Browsing by discipline "Aluetiede"

Human-elephant conflicts (HECs) pose a threat for both the survival of elephant populations and for the wellbeing of the rural people who live adjacent to wildlife. Problems are common especially in those rural areas where human settlements and agriculture have expanded on elephant ranges and where agricultural villages border the remaining elephant habitats. Sri Lanka is one of the countries where human and elephant territories commonly overlap and where the presence of elephants causes serious challenges for the rural communities. This paper presents a study of human-elephant conflict at Bogahapalassa forest reserve in south-central Sri Lanka. Instead of studying HEC as a hindrance to elephant conservation I was interested of its impact on the local communities. The aim was to find out where, when and how this conflict takes place. The study focuses on areal differences in HEC’s prevalence, on the challenges of the used mitigation strategies, and examines the perceived causes and solutions for the elephant issue. The study area comprised 28 agrarian villages that are located adjacent to protected areas. The research was conducted using qualitative methods. We carried out group interviews with the inhabitants of the studied villages and individual interviews with different key informants. The collected data was later analysed using qualitative content analysis. The results show that human-elephant conflict takes place in all the studied villages without clear areal differences. Elephants cause problems around the year but especially during the dry season. The villagers suffer of various direct and indirect hindrances. The major cost of the conflict comes from crop losses that were commonly perceived as serious hindrance for livelihoods. The HEC has its roots in the shrinkage and deterioration of the forest areas that have been under continuous pressure from human activities. An invasive flowering species called Lantana is also spreading in the forests replacing native eatable grasses, therefore further decreasing the available food sources for elephants. It was also commonly believed that elephants are becoming increasingly used to crop raiding and to the deterrent methods that villagers use and thus the situation is worsening. There are various mitigation strategies being used to tackle the issues with elephants. Most of these seemed to be losing their effectiveness which must party contribute to the strong support of electric fencing that is now the main official strategy for HEC mitigation in this area. The villages that already have the electric fence from the Department of Wildlife Conservation reported various deficiencies in the fence. It is clear that the mitigation strategies that are currently being used are not sufficient to solve or effectively reduce the issues with elephants. Thus, other multi-pronged strategies need to be tested and implemented to sustainably mitigate the HEC.

Citizen participation and equality in digital spaces The importance of digital space and digital inclusion has increased due to processes of digitalization. Citizens can participate in democratic decision-making processes online and through several platforms organized by public administration or citizens themselves. Digital participation has an opportunity to enhance interaction and communication between citizens and governments or governmental organizations. Technology has long been seen as a way of making people’s everyday lives easier as well as levelling up the playing field through easy and affordable access to information, education and knowledge distribution. However, studies have shown that digital space can similarly exclude or include people based on norms and power relations that exists in those spaces and between people interacting in them. Digital inequality and exclusion have to be taken into consideration when planning on including people in decision making processes through digital participation in order to ensure equal opportunities and inclusive policies as a result. In this master’s thesis I study digital participation in particularly from the perspective of the residents. This study focuses on meanings and value given to digital participation and on how residents themselves experience digital space and the opportunities gained through accessing it. My thesis aims at understanding the motivations for participating in digital space and the meanings given to it. Through understanding meanings and motivations, I also thrive to analyse the possibility to create more inclusive digital spaces on a more structural level from the perspective of the public administration. The thesis in based on theories of space as created through interaction, and participation which in this study is understood as a subjective experience. Methods of this study were ethnographic observation and surf interviews, which combines interviews with participatory observation. This study concludes that digital participation is enhanced at the interfaces of digital and physical space through belonging and competence. The interviewees felt confident in their ways of using digital space and believed that the channels provided for participation were usable and that the administration was open towards their ideas. Being able to participate in digital space gave the interviewees experiences of learning and broadened their world view through exposure and interaction. However, the interviewees had negative experiences from participating in decision-making processes and felt that citizen participation did not have a true impact. But nevertheless, they believed in their possibilities in creating change and finding ways to participate if they would deem a case worthwhile. The importance of a physical place such as Maunulan Mediapaja was also brought forward in this study. It was evident that the place was meaningful to many users and that it also plays a role in activating and encouraging people to get involved in local issues, in physical events and also in digital spaces. It is portrayed as a low threshold space that functions at the interfaces of physical place and digital space.

