Cameroon’s forests and forest lands are home to diverse indigenous peoples and local communities. Cameroon has endured many colonial administrations and missionary influences throughout its history with British, French, and German rule having all left their mark on the nation’s land, plantation, and forestry sectors while realising their interests. In particular, the representation of indigeneity remains tainted within and beyond today’s land use sector and forest policy arena, and its related businesses and financial services. This thesis analyses the British colonial business media landscape to examine the dominant discourses surrounding the indigenous within the context of Cameroon’s land, forests, and plantations. Through understanding the narratives that have historically been broadcast to society and the public via business media, a greater understanding of the current status quo within the forestry sector, and therefore the workings of ‘inequality machines’ and neocolonialism, can be investigated. Furthermore, business media such as newspapers and magazines historically played a central role in the colonial enterprise, informing and shaping entrepreneurial activities but also legitimising the colonial project and providing narratives to enable the realisation of interests and profits. This research examines local and indigenous narratives and considers how these representations link to the colonial enterprise. Qualitative research methods are adopted, using a systematic literature search to identify articles from four prominent British business media sources (The Economist, The Guardian, The Observer and The Times). Search criteria, in the form of two key word search strings, selected 303 relevant articles and constructed the archival landscape of Cameroon in British colonial business media from the 1850s through to the early 2010s. Newspaper articles were inductively coded using Atlas TI software with the aim to explore the main research questions: • How does British business media represent and legitimise the treatment of indigenous peoples in the context of Cameroon’s land, forests, and plantations? • How has this evolved over time? Results from coding demonstrate the emergence of 4 main code groups that aid the legitimisation and justification of indigenous exploitation in the context of indigenous representation: Comparing, Centring, Controlling and Fearing. Power dynamics, temporality, and the linkages between these core themes, also play a predominant role. What emerges as most influential is the way in which British business media shifts its representation and legitimisation of the treatment of indigenous peoples through time, whilst continuing to reinforce power inequalities. Ultimately, indigenous representation and narratives within the British business media ‘seem’ to improve, but this is largely from the colonisers’ perspective, or to be received by the colonial gaze.
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(2023)Tiivistelmä - Referat - Abstract To aim for a just and sustainable society, it is essential to consider how we manage cities and to reflect on the role of young people as agents for successful future generations. The school system must take on the responsibility of developing a sense of social justice amongst young people. However, few learning activities are established to promote learning about environmental and intergenerational justice issues, and are usually limited to a top-down approach based on STEM disciplines (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). In this work, I argue that education in sustainability needs to be opened to a relational approach that introduces new justice perspectives, becoming a driver for active citizenship and public participation. The thesis is based on ten workshops conducted in Kumpula, Helsinki, involving 197 students from two upper secondary schools. The novelty of this work consists in addressing a specific range of upper secondary school students (16 to 19) and combining cognitive and relational learning activities to elicit reflections on environmental justice. I used a learning activity based on a Role-play method to actively involve students in working with justice perceptions and nature-based solutions. The analysis is based on a mixed methods- approach where the statistical analysis (pretest-posttest) and qualitative content analysis support each other. The innovative integration of cognitive and relational learning contributed to a deeper knowledge of urban green space management. This approach elicited new recognition justice perspectives by enhancing the participants’ awareness of community values and needs, comprehending both humans and non-humans. After the learning activity, students were generally more willing to make their voice heard by policy makers and to participate in public discussions. Based on the findings, more resources and time would be needed to build a long-term project in order to assess the permanence of relational and cognitive learning and more widely the efficacy of this approach for transformative learning.
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(2024)This thesis explores the political decision-making process related to a cancelled PV park development in the city of Järvenpää, Finland. A PV park planned by the energy company Helen in Järvenpää was cancelled due to city council’s opposition of the project. Serving as an illustrative case study, this thesis highlights the political process, discourses and arguments used from both by the supporters and opponents of the project in the city council. This thesis sets out to explore how different political agents operate in the decision-making process regarding energy projects, and which factors, including whose voices, influence their behaviour. By utilising semi-structured interviews with local Järvenpää city councillors, as well as publicly available materials, including opinion pieces and council’s records, this thesis analyses the discourses and arguments used in this local political decision-making process. Using the framework of energy justice and evaluating the discourses and arguments put forward by the supporters and opposers of the project, this thesis shows three crucial differences discourses about the planned PV park put forward by the local politicians, which relate to the different arguments made for or against the park. These three discourses are broadly categorised as: The Nature of the PV Park; The Participation of Residents; and Political Positionalities. The opponents and supporters of the project put forward fundamentally different arguments about the nature of the PV park, as well as of the current nature of the space without the park. The negative reaction of the residents was also seen differently, as either organic resistance or as politically manufactured. Pre-existing political positionalities were used by both parties as explaining factors of the others’ behavior and beliefs, either due to ideological “obsession” or populism. Additionally, the high socio-economic status of the nearby residents was brought up as a significant factor. These findings connect to previous literature, by showcasing that financial incentives are not always enough to gain approval of energy development projects as well as questioning whether a public hearing is enough to guarantee procedural justice if the voices of high-ranking socio-economic group members dominate over others.
