| 1. |
- Sandin, Per, et al.
(författare)
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Technology Neutrality in European Regulation of GMOs
- 2022
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Ingår i: Ethics, Policy & Environment. - : Informa UK Limited. - 2155-0085 .- 2155-0093. ; 1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objections to the current EU regulatory system on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in terms of high cost and lack of consistency, speed and scientific underpinning have prompted proposals for a more technology-neutral system. We sketch the conceptual background of the notion of ‘technology neutrality’ and propose a refined definition of the term. The proposed definition implies that technology neutrality of a regulatory system is a gradual and multidimensional feature. We use the definition to analyze two regulatory reform proposals: One proposal from the Netherlands for improving the exemption mechanism for GMOs under Directive 2001/18/EC, and one from the Norwegian Biotechnology Advisory Board, outlining a new stratified risk assessment procedure. While both proposals offer some degree of improved technology neutrality in some dimensions compared to current EU regulation, in some extents and dimensions, they do not. We conclude that proposals for more technology-neutral regulation of GMOs need, first, to make explicit to what extent and in what dimensions the proposal improves neutrality and, second, to present arguments supporting that these specific improvements constitute desirable policy change against the background of objections to current policy.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Lindahl, Karin Beland, et al.
(författare)
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The Swedish forestry model : more of everything?
- 2017
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Ingår i: Forest Policy and Economics. - : Elsevier. - 1389-9341 .- 1872-7050. ; 77, s. 44-55
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- "The Swedish forestry model" refers to the forest regime that evolved following the 1993 revision of the Swedish Forestry Act. It is key to Swedish forest politics and used to capture the essence of a sustainable way of managing forests. However, the ideas, institutions and practices comprising the model have not been comprehensively analyzed previously. Addressing this knowledge gap, we use frame analysis and a Pathways approach to investigate the underlying governance model, focusing on the way policy problems are addressed, goals, implementation procedures, outcomes and the resulting pathways to sustainability. We suggest that the institutionally embedded response to pressing sustainability challenges and increasing demands is expansion, inclusion and integration: more of everything. The more-of-everything pathway is influenced by ideas of ecological modernization and the optimistic view that existing resources can be increased. Our findings suggest that in effect it prioritizes the economic dimension of sustainability. While broadening out policy formulation it closes down the range of alternative outputs, a shortcoming that hampers its capacity to respond to current sustainability challenges. Consequently, there is a need for a broad public debate regarding not only the role of forests in future society, but also the operationalization of sustainable development.
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| 4. |
- Johansson, Karl-Erik
(författare)
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Barriers and bridges for introducing agroforestry and community-based forestry among food insecure households in eastern Africa
- 2015
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of introducing agroforestry and community-based forestry is to secure and improve livelihoods, maintain and restore ecosystem services, and contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation. However, the adoption and scaling up of these systems among food insecure communities have proved to be difficult. To better understand why, I identified barriers and bridges at different adoption stages and levels of governance. These were analysed using policy narratives and the sustainable livelihood approach in the light of sustainable development, sustainability and resilience of landscapes. The first stage was the negotiation process between the Swedish NGO Vi-Skogen and the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida) about funding. Three explanatory approaches were used: organizational, power and context. Vi-Skogen and Sida were caught in policy incompatibility dilemmas that slowed down the NGO policy process, and delayed critical changes that could have improved project outcomes. The second was Vi-Skogen’s agroforestry project in Tanzania’s Mara Region. A random sample of 21 households was drawn from each of 89 project villages. The proportion of households with surviving agroforestry trees varied from 10-90 % among villages. Field training and visits to farmers with good practices were important for households to start planting trees. Local collaboration, perceived ownership of trees and benefits of trees for crop production were additional factors important for households’ decision to continue with agroforestry practices. The third was eleven community-based forest producer and user groups (CBFGs) in eastern and southern Africa. Development of many groups had stagnated and few had managed to develop large scale value-added production. I identified eight barriers and four bridges that influenced the scaling up process of agroforestry and community based forestry among food insecure households. All resulted from interactions among social, political, and economic structures and processes at multiple levels of governance. It is concluded that these interactions influenced the scaling up process and the development of sustainable subsistence systems among food insecure households. Collaborative knowledge production and learning is an approach through which the social capital and organisational capacity of the food insecure households can grow, enabling them to constructively address these multidimensional interactions to work in their favour. The use of this approach, i.e. a landscape approach, holds the opportunity through which subsistence systems can be transformed from causing degradation to promote sustainable development and livelihoods.
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| 5. |
- Sandström, Annica, et al.
(författare)
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Disputed policy change: the role of external events, policy learning and negotiated agreements in coastal and marine conservation planning.
- 2018
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Ingår i: Paper presented at the 2018 conference of the European Consortium for Political Research.