East Usambara Mountains situated in North-Eastern Tanzania, are globally recognized tropical forests that have a high biodiversity value. The Amani Nature Reserve encloses a high concentration of endemic species within versatile biodiversity. The aim of this study is to measure the ecotourism possibilities and potential of the Amani Nature Reserve and to provide sustainable areal development and livelihood option and outline the regional characteristic important in terms of ecotourism. The data for this study was gathered during a field trip in Tanzania, in January-March 2012, as part of an internship for WWF Finland, Coastal East Africa Initiative. The qualitative methods used included a structured questionnaire, semi-structured and in-depth interviews, field observation and literature analysis. Also, several discussions between different regional stakeholders were carried out. Six villages in the East Usambara Mountains are studied. The study concludes that the Amani Nature Reserve has high potential for ecotourism development and the area offers diverse nature related activities albeit the current visitor statistics are low. The overall results indicate the high value and possibilities with regional biodiversity, the locals' positive attitudes towards tourism but also the areal weaknesses; poor infrastructure, lack of facilities and services. The locals' willingness to cooperate and participate in ecotourism functions and existing cultural assets were also recognized. The Amani Nature Reserve's location, uniqueness and existing facilities strongly support the future ecotourism development. However the locals' knowledge on tourism impacts and conservation issues should be reinforced because there are currently multiple threats towards these tropical forests such as population growth and forest fragmentation. Ecotourism could reinforce forest conservation, local empowerment and sustainable livelihoods. In order to safeguard the ecotourism resource base, the environment, the ecotourism actions need to follow the ecotourism objectives and principles and consider different spatial environmental, social and economic characteristics. According to these principles the locals must be integrated in actions and decision-making processes at all levels and careful ecotourism planning, management and monitoring must take place. The ecotourism network development in Tanzania is highly possible because of the country's spectacular natural beauty and political stability. In order to safeguard the remaining life supporting wildlife also different stakeholders and locals should be engaged to work in cooperation seeking sustainable conservation means, such as ecotourism.

Ecosystem services are benefits people obtain from ecosystems. Ecosystem services can be classified to provisioning, supporting/regulating and cultural services. The target of ecosystem services framework is sustainable management of nature. By applying the ecosystem services framework we can identify ecosystem services and understand the way in which nature benefits people. Ecosystem service approach can be applied for example in landscape planning. This research focuses on urban ecosystem services. Urban landscape is constantly developing. Therefore, decisions that strongly affect ecosystem services are required in landscape planning process. Especially, green areas are decreasing due to new urban structure. Via the concept of green infrastructure, green infra can be designed particularly to produce ecosystem services that support thewhole city structure. Before this is possible, ecosystem services and structures that creates them must be identified. Ecosystem services mapping produce background information for planning. There is no single mapping method as we can map ecosystem services for example by demand, supply or production potential. The objective of this case study was to examine the ecosystem services potential in Kivenlahti by using GIS data. Research was carried out producing two mappings both based on same method but different datasets. First dataset, the green infrastructure map, is based on aerial photos and field surveys. The other dataset is 'Corine Land cover'. Hypothesis was that using different data would create different results. Both green infra and Corine land cover data were compared to ecosystem services in order to find out different land cover types' capacities to provide the individual service. The relation between land cover classes and ecosystem services was valued on a scale 0-3. 0 stands for no potential to produce ecosystem service and 3 that potential is high. Based on these results and using GIS, it was possible to survey single ecosystem services, ecosystem service sectors and to find out where ecosystem hot-spots and blind spots are located. There are five ecosystem hotspots recognized in the area. Blind spots include densely built areas. Both forests and ocean have high potential to produce major of provisioning, supporting/regulating and cultural services. The meaning of provisioning services is least important whereas cultural services are significant. The variance of supporting and regulating services is wide. The most significant difference between the two mapping methods is that the grid size in Corine land cover is 25 meters whereas the green infra data is very detailed. On the other hand, Corine data covers the whole Finland therefore it is possible to conduct the research in other areas. The findings in the research can be used as a background information in upcoming planning process. Ecosystem hot-spots should be included into planning of green infrastructure. Functional ecosystem service network supports in various ways city structure. In addition, well-planned and functional green infrastructure ensures sustainability of ecosystem services in the future.

