The Norwegian Nature Index – state and trends of biodiversity in Norway

The aim of the Norwegian Nature Index (NI) is to provide an overview of the state of biodiversity within and across major ecosystems. The index is composed of a series of indicators, each representing individual species or diversity measures. The indicators are standardized and scaled in relation to a reference state, and combined for ecosystems or geographical regions, to give a number between 1 (reference state) and 0 (seriously degraded biodiversity). In 2010, the state of biodiversity was highest in mountains, ocean, coastal waters, and freshwater (NI=0.69–0.80), intermediate for mires and wetlands (NI=0.55), and lowest for open lowlands and forests (NI=0.43–0.44). The NI increased 8–10% in freshwater and the ocean (bottom and pelagic) from 1990–2010, but decreased by>10% in open lowlands during the same period. Since its launch in September 2010, the Nature Index has been approved by the Ministry of Finance as an indicator for biodiversity in the set of sustainable development indicators and approved by the Ministry of Environment as an indicator of the state of major ecosystems.     

Public opinions on biological diversity in Norway: Politics,science, or culture?

Loss of biological diversity is among the most pressing environmental problems facing modern societies. Whereas today much is known about peoples' opinions on climate change, there is still a lack of knowledge regarding how people asses the issue of biological diversity. The article represents a step towards a better understanding of public opinions on the issue of biodiversity, and hence also of the prerequisites and possibilities for a more or less vigorous or legitimate policy on this issue. The analyses show that social background matters for concern about biodiversity, but only to a certain extent: women are less negative towards biodiversity protection than men, the older segments of the population, at least in Norway, are less concerned with biodiversity, and education has only a marginal effect. Hence, to a large extent, political attitudes matter and indicate that concern for biodiversity seems to work by various types of available heuristics whereby a given case is linked to political understandings of other and similar and/or familiar issues. The inclusion of other political variables (local decision-making) and what the authors label ‘cultural variables’ (e.g. view of nature and trust in science) seem also to matter decisively for attitudes towards biodiversity.     

Can Distrust Enhance Public Engagement? Insights From a National Survey on Energy Issues in Canada

Research examining the relationship between trust, public engagement, and natural resource management asserts that trust fosters positive behavior and enhanced cooperation. Yet some scholars are finding that certain kinds of distrust are helpful in achieving democratic outcomes by providing would-be participants with the motivation to engage in issues of public concern. This article seeks to clarify this apparent disjuncture in the trust literature by examining the multidimensional nature of trust as it relates to public engagement on energy-related issues in Canada. Based on a national online survey (n?=?3000) we use a binary probit model to explore the connections between trust, knowledge, and public engagement. About 70% of respondents had participated in at least one form of public engagement over the last 3 years. Drawing on a two-dimensional conception of trust, we find that general trust on its own is not positively linked to public engagement. A combination of general trust and skepticism, however, is positively associated with public engagement and confirms our hypothesis that at least some concern regarding credibility, bias, and vested interest can motivate public engagement. In this sense, trust is not uniformly good for public engagement. These results signal a need to further refine our assumptions about the relationship between public trust, public engagement and environmental governance.     

Microfirms in peripheral areas: How can evolutionary economic geography contribute in studies of diversification? A case study from Norway

The article discusses whether and how the emerging approach of evolutionary economic geography is fruitful when researching diversification among microfirms in peripheral regions. The author argues that such microfirms represent a source of heterogeneity that potentially could enrich our understanding of economic evolution. The sources of variation and mechanisms of selection operating among diversifying farmers in Norway are examined and diversifying farms are identified as both microfirms and households. The findings indicate that motivation at household level is the key to successful diversification. Further, the findings confirm that microfirms are not only able to influence their own destiny, but also institutional progress at regional level. The author concludes that the role of microfirms as actors and the possibility for the study of the agency of such actors are the major reasons why evolutionary economic geography is a fruitful approach in researching microfirms in peripheral areas.     