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- What are the driving forces behind and obstacles to policy change in disputed policy processes? The general purpose of this paper is to explore and explain policy change – a major and debated issue in contemporary policy research – in the context of Swedish coastal and marine conservation planning. The paper draws on the advocacy coalition framework that accentuates the critical role of coalitions for the outcome of policy processes and identifies three primarily drivers to policy change: triggering key events, policy learning and negotiations via brokerage. Three national park planning processes, with divergent results, are mapped and analysed over 30 years time through a document- and interview study. What combination of factors in relation to policy coalitions – triggering events, policy learning and negotiated agreements – can explain divergent outcomes in the studied national park planning processes? The empirical analysis identified all three factors as important for the turnout. Triggering events, in combination with either negotiated agreements or policy learning, were the main pathways to change and our findings suggest that the type of policy beliefs around which the competing coalitions are formed influenced the specific route taken The results of the study contribute with knowledge on disputed policy change and give rise to new intriguing questions; they provide an empirical illustration of political conflicts and their solutions in nature conservation, and generate insights critical to the implementation of international and national conservation policy in multi-level governance systems.
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| 6. |
- Beland Lindahl, Karin, et al.
(författare)
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Future forests: Perceptions and strategies of key actors
- 2012
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0282-7581 .- 1651-1891. ; 27, s. 154-163
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Abstract This paper investigates how key actors perceive the future of the forest sector: how they position themselves in relation to climate, energy and demography related trends. Actors’ perceptions of future challenges and opportunities influence their choice of strategy and action. Actors’ relative capacity to realise their visions, in turn, shape future forest use. Frame analysis is used to explore selected actor’s perceptions and strategies and the existence of major divisions, i.e. frame conflicts. Empirically, the study is based on the case of Sweden as a typical boreal forest producing region. Actors’ perceptions of the challenges facing the forest sector diverge widely. Yet, most actors see the future of the forest sector as linked to broader issues of climate mitigation and energy transition. These issues trigger fundamental discussions about social change and the role of forests in future society. A major division separates actors who perceive biomass supply as unlimited, or at least not constraining, and those who stress scarcity and re-distribution of resources. This difference, or frame conflict, is reflected in actors’ forest related strategies and may fuel future forest debates and conflicts
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| 7. |
- Morf, Andrea, 1968
(författare)
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Integrative & Sustainable Management of Marine Resources: Institutional Development in Sweden : A cross-level analysis of the fit between the social and the ecological system
- 2009
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Ingår i: EU-project HERMES (Hotspot Ecosystem Research on the Margins of European Sas) Final conference, Hotel Tivoli Almansor, Carvoeiro, Portugal, 2.-6. March 2009.
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This part of the HERMIONE-project analyses how Sweden deals with challenges of integrative marine- and coastal management by discussing selected initiatives with innovative traits and their potentials and problems. International initiatives calling for integrative and participatory management – such as the application of the ecosystem approach based on the Convention of Biodiversity and the European Union’s Marine Directive and ICZM-recommendations – put pressure also on Sweden to go beyond traditional sector-based and top down resource management. Building integrative management of coastal and marine resources into a centralist and sector-based system of governance as in Sweden presents numerous challenges. Integrative approaches used so far have been municipal spatial planning, the ongoing implementation of watershed management based on the EU Water Framework Directive, and a number of resource-specific initiatives on local or regional level. Especially challenging is the management of offshore areas, where so far no cross-sector instruments are existing. The issue is how to build a management system connecting sectors and levels in an optimal way. A proposal of how to reorganise and complement the existing institutional system has been presented by the Inquiry Commission on the Marine Environment. This project shall analyse both the existing and coming system and selected ongoing processes, where local management of marine resources has been linked with higher-level systems of governance in an innovative way.The case studies will include stakeholder analysis, conflict analysis and how the present management system deals with them (policies and management instruments and the effects). Special attention will be directed towards stakeholder participation in marine management and an integrative management perspective including integration between sectors, levels, and across different types of knowledge (interdisciplinary scientifc and transdisciplinary including everyday knowledge). There will be an archipelago/coast case in the Koster-Hvaler- area within the territorial waters, where marine national parks are planned on both sides of the Swedish/Norwegian border and an offshore case in the Bratten area (EEZ), if Swedish marine planning comes under way during the time of HERMIONE. Of special interest is the development of a collaboration between fishermen, authorities and scientists in the Koster-Väderöarea and what has been achieved through this process and what potential there is to translate such an approach to other areas, not the least with a perspective on how to protect and enhance the habitat of coldwater corals. This fits well together with natural scientific research in NE Skagerrak, where several large complexes of cold-water coral ecosystems have recently been found in coastal deep-water channels (Koster-Väderö-trench system in SE and farther north in the Hvaler area in NO) and in canyon systems in the open Skagerrak (among other Bratten-area). This is a long distance from the closest known cold water coral ecosystems on the Atlantic Margin. Methods to be used include literature review, document analysis, direct observation, interviews and some further, more participatory research techniques.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Klapwijk, Maartje, et al.