New transportation links tend to have a major impact on the location decisions of businesses. Although the decision-making process of the location of businesses is too complex to fully open up with a theoretical framework, accessibility in all of its different forms seems to be one of the key factors for all industries. Globalization and the development of ICT were believed to diminish the importance physical location for businesses. However, the impact has been the opposite. In the new urban form, it is possible to find relational economic spaces, which do not depend on borders or predefined areas. Still the predefined area remains a key factor in the coordination and identification of the business. With Kehärata, a commuter railway link set to open in 2015, a new horizontal transportation rail-link and several highly accessible locations will emerge in Vantaa and in the Helsinki region. The purpose of this thesis was to research how Kehärata will affect the locations of workplaces and businesses in Vantaa. The research methods were thematic interviews and GIS analyses. 10 thematic interviews were conducted with real estate investors, businesspeople, construction company representatives and local politicians. The GIS analysis showed that already in the current state, the workplaces in Vantaa form various regional patters in different industries. During the last decades, the workplaces in the Helsinki Metropolitan Region have moved strongly towards a polycentric form and so-called Metapolis structure. This kind of urban form has also been in the core of the new paradigm of urban geography research. The thematic interviews showed that Kehärata is a welcomed improvement to the horizontal transportation network in Vantaa and in the whole region. The urban form in Vantaa is already now polycentric, but Kehärata will increase the number of sub-centers even further with areas like Vehkala, Leinelä and Kivistö, which are highly dependent on the railway. From the point of view of firms, all stations cannot be equally appealing. In this situation the new polycentric urban form should be seen as a resource, where the locations with highest accessibility are developed within the city. However these locations should not be homogenous, but rather be differentiated through branding and urban planning. Differentiated areas within the city enable high level of specialization and make it possible for firms to gain agglomeration benefits. For instance the development and future prospects of Aviapolis area was highlighted in the interviews as very positive. According to the GIS analysis, the amount of workplaces accessible by train in Vantaa, will increase approximately by half after the railway is operational (From one third, to almost half of all workplaces in Vantaa). Additionally new railway connections have the tendency to concentrate workplaces near the stations, so the workplace accessibility by rail is probably even higher in the future. However car transport has had a major impact on the current urban form of Vantaa. The accessibility by car and by train are very different in nature and with Kehärata, two overlapping transportation networks are formed to the city. Despite of the negative environmental impacts of private cars, the city has to be still strongly planned also form the point of view of car owners. Interviewees were hoping that the new station areas would be built as compact urban environments, but contradictory they also saw that good logistical accessibility (with trucks) was one of the key benefits of the current economic environment in Vantaa and it should be supported also in the future. The somewhat poor imago of Vantaa was not seen as an obstacle when firms located to Vantaa, but it was seen as a problem when attracting new residents to the city. In the post-industrial society, the importance of employees to firm location is higher than ever and through tax income it is also a key factor in the public finance of cities.

