Browsing by Subject "Fennoscandia"
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(2014)Urbanization is occurring at rapid rates worldwide. While the effects of urbanization are numerous, those on wildlife are of utmost concern in the continued fight for biodiversity conservation. Specifically, the focus on global pollinator declines is of interest due to the interconnectedness between pollinators and plant communities. It is feared that urban areas could become dead zones to these species, specifically bumblebees. Bumblebees are one of the native pollinators of Finland, and therefore were the focus of this study, which was conducted in Helsinki (southern Finland). This project's focus was on the influence of both local (i.e. flowering resources) and landscape (i.e. levels of urbanization) features on bumblebee communities. More specifically, I was interested in the effects of urbanization on bumblebee abundance and species richness. To study this question, community gardens (allotment gardens) were used as study sites along a gradient of urbanization from low to high (chosen by GIS mapping of the levels of impervious surfaces within 500 m of the sites). It is thought that these greenspaces could function as habitat for bumblebees in cities. This study was conducted during the summer of 2013 in 12 community gardens across the city of Helsinki. Two methods to survey bee populations were utilized, pan traps as well as sweep netting. Furthermore, a vegetation analysis was conducted to assess the level of resources present within the gardens, while GIS was used to measure a set of landscape variables in and around each garden. At the end of the season (June to September) the bees were identified and Generalized Linear Mixed Effects models were used to analyze the data. This study found that local variables more strongly predicted both bee abundance and species richness. Even though landscape variables were not strong predictors, this does not make them irrelevant in future conservation strategies. However, it is thought that as long as community gardens are planted appropriately (i.e. native flowers) the bees will be present in these gardens despite the surrounding matrix of inhospitable land (sealed surfaces). In conjunction with the investigation into the effects of local versus landscape determinants, this study also aimed to investigate the perception of gardeners towards bees. A questionnaire was utilized in order to gauge gardeners' opinions towards the bees in their plot and the garden as a whole. These results helped to evaluate the overall attitude towards bees, and in short, were very favorable. This extrapolates to a possibility of working in conjunction with gardeners to conserve habitat for pollinators in the continued effort for interconnected greenspaces in urban areas.
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(2024)As part of the European Green Deal, the European Union has set a goal to increase its domestic raw material extraction by 2030. The EU Critical Raw Materials Act lays out concrete goals for securing and strengthening EU’s domestic supply of critical raw materials. The Critical Raw Materials Act will potentially have significant impacts on land use in Europe’s mineral rich regions. These include northern Fennoscandia which is also home to the Indigenous Sámi inhabiting Sápmi. Extractive projects have multifaceted impacts on local communities and the environment, and mining-related conflicts are on the rise globally. The EU’s goal to increase mining domestically calls for the critical assessment of mining from the perspective of justice. The theoretical framework of this thesis comprises of environmental justice and extractivism. The geographical focus of this thesis is on mining in the northern parts of Fennoscandia – Norway, Sweden and Finland. My research question is: how do different stakeholders from Norway, Sweden and Finland view increasing mining in northern Fennoscandia from an environmental justice perspective? My method is critical discourse analysis consisting of three levels of analysing discourse: textual, interpretative, and critical. I combine perspectives of environmental justice to the study of discourse and apply an environmental justice framework consisting of procedural, recognition and epistemic justice. My data consists of stakeholder feedback submitted to the European Commission’s open online consultation on the Critical Raw Materials Act proposal. The aim is to understand how different stakeholders consider environmental justice aspects as part of increasing extractive activities in northern Fennoscandia. The analysis reveals that most stakeholders agree with the need to increase mining of critical raw materials, and the northernmost Fennoscandia is coined as an important location for mining critical raw materials. Regions emphasize the involvement of local communities and the positive contributions of mining locally. Sámi representatives underline Indigenous rights and strengthening Sámi participation in decision-making. Business actors emphasize the need to accelerate mining permitting processes and to reassess environmental legislation in the context of mining projects. Many stakeholders view technological solutions as a means to conduct mining sustainably, and business actors in particular call for a change of attitudes towards mining. A critical analysis reveals that in terms of environmental justice the discourse is rather limiting; local and traditional knowledge and livelihoods are not thoroughly addressed, and the environment is viewed mainly as a resource.
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