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(2023)Climate change and its unparalleled and irreversible effects to natural and human systems initiate a need to take immediate action to develop effective measures for climate change adaptation. Both climate change impacts and responses to climate change are found to further aggravate the division between winners and losers that is already present in the pre-existing patterns of development. This is while previous research has found explicit concern for justice to be limited at the urban level. This study seeks to examine urban climate change adaptation strategies critically from the perspective of climate justice to contribute to the understanding of how justice can be identified and advocated for in practice. Justice is conceptualised with four justice dimensions encompassing recognitional, distributive, procedural, and restorative justice dimensions. An Adaptation Justice Index is applied to policy documents to perform a qualitative content analysis. In addition, a literature review is utilised to explore the representations of justice present in the adaptation strategies of eight leading city-level climate change adaptors. Results from the analysis show that on average, procedural justice dimension is the most highlighted among the four dimensions, while restorative justice is the least emphasised. The cities performed the best in allocating responsibilities related to adaptation and in enabling participation in the implementation phase. Strategies frequently emphasise vulnerable people and acknowledge the aim to advance equity and just outcomes with adaptation initiatives. The initiatives described in the strategies, however, seem generally to be insufficient to realise these outcomes. Measures to include the perspectives of vulnerable individuals and communities are found to require improvement to promote empowerment of disadvantaged people for climate justice. The impacts of adaptation measures ought to be scrutinised in more detail to recognise the losses borne by the most disadvantaged in society and to make amends for injustices taking place in the context of climate change and adaptation practice. In conclusion, more research is in order to shed further light to the extent climate justice is accounted for in adaptation practice, especially in the context of the Global South.
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(2024)The Finnish forestry sector today faces multiple pressures for renewal, demands of climate change and biodiversity loss being the most recent and pertinent ones. The pressures are expected to materialize in the mid-term future: significant structural changes in the forest sector will most likely take place by 2040 (Kulvik et al., 2022). The Finnish forest sector is already in a state of flux, aiming for a transformation, with the state also seeking to reform it through various policies (Donner-Amnell, 2022). However, the concept of just transition has not been widely applied to the industry. This work uses qualitative content analysis to analyze strategies, roadmaps, programmes, action plans and other textual materials where actors of the forest policy arena envision the future of the sector. Recognizing that these expressions of the desired futures are not mere observations of what might happen, but strategic, political actions building those very futures, this study understands them as sociotechnical visions (Longhurst & Chilvers, 2019). This research seeks to articulate what kind of futures are promoted in these visions, how questions of justice are addressed in them, and discover patterns of politicization and depoliticization related to justice. Based on earlier research (Harrinkari et al., 2016), actors are assigned into three coalitions. The forestry coalition envisions a future where Finnish forestry products satisfy global demand and are seen as one solution to climate change. It prefers to frame ecological and social issues through the frames of responsibility and sustainability. The administrative coalition prioritizes the well-being of the Finnish nation and sees the forest industry as an important means to do so, thus wishing to maintain its operating conditions. The environmental coalition aims to maintain the values of nature and frames the environmental and social issues of forestry as questions of justice. Actors within the environmental coalition tend to choose frames that politicize the discourse, whereas the forestry coalition tends to choose depoliticizing ones. The present study demonstrates that actors employ the frame of justice to a varying extent. The academic literature on just transition often departs from the starting point of defining the limits of what is just. However, the present study shows that there are pertinent questions to be asked already before that. Future research is invited to pay attention to what makes actors embrace the concept of just transition and others reject it.
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(2023)Finland is committed to sustainable development work, which is guided by the global UN sustainable development action program Agenda2030. The program aims in broad sustainable development work and recognizes cities as key actors in achieving the goals. In Finland, the Commitment2050 online database serves as a tool for achieving the goals of sustainable development. In the website, different actors, including cities and municipalities, commits to operational commitments which require concrete action that promotes sustainability. The purpose of this work is to examine what kind of sustainable development commitments cities and municipalities have made on the “Commitment2050” -website. The thesis aims to create an overall picture of the operational commitments of cities and municipalities. In addition, the thesis highlights what kind of follow-up has been done regarding the commitments and how the actors have evaluated the implementation of the goals of their commitments. The study examined a total of 209 commitments made by cities and municipalities from between the years 2013 and 2022. Monitoring commitments is important so assessment of sustainability implementation can be made. Surprisingly, the study found that a significant proportion of commitments had done no follow-up at all. The actors who had done the monitoring had assessed the fulfillment of the objectives in a very diverse way, which made it difficult to draw conclusions. Thus, deeper knowledge is needed on the commitments implementation.