This thesis explores territorial stigma in the Helsinki capital region from residents' perspective. The aim of the study is to find out, whether there are stigmatised neighbourhoods in the region. Another purpose is to analyse what kind of neighbourhoods are stigmatised and what kind of people experience the stigma. In this study people are considered to experience the stigma if they are unwilling to tell where they live. The analysis focuses on the socioeconomic structure of the neighbourhoods and the socioeconomic status and the cultural orientation of the residents. The primary research data is a survey about the wellbeing of residents in the Helsinki metropolitan region conducted in 2012. The experience of the territorial stigma is determined based on the agreement with a statement 'I don't like telling where I live'. Statistical data about the structure of neighbourhoods is provided by Statistics Finland. The study is quantitative, and the main research methods include descriptive analysis, comparison of means and factor analysis. In addition, GIS methods are used to combine and visualise the data. The results show that territorial stigma is an existing phenomenon in the Helsinki capital region. There are mainly two types of stigmatised neighbourhoods: areas with either a very low or high socioeconomic profile. However, the stigma is not very strong since even in the most stigmatised neighbourhoods only a clear minority experiences it. On the individual level the stigma does not seem to be related to respondents' socioeconomic status but rather to their cultural orientation. The respondents who don't like telling where they live find challenges, success and personal development less important than the other respondents. Not all low and high-profile neighbourhoods are stigmatised, however. It seems that the stigma is a problem mainly in those neighbourhoods that have a significantly bad or an elite reputation. In the light of international research the stigmatisation of low-profile neighbourhoods is not a surprise. What makes the Helsinki region an interesting and special case is the stigma attached to living in elite neighbourhoods. The reason for this phenomenon might lie in the 'Finnish mentality' that stresses normality and modesty. This study focuses solely on the existence of the territorial stigma. Previous international research shows that living in a stigmatised neighbourhood may have a negative impact on many aspects of life including social relationships and employment. Therefore it would be important to study the consequences of the stigma and the possible ways to prevent them in the Helsinki capital region as well.

This thesis examines the concepts of accessibility in the process of urban planning. Conducted thesis emphasises the political aspect of the planning and is focused on the use of power. The objective of this thesis is to develop a new approach to accessibility debate. By examining the use of power, this thesis highlights the notion of accessibility as a process, its ongoing nature and the importance of local-historical context. The adapted conceptual framework consists of intertwined theoretical concepts which are related through their connection to the political aspect of urban planning and marginalization. The main perspective is the power analytics by Michel Foucault. Research questions, developed based on literature, are examined with the help of the project of Matkakeskustunneli in Tampere, Finland. Data obtained from this project consists of eight interviews of the key project actors during the beginning of the project of Matkakeskustunneli. Early stages are analyzed with narrative method. The results are presented as local stories on micro level and as research findings on macro level. According to the results, the planning concept of accessibility is dynamic and projects are custom-made. The key in accessibility research is to understand actual political and administrative behavior in each case because of the unique nature of the planning processes. The conducted brings forth that the accessibility should be understood as a part of process of urban planning and special attention should be paid to the local-historical planning context. The empirical results from the project of Matkakeskustunneli indicated that the forming the subject of accessibility requires more attention. This will expand the understanding of those (hidden) starting points which affect to the procedures and planning policies. Moreover, this study argues how the planning of accessibility should be understood as a two-part planning process where each actor has a different position and emphasis and the key points of planning of accessibility are formed in both actor arenas. Results of this thesis also demonstrates how power relations and the use of power affects to accessibility planning in a positive way allthought it requires favorable context.

The conventional understanding and model of development is based on economic growth. This dominant way of creating development has consequences to natural, cultural and social environments, which cannot be overlooked. The transformations within these environments are increasingly connected to the prevailing socio-economic model of neoliberalism, but are often not considered in its contextualization at a local scale. The processes of production of space and nature under the neoliberal doctrine have led to economic restructuration and to conformation of geographies of neoliberal environment, which together transform localities. There is an increasing need to investigate how the local inhabitants understand and experience these processes and their outcomes. In this research, place is introduced as an insight to observe these problematics. Place in this research is understood as a changing and dynamic terrain, which articulates experiences of development. This research is qualitative case study which investigates the consequences of production of space and nature in Curepto, Chile. Curepto is one of the localities where the implementation of a normative framework for economic growth has resulted in extensive areas of foreign tree species monoculture and important physical and socio-spatial transformations related to them. The primary aim of this research is to investigate the local inhabitants' accounts of these transformations. The thesis investigates how the locality has changed, but focuses on what these changes have meant for the local community and their sense of place. Physical, sociocultural and emotive dimensions of place as well as their transformations were investigated using qualitative methods, mainly semi-structured interviews. Residents were interviewed both in urban and rural districts. The findings of this research indicate that the forest industry and tree plantations have been important drivers behind the physical and socio-spatial transformations. The extensive plantations of pine and eucalyptus have changed the physical environment and these transformations are reflected in the social and cultural geography. Environmental degradation, changed circumstances of land property, loss of native forests and drought constitute transformations that affect livelihoods negatively especially in the rural districts, and come in parallel with a loss of local tradition and culture. The meaningful space the inhabitants experience diminishes and is made more one-sided, as access to the natural environment becomes more difficult and the interaction with it is lost. Although transformations within place are considered negative, the meaningful relation inhabitants have with place remains positive. Participants redetermine their practices and livelihoods, and re-articulate the relation with their surroundings in order to stay in their place. The local community lives in a space that is both familiar and foreign to them, loved and hated at the same time.

