Cultural Factors of Environmental Disputes in Lapland studies the cultural meanings of Lapland’s nature and its use. The focus is on the shared meanings and practices of local people and natural resource management. Social and cultural sustainability, as well as conflict management, are the basic concepts and themes permeating this academic dissertation, which is based on several case studies. The geographical focus of study is in the home district of the Saami people in Upper Lapland, but is not strictly limited to this area.
The thesis consists of seven separate articles published in domestic and foreign scientific publications. The theoretical framework for the articles is anchored in the management of natural resources and environmental disputes, as well as the theories of shared cultural meanings. The data was gathered through surveys and interviews – thus the materials and methods of analysis are quantitative and qualitative. The research belongs to the field of socio-scientific environmental research.
The main findings of the study stress that environmental disputes and their management in Lapland are characterised by the diversity of stakeholders that often do not share the same views. The roles and motivations of the stakeholders in environmental conflict situations are often unclear or problematic, and often no shared understanding of the nature, causes and possible consequences of the dispute can be reached. For governmental natural resource management, there has been a lack of institutional structures and processes which are culturally sensitive and socially sustainable. However, new and better practices have been introduced in recent years.
In Lapland, the importance and appreciation of traditional livelihoods such as reindeer herding and subsistence-use of natural resources are emphasised. However, the cultural meanings of these land-use patterns are not adequately recognised. This thesis argues that more cultural sensitive approaches are needed in resource and environmental conflict management. In Upper Lapland, which has undergone rapid cultural transformation, the past is strongly present and explains the valuations and meanings of local people’s use of nature. Nature conservation is, in particular, an important form of land use in upper Lapland. Successful and sustainable conservation should use transparent and culturally novel approaches to achieve the approval and support of the local population. In the future, nature conservation projects will be in favour of exploiting cultural information related to nature and its use, together with ecological knowledge, so that projects receive positive reception.