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(2022)Toimiva vesihuolto on yhteiskunnalle elintärkeä. Tärkeimpinä vesihuollon tavoitteina on puhdistaa juomavesi ja vähentää jätevedestä aiheutuvaa ympäristökuormitusta. Kemianteollisuudella on keskeinen rooli tuottaa kemikaaleja vesihuollon käyttöön. Vedenpuhdistus on yksi osa kemikaalien arvoketjua, jossa useat eri toimijat osallistuvat kemikaalien raaka-aineiden valmistukseen, kemikaalien tuottoon, kuljetukseen ja käyttöön, sekä jätteiden loppusijoitukseen. Kemikaalien arvoketjulla on vaikutuksia ympäristöön. Vedenpuhdistuskemikaalien arvoketjua ei ole tutkittu kemikaalien valmistajien ja ostajien välisessä suhteessa. Tutkimuksessani selvitin, kuinka biodiversiteetti näkyy vedenpuhdistuskemikaalien arvoketjun päätöksenteossa ja miten se vaikuttaa kemikaalien ostopäätöksiin. Biodiversiteetti takaa ihmistoimintaakin ylläpitävien ekosysteemipalveluiden toiminnan, kuten veden kiertokulun. Merkittävimpiä uhkia biodiversiteetille ovat vieraslajit, ilmastonmuutos, ravinnekuormitus, ympäristömyrkyt ja roskaantuminen, elinympäristöjen muutokset ja luonnonvarojen liikakäyttö. Kestävillä ratkaisuilla arvoketjun eri toimijat voivat vaikuttaa biodiversiteettiin positiivisesti. Tutkimuksessa haastattelin kuutta vedenpuhdistuslaitoksissa ja kemikaaleja valmistavassa yhtiössä työskentelevää osto- ja myyntipuolen asiantuntijaa puolistrukturoiduilla asiantuntijahaastatteluilla. Lisäksi tarkastelin yhtiöiden vastuullisuusraportteja. Analysoin aineistoa teema-analyysin keinoin. Keskeisimpänä tuloksena havaitsin, että vesikemikaalien arvoketjussa päätettäessä kemikaalien ostamisesta ja myymisestä, toimijat asettavat kemikaalien hinnan ja toimitusvarmuuden ympäristöasioiden edelle. Biodiversiteettiä pidetään tärkeänä, mutta ostopäätöksiin se ei vielä vaikuta. Kemikaalien kehittämiseen ja hankintoihin tarvitaan lisää tietoa biodiversiteettivaikutuksista läpi koko kemikaalien arvoketjun.
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(2021)Ilmastonmuutos lisää sään ääri-ilmiöitä kuten mittavia rankkasateita, jolloin myös hulevedet, eli rakennettujen alueiden pinnoille kertyvät sade- ja sulamisvedet, muuttuvat yhä akuutimmaksi ongelmaksi. Yksi tiivistyvien kaupunkien haasteista on hulevesien hallinta. Hulevesiä hallitaan pääasiassa niin kutsutuin perinteisin menetelmin, eli pääasiassa viemäröiden, mutta sen rinnalle on nousemassa niin kutsuttu luonnonmukainen hulevesien hallinta. Luonnonmukaiset menetelmät hyödyntävät luonnon omia prosesseja, ja ne voivat parantaa hulevesien laatua, pienentää virtaamahuippuja, edistää luonnon monimuotoisuutta ja tarjota virkistyshyötyjä. Hulevesien hallinnan ja luontoarvojen huomioiminen kaupunkisuunnittelussa ei ole yksinkertaista - suunnittelussa on huomioitava monenlaisia tavoitteita, joiden yhteensovittamisessa kohdataan ristiriitoja. Ristiriidat voivat paljastaa tavoitteiden taustalla olevia arvoja, ja siten kertoa, minkälaista kaupunkia todellisuudessa toteutamme. Tutkielma toteutettiin osana HELSUS Co-Creation Labia ja yhteistyökumppanina toimi Helsingin kaupunki. Tutkielman tavoitteena oli luontoarvojen ja hulevesien hallinnan huomioimisen selvittäminen ja kaupunkisuunnittelijoiden agentuurin kartoittaminen Helsingin maankäytön suunnittelussa. Tutkielmassa pyrittiin vastaamaan seuraaviin tutkimuskysymyksiin: 1) Millaisia asioita asemakaavoitusvaiheessa mukana olleet Helsingin kaupungin työntekijät mielsivät kuuluvan luontoarvojen pariin? 2) Miten luontoarvot ja hulevesien hallinta huomioitiin projekteissa? 3) Mitä asioita suunnittelijat kokivat keskeisinä luontoarvojen ja luonnonmukaisen hallinnan huomioimiseksi suunnitteluprosessissa yksilön osalta? 4) Mitkä asiat vaikeuttivat luontoarvojen huomioimista tai suojelua ja luonnonmukaisen hallinnan toteuttamista? Tutkielma tehtiin käyttäen eksploratiivisen ja välineellisen tapaustutkimuksen menetelmiä. Aineistona toimi pääasiassa seitsemän Helsingin kaupunkisuunnittelijan haastattelut, joille tehtiin temaattinen analyysi. Tutkielman kohteena oli Helsingin kaupungin hulevesien hallintaa koskeva suunnittelu/päätöksenteko asemakaavoitusprosessissa. Yksittäiset tapaukset olivat asemakaavaprojekteja Helsingin Kaarelan, Laajasalon ja Lauttasaaren kaupunginosista. Teoreettisena viitekehyksenä tutkielmassa hyödynnettiin pääasiassa arvojen, sääntöjen ja tiedon muodostamaa viitekehystä päätöksentekokontekstissa. Aineiston perusteella luontoarvojen ja luonnonmukaisen hulevesien hallinnan huomioimisen kanssa kilpailevia arvoja ja intressejä olivat tekninen toimivuus ja käytännöllisyys, ihmisten turvallisuus, esteettisyys, taloudellinen kestävyys, asuntotuotanto, rakentamisen tehokkuus, tietämättömyys/osaamattomuus, harrastusmahdollisuudet sekä liikenneratkaisut. Yleisesti kaiken kiteyttävänä haasteena oli tilan puute. Vaikka päätavoitteet ja lopulliset päätökset arvoineen tulevat poliittisilta toimijoilta, niin voidaan kuitenkin sanoa, että suunnittelijoilla on mahdollisuuksia toteuttaa omia arvojaan työssään ja säännöissä on jonkin verran niin sanotusti pelivaraa. Suunnittelussa on suunnittelijakohtaisia eroja esimerkiksi siinä, kuinka aktiivisesti ja minkälaisella asenteella kukin huomioi ja edistää luontoarvoja ja hulevesien hallintaa suunnitteluprosessissa. Hulevesien hallinta vaikuttaa Helsingissä olevan murrosvaiheessa kohti vihreämpään infrastruktuuriin nojaavaa suunnittelua. Sitä vauhdittaakseen kaupungin kannattanee lisätä pilottiprojekteja, suunnitella pilottikirjastoa, lisätä työvoimaa ja kuntien välistä yhteistyötä sekä varmistaa, että suunnittelijoilla on tarpeelliset tiedot ja työkalut, joita myös osataan hyödyntää. Tarve jatkotutkimusten tekemiselle löytyy kaupunkisuunnittelussa kilpailevien arvojen ja intressien selvittämisestä ja niiden tunnistamisesta suunnitteluprosessissa ja päätöksenteossa.