The term 'Third World women' has its connotations back in the history reflecting both the juxtaposition of developed and developing world, and the dichotomy based on sex. It is still a widely used concept in current everyday life. The women of developing countries are portrayed under one category as Third World women in news, journalism and textbooks. As a term Third World women is understood in context of certain geographical locations and stagnant representations of people. In core are also their victim roles in relation for example to religion, culture or men. The aim of this master's thesis is to examine representations of the Third World women in Finnish development journal. Temporal changes in representations are discovered by observing the forty-year long publishing history of Kehitys -journal (former Kehitysyhteistyö). The main premise of this thesis is the idea of social constructionism. In social constructionism actions and thoughts are seen creating the social reality and language used both reflecting and creating it. The thesis questions media's representational power to name, illustrate and portray women in developing countries. This is done by utilizing theories of feminism, postcolonialism and development studies. Caroline Moser's and Janet Momsen's listings about the policy approaches on Third World women can be held as the frame work of this thesis. They have categorized global trends in development discourses relating to women. By comparing these approaches, trends in feminist and development theories, with the Finnish development journals, linkages between context and place specific representations of the Third World were found. Even though Finnish trends in Third World women's representations were less varying, still universal relations were able to be discovered. By conducting critical discourse analysis and content analysis of the women related articles in Kehitysyhteistyö and Kehitys -journals during the publications period from 1969 to 2009, it was possible to find five different kinds of discourses: women in development discourse, welfare discourse, efficiency discourse, misery discourse and life story discourse. Within these discourses main changes were in the ways to write and position women. Changes occurred for example in the themes relating to women and in their subjective narration. During forty years, the representations of the Third World women have changed back and forth, but it seems that the current trend in development journalism in Finland is highlighting the subjectivity and expertise of women. Women's own interests and thoughts are getting more exposure and the representational top-down dictation is decreasing while giving the floor to personal depictions.

This study addresses the ways in which environmental challenges and power relations are manifested through tourism in the easternmost province of Panama, Darién. Historically, the area of Darién has remained relatively isolated from the rest of the country and tourism in the area is of small-scale. However, the high biodiversity and natural resources have drawn increasing attention, thus resulting in tensions and competing interests between different stakeholders. Local perceptions of tourism bring insight about how people make sense of and engage with touristic activities, and how geopolitical and ecological discourses contribute to environmental inequalities. The theoretical background draws from geopolitical ecology, which states the role and impact of the environment in the shaping of political space and power relations. The research is based on 37 thematic interviews and participant observation carried out during a one-month ethnographic fieldwork in Darién. The findings indicate that tourism has contributed to exposing the environmental challenges in Darién, but also caused controversy over the use of resources for tourism. Tourism brings forward power relations and demonstrates that different players are in an uneven position. The results show that tourism in Darién has been influenced by its remoteness and the nowadays largely misleading assumption of its unstable security situation. Darién faces a broad range of environmental problems, resulting mainly from the State´s weak presence and poor environmental policies. However, tourism has been locally able to enhance environmental awareness and interest towards conservation. Different tourism actors have unequal possibilities in making use of natural resources depending largely on their wealth and social networks. Further geopolitical interests appear through territorial issues and questions concerning land ownership. The findings indicate that by looking at tourism, many underlying tensions related to existing social inequalities, power relations and distribution of ecological benefits can be revealed.