Beyond “Guggenheiming”: From flagship buildings to flagship space in Sweden

Flagship buildings are promoted as a good strategy to stimulate economic development. Pushed by a range of actors, “best practice” examples are being copied from place to place around the globe. Flagship buildings are accompanied by a discourse of place branding that stresses a need for cities to improve their attractiveness. Drawing on this discourse and ongoing discussions on deterritorialization and reterritorialization in urban and economic geography, the author argues that there is an overly deterritorialized approach to flagship buildings in the place-branding literature. Using a conceptual framework inspired by the reterritorialization debate, she introduces the concept of “flagship space,” emphasizing a dualism in place branding encompassing both deterritorialized and territorial processes that in interplay create best-practice examples. The empirical analysis examines the development of five flagship hotels in Sweden. The author concludes that the five hotels have both created and are constantly reproducing their statuses as flagship developments. However, the creation and reproduction of status is not only upheld by the operators of the hotels but is also a joint effort of actors in the local community. Through these processes and practices the understanding of the hotels is broadened from merely being flagship buildings to creators of flagship space.     

From Exploration to Systematic Investigation: Development of Geocryology in 19th- and Early—20th-Century Russia

Permafrost occupies 25% of the terrestrial surface of the Northern Hemisphere, but approximately 70% of Russia. Thus, it is not surprising that Russian researchers pioneered its scientific investigation. The first written accounts of perennially frozen ground in Russia appeared in the 17th century during a time of exploration and settlement of remote areas of Siberia. Nineteenth century investigations emphasized mapping, measuring, and describing permafrost and its thermal regime, primarily for reasons of scientific interest. About the turn of the 20th century, construction of the Trans-Siberian Railroad and other issues related to the large migration of people to Siberia instigated a trend toward more applied investigations. In his 1927 book on permafrost research, Sumgin subdivided the history of Russian permafrost studies into three periods, designated the initial accumulation of facts, the academic period, and the utilitarian period. Although these periods are not separated by precise temporal bounds, it remains a useful scheme for presenting this overview of the history of Russian permafrost studies emphasizing the 19th and early 20th centuries. Developments in geothermal observations, permafrost modeling and mapping, ground-ice investigations, and the organization of observational networks remain important research topics because of their relationships to climate change in the Arctic.     

Nordic innovation models: Why is Norway different?

ABSTRACT

The study objective is to assess why official statistics give the impression that Norway has low levels of innovation compared to other Nordic countries. The author examines innovation practices in Denmark and Norway to demonstrate that this is not the case. The results reveal that official statistics are misleading and that Norway has a high level of innovation but spends relatively less on scientific research. A further finding is that in Finland and Sweden innovation is heavily based on science and technology, whereas Denmark and Norway are clearly more pragmatic and base their innovation more on a ‘doing, using, and interacting’ (DUI) post-science, technology, and innovation (STI) approach. Additionally, in Denmark systems are led by small and medium-sized enterprises, whereas in Norway they are led by large enterprises. The author discusses the explanations for such differences in national and regional ‘innovation systems’ among countries that appear to outsiders to have a lot in common. He concludes that, by contrast, the ‘insiders’ are aware that they are quite distinctive societies that are evolving notably divergent developmental pathways. A key and probably controversial conclusion is that in the contemporary post-specialisation and post-cluster era the DUI systems have advantages over the STI-led ones.     

From agriculture to nature – a study of drivers of land use change in a peri-urban landscape

In this article, we investigate drivers behind land use changes in a peri-urban landscape. The research focuses on the motives and factors behind landowners’ decision-making in relation to land use changes, with the objective of improving our knowledge of the dynamics of land use change processes on farmland. An actor-centred conceptual framework is developed on the basis of the concept of lenses of decision-making. Data on farm and farmer characteristics were collected through a survey conducted in Roskilde Municipality, Denmark, a peri-urban landscape with a high level of landscape dynamics. A logistic regression analysis was used to analyse the relationship between nine purposively selected farm and farmer characteristics and the landscape activities of 93 landowners in the municipality. The results indicate that small farms, farms without livestock and landowners with a basic level of education are less likely to engage in landscape activities. A cluster analysis was used to analyse patterns of motives associated with land use changes. The results correspond with the intrinsic interests and family considerations suggested in the lenses of the decision-making framework, and in addition shows that the desire to improve the qualities of the property was the dominant motive.     