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(2024)We have long been invited to engage in climate action in different forums, without specifying what is actually expected of us to solve the accelerating climate crisis. Traditionally, individual citizens have only been seen as consumers in climate action. Although citizen participation in climate work has also been studied more and more in recent years, there is a little research on how citizens themselves perceive their own role in climate action. Climate action at local level and small municipalities, as smaller administrative units, could also provide better opportunities to support individuals in their own climate actions. In this thesis, I examine the climate agency and participation of residents in local climate action through their perceived roles and means of participation. I am conducting a review at the level of one small Finnish municipality by carrying out a qualitative case study. The case municipality is Kokemäki in the Satakunta region, with a population of about 7000. My research questions are (1) how the municipal representatives and local residents perceive the roles of the municipality and local residents in local climate action, and (2) what means are identified by municipal representatives and local residents to strengthen the climate agency of local residents. The research material consists of thematic interviews of the municipal representatives, group discussions of the residents and a survey conducted for the residents. As a method of analysis, I have used qualitative content analysis. The results show that municipal representatives and local residents have a similar perception of the roles, even though there are differences. In total, six different roles were identified for the municipality, and communication as a cross-cutting role. A key finding is that local residents perceived their own role more active than the municipal representatives did. A total of five roles were outlined for the residents, two of which emerged mainly in the experiences of the residents: the role to support each other and the role to activate the municipality to act. The roles of the municipality and the residents are strongly linked, and instead of looking individual means to support climate agency, it might be useful for small municipalities to shift the examination more strongly to their own role in relation to the residents. The development of communication and interaction is a key means of supporting climate agency. In addition to communication based on positive tone and examples in particular, the need for encounter and discussion emerged. Discussions with local residents, also on the topic of climate change, could bring new knowledge, understanding and ideas to the municipality, and at the same time provide a forum for communicating the importance of climate action, which also supports sustainable choices in everyday life. Strengthening the experience of working together increases the potential for self-motivated action and also enables peer learning and interaction between residents. The desire to take care of one's own home region could also support local climate action, as long as the objectives and actions are set at a local scale.
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(2023)The climate political passivity of recent history, dire consequences predicted by climate scientific scenarios, and urgent climate reports emphasize the existential threat posed by the climate crisis. With a lack of consensus on widely accepted solutions, humanity faces increasingly uncertain futures. The shadow of a bleak climate dystopia has led to the interpretation that utopias are missing from climate policy and discourse. This reflects society's challenges in imagining and constructing alternative, functional future perspectives in the context of the climate issue. In my thesis, I examine the extent to which two actors of the new generation climate movement, Elokapina and Operaatio Arktis articulate utopias and dystopias to promote goals and discussions on systemic change and the adoption of climate repair technologies. The material for my thesis consists mainly of content produced by Elokapina and Operaatio Arktis, primarily published on social media platforms and public speeches. Since language is a crucial tool in creating imaginaries, I employ rhetorical discourse analysis to answer my research questions. The rhetorical emphasis in discourse analysis particularly supports my effort to answer the question of how utopias and dystopias are articulated. I extend my interpretation to the performativity, materiality, and prefigurativeness of imaginaries to provide a comprehensive perspective on presenting utopias and dystopias. The most significant findings of my thesis are summarized in three key observations. First, although based on my material Elokapina and Operaatio Arktis shared a common concern about the seriousness of the climate crisis and used partly similar rhetoric, the actors significantly differed in describing the current dystopia and, especially, in presenting utopias. Second, the use of dystopias in Extinction Rebellion's rhetoric did not mean a suppression of utopian expression. Utopias were a significant tool for Elokapina, serving as critical counter-images to the present and being performed in the principles, values, and practices of Extinction Rebellion quite extensively. Additionally, utopias materialized as practical proposals. In this way, Elokapina directed systemic change towards a more sustainable and just direction. Therefore, I interpreted Elokapina regarding utopias as prefigurative, i.e., an actor whose actions practically live out utopias. Third, Operaatio Arktis's rhetoric lacked utopias entirely, with dystopias serving as a significant tool as the actor framed the risks associated with the adoption of climate correction technologies. Operaatio Arktis did not accept catastrophic consequences pointing to a future dystopia that would be avoidable with the current range of methods and through the use of climate repair technologies. Examining utopias and dystopias in the rhetoric of Elokapina and Operaatio Arktis helped to highlight how imaginaries can act as powerful and versatile tools in the actions of the new generation climate movement. They motivated action, raised awareness, and enabled discussions about significant themes related to the root causes and solutions of the climate crisis. Therefore, the results of my thesis are quite intriguing.