(författare)
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Capturing complexity : Forests, decision-making and climate change mitigation action
- 2018
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Ingår i: Global Environmental Change. - : Elsevier. - 0959-3780 .- 1872-9495. ; 52, s. 238-247
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Managed forests can play an important role in climate change mitigation due to their capacity to sequester carbon. However, it has proven difficult to harness their full potential for climate change mitigation. Managed forests are often referred to as socio-ecological systems as the human dimension is an integral part of the system. When attempting to change systems that are influenced by factors such as collective knowledge, social organization, understanding of the situation and values represented in society, initial intentions often shift due to the complexity of political, social and scientific interactions. Currently, the scientific literature is dispersed over the different factors related to the socio-ecological system. To examine the level of dispersion and to obtain a holistic view, we review climate change mitigation in the context of Swedish forest research. We introduce a heuristic framework to understand decision-making connected to climate change mitigation. We apply our framework to two themes which span different dimensions in the socio-ecological system: carbon accounting and bioenergy. A key finding in the literature was the perception that current uncertainties regarding the reliability of different methods of carbon accounting inhibits international agreement on the use of forests for climate change mitigation. This feeds into a strategic obstacle affecting the willingness of individual countries to implement forest-related carbon emission reduction policies. Decisions on the utilization of forests for bioenergy are impeded by a lack of knowledge regarding the resultant biophysical and social consequences. This interacts negatively with the development of institutional incentives regarding the production of bioenergy using forest products. Normative disagreement about acceptable forest use further affects these scientific discussions and therefore is an over-arching influence on decision-making. With our framework, we capture this complexity and make obstacles to decision-making more transparent to enable their more effective resolution. We have identified the main research areas concerned with the use of managed forest in climate change mitigation and the obstacles that are connected to decision making.
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| 10. |
- Morf, Andrea, 1968, et al.
(författare)
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The Road Towards Koster Sea National Park - Potentials and Challenges of Implementing Ecosystem Based and Participatory Maritime Management
- 2011
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This report provides results from a comprehensive analysis of the process leading towards Koster Sea national park, Sweden’s first marine national park. International pressure for participatory and ecosystem based management of marine resources is increasing (e.g. Convention of Biodiversity or EU’s Integrated Maritime Policy, Marine Strategy Directive, and ICZM-recommendations). Introducing integrative, participatory management of marine resources to a centralist, sector-based system of governance as in Sweden presents challenges. Various management experiments are under way. An interesting one combines protection and sustainable use in Sweden’s most valuable marine cold-water habitats: Koster Sea national park was inaugurated 2009 in parallel to the Norwegian park Ytre Hvaler and covers a large part of the archipelago and territorial waters in the municipalities of Tanum and Strömstad. The park makes an example for innovative marine management. The road towards it has been long and curvy. In the wake of proposals and protests, a process of community development with an integrative sustainability perspective has developed through an intensive dialogue between authorities and local stakeholders. After 30 years of recurring clashes locals and authorities agree that ecological and cultural values can be protected and used at the same time – under the condition that these uses are designed to be long-term sustainable, and evaluated and developed further in collaboration. Top-down management has met bottom-up initiative. Conservation is no more seen as a dead end by the users but as providing potential for rural development with sustainable tourism. The park’s goals include conservation, education, and sustainable use. Locals are not merely tolerated but an important part in the park's co-management structure – the steering committee Koster Sea Delegation and its working groups. Many participants are interested in analysing this process, which they call the ”Koster Sea Dialogue” in order to learn from it. The participation-process has been documented by the project “The Road Towards Koster Sea National Park”, financed by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency. The study focused on the process, its drivers, the institutional framework, participation, stakeholders’ roles and networks, and conflict management. Methods include semi-structured interviews, observation and document analysis. An important process characteristic has been the long-term, active involvement of those living and working in the area. Local perspectives and knowledge have reached authorities to a larger extent than usual, making solutions adapted to local circumstances. Another characteristic is a linking of fisheries and local socio-economic development with conservation. The use of a rural development perspective, an evolving collaboration over years and active individuals at many levels have been important too. Researchers at the local marine research station have been important knowledge bearers and defenders of conservation but also translators and mediators in clashes between conservation and use. Other, more “usual” factors have been political interest, time, and resources. However, delegating the responsibility for a participation process to locals and letting it develop ad-hoc has its challenges. In rural areas it is important to proceed with care. Here, individuals are a main driving force – on leisure time. It cannot be expected from all to have the skills and resources for process leadership. People depend on each other and may be reluctant to confront neighbors. Conflicts easily become destructive if escalated. Locally based, ad-hoc process management allows for adaptation to local needs but is less transparent for outsiders. Continuous collaboration over years builds trust among those involved. On the flip side, an insider-elite with access to knowledge but little time to work with outreach may unintentionally be excluding others. Even if delegated to local forces, such processes require authorities’ back up with financial and other resources. The planning is concluded; implementation has just begun. Assessing the process from an adaptive co-management and ecosystem approach perspective – using criteria such as integration along various dimensions, adaptation and learning, participation, and a sustainable development perspective integrating ecological limits with socio-economic needs – the process and its institutional arrangements score relatively high. Some things need to be developed further: • A larger scale marine planning perspective including uses and environment in the surroundings. • The management system with working groups and the roles of the Delegation. • An more structured communication and participation planning and readiness for conflict management. • Monitoring effects in all three dimensions of sustainable development: ecological, social, economic. • Developing structures for organizational learning.
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