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(2024)The planetary health approach emphasizes the interconnectedness between human health and natural systems. Urban planners also have the opportunity to promote planetary health through their work by reducing the negative environmental impacts of planning solutions and by increasing decisions that support residents' health and wellbeing. Numerous studies have shown that nature promotes human physical, mental, and social health, underscoring the importance of accessible nearby nature, especially in growing cities. This thesis examines urban planning in the city of Lahti from the perspective of planetary health. The study aims to investigate how nearby nature and its health and wellbeing effects, particularly for children and young people, have been considered and identified in land use planning. Additionally, the goal is to determine how conflicting land use interests are prioritized in decision-making. The research material consists of interviews with officials from the Lahti Urban Environment service area, and the data is analyzed with qualitative content analysis and thematization. The results indicate that nearby nature is perceived as an important part of Lahti's urban structure. Urban greenspaces and nearby nature areas are most concretely taken into account by zoning them as green areas in general and detailed plans. Furthermore, urban planning utilizes surveys of nearby nature conducted in early childhood education institutions and schools to ensure accessibility of nearby nature for children and adolescents. The appreciation of Lahti's planners, nature-friendly organizational culture, functional planning practices, and the recognition of the city's environmental efforts support the preservation of nearby nature areas in the urban structure. However, green areas without zoning are constantly at risk of being allocated for other land use purposes in a growing city. Planners describe their work as a continual search for compromises between conflicting desires, goals, and land use interests. They hold a central position of power and responsibility in making sustainable planning decisions, which can also be guided by planners' own values, attitudes, and expertise. Systems thinking required by planetary health approach along with research findings on the health and wellbeing effects of nearby nature, should be more effectively integrated into urban planning, political decision-making, and public discourse. Although this study focuses on planners in one city, it offers interesting insights into effective urban planning practices and current challenges within the framework of planetary health.
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(2023)Local climatic interactions between ice, ocean and atmosphere in Northwest Atlantic are significant due to their impacts on global climate. Sea-surface conditions and their links to major climatic patterns during the late-Holocene offshore southeastern Newfoundland, Placentia Bay, were studied using diatoms as paleobioindicators. The record indicates moderate conditions with Arctic influence being little stronger than Atlantic influence during the time period between 5.8 and 4.75 ka BP. The time period between 4.75 and 2 ka BP is dominated by Atlantic influence, except for a cold pulse around 3.5 ka BP. There is a considerable increase in Arctic influence during the time period between 2 and 0.4 ka BP. The strength of the inner Labrador Current seems to be the most important factor affecting the conditions in Placentia Bay. It follows both the NAO index and the strength of AMOC being strongest when the NAO index is positive and AMOC is strong. Cold periods in the record match with positive NAO. Meltwater and sea ice content in the inner Labrador Current seems to be dependent on the conditions in Baffin Bay. The AO index and the orbitally driven HTM, Neoglacial cooling and Roman warm period events affected the dynamics in Baffin Bay during the late-Holocene. Also, the AMOC caused either additional cooling or melting in the region depending on its strength. The major shift at 2 ka BP matched with a recorded shift in the deep convection rate in the Labrador Sea.
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(2022)Ilmastonmuutoksen torjuminen edellyttää ihmiskunnalta määrätietoisia toimia fossiilisten polttoaineiden käytön lopettamiseksi kasvihuonekaasupäästöjen lopettamiseksi. Yksi tärkeimmistä kysymyksistä ratkaistavaksi on yhä enenevissä määrin kehittyneeseen teknologiaan nojautuvien ihmisyhteisöjen energiansaannin varmistaminen. Ydinvoimaa pidetään luotettavana, tehokkaana ja ennen kaikkea jo olemassa olevana ratkaisuna käsillä olevan energiamurroksen toteuttamiseksi. Kaikki teknologiat ovat kuitenkin poliittisia ja ydinvoima ehkä kaikista teknologioista eniten mielipiteitä jakava. Toisaalta lupaus ainakin päällisinpuolin yksinkertaisesta ja tehokkaasta teknologisesta ratkaisusta puhuttelee monia. Toisaalta ydinvoiman käyttöön ja käyttöön ottoon liittyy suuria epävarmuustekijöitä, kuten rakentamisen hinta, ilmastonmuutoksen vaikutukset voimaloiden toimintaan ja suurvaltapoliittiset siirrot maailmanpolitiikan pelilaudalla. Tämä tutkielma ottaa selvää, kuinka ydinvoiman rooliin energiamurroksen ajurina suhtaudutaan Suomessa ja Ranskassa – kahdessa vauraassa, ydinvoimaa paljon hyödyntävässä Euroopan unionin jäsenmaassa. Aineistona on käytetty suomalaisen Helsingin Sanomat ja ranskalaisen Le Monde päivittäin ilmestyvien sanomalehtien ilmastonmuutosta ja ydinvoimaa käsitteleviä pääkirjoituksia. Analysoidut kirjoitukset ovat Pariisin ilmastosopimuksen ja vuoden 2021 lokakuun väliseltä ajalta. Lähtökohtani on, että Suomen ja Ranskan tärkeimmät sanomalehdet käyttävät aktiivisesti valtaa vaikuttaakseen lukijoidensa suhtautumiseen. Näin ollen Le Monde ja Helsingin Sanomat tarjoavat yhden ikkunan, jonka kautta tarkastella myös laajemmassa asiayhteydessä suomalais ja ranskalaista energia- ja ilmastopolitiikkaa. Käsiteltävät maat ovat monella tapaa samanlaisia, mutta poikkeavat myös paljon toisistaan, mikä näkyy myös maiden ydinvoimakannoissa. Ranska on entinen suurvalta, jonka ydinvoimaloilla on selvä merkitys suurvalta-aseman edes osittaiseksi palauttamiseksi. Suomi on sodan hävinnyt, todella nopeasti teollistunut maa, jolle alusta asti rauhanomainen ydinvoima on vipuvarsi oman teollisen tuotannon edistämiseksi. Analyysissä käy ilmi, että sanomalehdissä ydinvoimaan – sekä energiamurrokseen yleisesti – suhtaudutaan eri tavoilla Ranskassa ja Suomessa. Ranskassa korostuu sosiaalisen oikeudenmukaisuuden merkitys pysyvien ilmastoratkaisujen saavuttamiseksi, kun taas Suomessa pääkirjoituksia värittää ennen kaikkea markkinaorientoitunut tehokkuusajattelu. Suhtautuminen ydinvoimaan on myös erilainen. Ranskassa korostetaan ydinvoimaan liittyviä epävarmuustekijöitä. Suomessa puolestaan painotetaan ydinvoiman todistettuja vahvuuksia, erityisesti tehokkuutta ja päästöttömyyttä.
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(2022)Climate change causes changes in the Arctic lakes, such as shortening of the ice-covered period and changes in hydrology as well as vegetation of the drainage area around the lakes. With these shifts in the function of the ecosystems, dissolved organic matter drainage from terrestrial sources is expected to increase. Terrestrial, allochthonous DOM is more refractory, higher molecular weight organic matter, which is less available to bacterial consumption. Alterations in the DOM pool of the lake may change the bacterial community composition, which could in turn alter the lake ecosystem. Four ice-covered lakes in Kilpisjärvi region were sampled in spring 2021. Water samples were filtered and analyzed for dissolved and particulate nutrients and carbon. Coloured dissolved organic matter and fluorescent dissolved organic matter properties were defined. Bacterial community composition was determined with multiplex polymerase chain reaction and sequences analyzed with DADA2 pipeline. Principal component analysis (PCOA) was done to visualize differences between lakes, and distance-based redundancy analysis (dbRDA) was used to detect any associations between dissolved organic matter properties and bacterial community composition. The lakes had low nutrient and carbon concentrations and had mainly similar properties of dissolved organic matter. However, P3 surface water had higher nitrate and total dissolved nitrogen concentrations. Optical properties in P3 surface water, Peak T, Peak M, biological index and humification index, indicated autochthonous production and lability of organic matter. This was reflected also in bacterial community composition by higher relative abundance of Gammaproteobacteriales. Lake P3 had also higher relative abundance of Cyanobacteria, which could be the cause for labile organic matter in the site. Sites P2 and P3 had similar bacterial community compositions, which is likely due to the sites forming a lake chain and sharing the same catchment area. The sites were oligotrophic and low nutrient environments as expected in the arctic environment. One of the sites had indications of more labile organic matter, which was reflected in the bacterial community structures. In the future shorter ice-cover period may induce autochthonous production such as Cyanobacteria, which reflects in the bacterial community. Changes in the DOM properties and bacterial communities can alter the whole food chain. with A more comprehensive study on this issue could be useful way of understanding the carbon cycling and impacts of climate change to the subarctic lakes.
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(2023)Mining industry often encounters many environmental and social challenges, such as environmental degradation or negative impacts on other livelihoods. However, the opening of a mine can also enhance economic productivity and employment situation, especially in remote areas. This paper analyses the environmental and employment sustainability of mining in Northern Finland, utilizing Hannukainen iron ore mining plans based in Kolari as a case study. The sustainability framework of the research is UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) adopted by UN member states in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (UN, 2015d). The aim of this research is to assess Hannukainen mining plans’ capacity to fulfil environmental and employment SDG targets from the perceptions of relevant local stakeholders. The research questions of this study are: 1. How does the implementation of five environment and employment related SDGs actualise in Hannukainen mining plans from the perceptions of relevant local stakeholders? 2. What kind of synergies and conflicts occur between the mining plans and SDG targets? To answer the questions, ten interviews and media analysis of 15 online articles was conducted. The main method for analysis was Inductive Thematic Analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). As a result, three themes are introduced: (1) The mine as an environmental hazard, (2) The mine as a threat to local livelihoods and culture, and (3) The mine as a potential job opportunity. Possible synergies and conflicts between the SDG targets and Hannukainen mining plans are identified separately in each theme. The results suggest that increasing economic growth and employment on one sector, while causing environmental hazards and diminishing the employment possibilities of other sectors is topical in Hannukainen mining plans. Several conflicts rise between SDG targets and Hannukainen mine, regarding mainly environmental issues and two local livelihoods: tourism and reindeer herding. However, synergies between mining plans and SDG targets occur as well since the mine could provide full-time jobs and enhance employment and economic situation of the municipality. Additionally, lack of trust in mining company and to some extent in public authorities is a key component contributing to the experience of mining plan’s unsuccessful SDG implementation.
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(2014)City of Helsinki is aspiring towards carbon neutrality by 2050. Households play an important role in this matter, as their share of carbon dioxide emissions is substantial in the city-level. The energy efficiency of different household appliances is improving, but their usage is rising in tandem. Overall, it is recognized that there needs to be a change in household behaviour. In this thesis I examine what kinds of low carbon actions households are taking and what has motivated them to do so. The thesis is done in co-operation with Aalto University’s HAPPI project, which deals with carbon neutral living in Helsinki. The project studies possibilities to promote climate friendly actions on a residential level. Research was carried out in Mellunkylä, a residential area in eastern Helsinki. The contribution of this thesis is to recognize customs that advance and support low carbon actions on a residential level. The research question took shape as: “What are the low carbon actions that the households in Mellunkylä are taking and why are they taking them?” In order to answer both questions, I decided to use two methods: a survey and interviews. The survey aimed to provide quantitative information about the people living in Mellunkylä as well as a generalization on how they were acting, what they were interested in and what they saw as barriers to further behavior change. In order to better understand what these actions mean for the households and to gain information about their values and other motivations, qualitative interviews were a justified method to further assess the research problem. They aimed to specify the behavior changes that had already occurred and what kinds of motives lie behind these behaviors, as well as to assess the barriers to other behavior changes. Results from both studies indicate that most households were generally making mostly curtailment actions, such as reducing the use of lightning, household appliances and water consumption. There were also efficiency actions, which for the most part consisted of investing on new lightning and household appliances. The households were not fond of acquiring green electricity and were not generally trying to reduce their emissions through heating-related solutions. The households had a general idea of why they should reduce their energy consumption: energy use was commonly understood a societal problem and everyone’s responsibility. The interviewees mentioned altruistic values and biospheric concerns most often, which was fruitful in that these kinds of values are important in saving energy in the long run. Of the external motivators economic factors were mentioned repetitively. They were thought to have an effect on the individual as well as on the economy. It seemed that the households were hoping to be able to use energy without worries and with small expenses. This suggests that the motivations for low carbon actions lie within costs and ease of life rather than environmental concerns. Habits were often mentioned as a barrier to behavior change. Also costs and inability to follow one’s energy consumption were some of the barriers that stood out in the studies. This is in line with the fact that the participants were making more of the curtailment actions rather than efficiency actions, which can be more costly. The case study households showed interest in following their energy consumption, so some kind of feedback as well as personal recommendations for improvement could be in place. This is an important area where the city could take actions, for example, by supporting the households to commit in reducing their energy consumption. It should be noted that in reaching a low carbon lifestyle, there are various routes, of which living-related low carbon actions are only one piece. It is important to find the actions and interventions which can result in long lasting behavioral changes.
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(2022)This thesis aimed to systematically map and review built environment low carbon and/or social justice experiments in Finland and understand how municipalities engage in experimentation and what challenges municipalities face when engaging in it. To find what forms of experiments for socially just low carbon buildings and housing can be found in Finland, 1 386 objects in 15 databases were systematically mapped. 204 unique built environment low carbon and/or social justice experiments were recognized and further reviewed. Municipality engagements and challenges in experimentation were approached through a case study of four Finnish municipalities Helsinki, Joensuu, Turku, and Vantaa. 14 case city officials and other persons working with experimentation were interviewed, and 1 839 pages of case-city-related documents were gathered. Triangulation was used to analyze the interview transcripts and additional documents in an abductive manner to find what kind of policy engagements for experimentation municipalities participated in and what kind of challenges the municipality representatives identified when doing so. This thesis discovered that there is a large focus on building and nurturing niches and testing technologies with a lack of focus on profound social justice and the behavioral side of the sustainability transitions. The sustainability experimentation in the built environment was technology-focused and lacked profound social justice aspects. Even though there were some overlaps between low carbon and social justice in the experiments, the experiments did not seek to increase social justice but rather to do low carbon in a socially just way. Municipalities strongly focused on building and nurturing niches and experimentation as a process. Municipalities did not do much experimentation in their operations and focused on the experimentation process rather than the subject matter. Also, the municipality experimentation engagements were characterized by a lack of novelty, flexibility, and uncertainty. This thesis also reveals that the links between sustainability experimentation and sustainability transitions may not be as straightforward as the scientific models and frameworks present. Though this thesis made several findings about sustainability experimentation, there remains a particularly urgent need to develop and conduct additional studies. They are needed to understand better the phenomena in the socially just low carbon experimentation in the built environment to enable just transition to low carbon buildings and housing.
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(2024)This thesis investigates the application of machine learning (ML) technologies in the analysis of wildlife images captured by camera traps, focusing on its significance for ecology and conservation. With the advent of digital imaging and the increasing use of camera traps in wildlife monitoring, the volume of data thus generated has presented a significant challenge in terms of processing and analysis. This study aims to address this challenge by systematically reviewing the current state of ML applications in this field, identifying key technologies employed, and evaluating their effectiveness in various ecological and conservation tasks. Through an extensive literature review and analysis, the research reveals a strong preference for the use of convolutional neural networks (CNNs), particularly residual neural networks (ResNet), due to their ability to efficiently process and analyze large visual datasets. The study also highlights the primary ML tasks within this context, namely animal detection and species classification. Moreover, it identifies the main ecological objectives pursued through ML-assisted camera trap image analysis, emphasizing its frequent use in ecological assessments and wildlife population monitoring. The thesis identifies areas for improvement, such as addressing the underrepresentation of numerous taxa and enhancing the quality of the environmental assessments, and suggests directions for future research, including the development of more robust ML models capable of handling more diverse environments and datasets. By showcasing the potential of ML to revolutionize ecological research and conservation efforts, this study hopes to contribute to the understanding of how technology can be harnessed to preserve biodiversity and ensure more effective and efficient management of natural resources.
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(2024)This thesis is an ethnographic study of glyphosate use in Finnish agriculture. Through interviews and participant observation, it examines how Finnish farmers relate to glyphosate, a herbicide that is widely used in contemporary agriculture but also highly contested. Working with the concept of domestication, I suggest that farmers relate to glyphosate as an indispensable tool that allows them to domesticate fields, maximise harvests, and cope in value chains where they have little power. When using glyphosate, farmers also try to domesticate the chemical itself by turning it into a controllable, knowable and ultimately unproblematic tool. Sometimes these efforts fail, as when glyphosate spills and spreads to unwanted places or fails to produce the clean fields that farmers are after. Despite these risks and limitations, farmers continue to rely on glyphosate to achieve successful domestication. Reworking Donna Haraway’s concept of companion species, I suggest that glyphosate has become a companion chemical, constitutively tied into who farmers are and what they do. In the course of continued glyphosate-based domestication, the skills, practices, and knowledges of farmers have changed as they have learned to live with glyphosate and use it to perform feats of successful domestication.
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(2022)More meat is consumed in the world than ever before causing an intensifying number of social, environmental, and economic problems. Lately, consumers’ willingness for change has been examined by several scholars. Plenty of hope is placed on the consumers’ role as active participants in the sustainable nutrition transition. Therefore, many consumer-based strategies have been conceptualized to reduce meat consumption and thus enhance the transition to less animal-based proteins without taking it to the extreme (no meat/vegan ideology). “Less and better” is one of these strategies. It encourages, not only to eat less meat but also to replace the remaining meat with “better” meaning meat with positive outcomes and smaller negative environmental and social impacts. In this context “better meat” refers to extensively produced natural pasture-raised beef (luonnonlaidunliha) which has positive impacts on for instance animal wellbeing, biodiversity, and farmers’ livelihoods. This research aims to understand if buyers of “better meat” make linkages between “less” and “better” and whether they perceive the need for a sustainable protein transition. Being a relatively new approach, “less and better” has not been studied before from the perspective of consumers who already choose “better”. The data were collected in cooperation with Bosgård farm, which produces natural pasture-raised beef. Firstly, an email survey was sent out to the customers of the farm receiving 126 responses and secondly, six consumers were interviewed to gather a more in-depth understanding of the consumer perspectives. The results suggest that while a clear linkage between buying better and eating less exist, it also has a reverse side; many consumers are consuming more meat due to the access to what they perceive as better. The motives for meat reduction vary widely yet environmental and climate change reasons have not reached a significant position. It seems that meat reduction amongst the buyers of “better” meat is shadowed by pleasure orientation, lack of understanding of the scope of negative impacts of meat production and of the message “less meat”, high trust in Finnish meat production as such, and resistance to change caused by polarized information and attitudes. Even though many participants had found ways to incorporate more sustainable eating habits into their everyday lives and meat's position at the top of the food hierarchy is slowly changing, the results do not seem to correspond to high expectations held by the proponents of the concept. Though this is a small study, it questions a validity of the claim that “less and better” can be a sufficiently strong solution to support a sustainable nutrition transition in the way it is currently being presented.
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