From quiet to bold encroachment: contesting dispossession in Accra’s informal sector

This article draws on Asef Bayat’s theory of “quiet encroachment” to analyse the political agency of street hawkers and squatters in Accra, Ghana. It demonstrates how squatters and street hawkers in Ghana’s capital city are engaged in everyday practices of quiet encroachment, whereby they occupy urban space as a means to reproduce themselves. It then explores how encroachers take collective action to defend their access to urban space from state-led dispossession. In a context of competitive partisan politics where the management of urban space has become highly politicized, hawkers and squatters organizations have been empowered to seek active engagement and dialogue with the authorities. Whereas Bayat argues that the informal proletariat in authoritarian contexts desire autonomy and invisibility from the institutions of the state, therefore, the particular characteristics of Ghana’s multiparty system have created the possibility for bold acts of encroachment on urban space.     

From Lightning Rod to Community Asset? The Creation of a Protected Area in Northern California and its Evolving Relationship to a Nearby Community

Researchers have described shifting relationships between communities and Protected Areas (PAs), from excluding communities to consultative relationships to participatory models. This research focuses on a PA created on formerly industrial timberland that was the focus of conflict between environmental activists and the timber industry. In a nearby formerly timber-dependent community, we assessed community use and support of the PA, and its perceived purposes and benefits, through a survey of residents and interviews with key stakeholders. Despite intense conflict surrounding its creation, we found support for the PA, and our case suggests a new possible relationship between PAs and communities, which is mitigating and helping to resolve natural resource conflict. We also found that community well-being benefits of the PA were unclear; we suggest that PA management should include cultural, economic, and historical context in objectives and interpretive materials; and should work to create economic opportunities connected to the PA.     

Ingress in Geography: Portals to Academic Success?

Niantic Labs has developed an augmented virtual reality mobile app game called Ingress in which agents must seek out and control locations for their designated factions. The app uses the Google Maps interface along with GPS to enhance a geocaching-like experience with elements of other classical games such as capture-the-flag. This study aims to assess the effect Ingress can have on introductory to physical geography students. These goals include: whether the students can acquire greater geographical interest through Ingress, garner a sense of community, and whether students exhibit improved exam scores in the classroom.     

Elite discourses of regional identity in a new regionalism development scheme: The case of the ‘Mountain Region’ in Norway

Norway's regional structure is under debate as questions about territorial boundaries, scale, scope of tasks and responsibilities, and decision-making structures have become an issue in Norwegian politics. This tendency of changing the scale of public action with regard to governmental structures, economic politics, welfare, and civic society has been termed ‘new regionalism’. New regionalism often comes under criticism of being too neo-liberalistic or too economically orientated, leaving in its wake debates of democratic accountability and the neglect of ‘soft factors’ (i.e. socio-culture, identity, consciousness, and participation). In this article the authors investigate whether new democratic or semi-democratic regional organisations as advocated by new regionalist schemes require identification amongst the local population in order to be successful and enduring governmental structures. Further, it is shown how too simplistic understandings of the social processes, and their inherent power aspects, involved in the implementation of the new regionalist development scheme ‘Mountain Region’ distort the undertaking. The authors find that a more complex relational and contextual understanding is in demand, one in which regionalisation is not only recognised as a process which diffuses across time-space, but also takes an asymmetrical place across society's social fabric, and one where ‘soft factors’ such as ‘regional identity’ are not sidestepped.     

Pathways to sustainable landscape management: peer recognition as an indicator of effective ‘soft’ actions

New Zealand is a food producer and exporter that combines neoliberal policy with performance-based environmental management, using ‘soft’ governance and actions where possible. Voluntary environmental farm awards are analysed to identify the landscape management activities recognised as best practice by peers at a farm level. Results highlight the importance of whole farm system management. However, the efficacy of reliance upon voluntary mechanisms is coming under increasingly critical scrutiny, as environmental conditions in intensive agricultural landscapes continue to decline. The research question this poses is whether whole farm plans can be practically and formally connected in three concurrent ways – to supply chain management, and to statutory planning frameworks and environmental regulations and to local landscape co-management – while still maintaining flexibility of action for the farmer.     

Innovation networks and green restructuring: Which path development can EU Framework Programmes stimulate in Norway?

ABSTRACT

With combined insights from evolutionary economic geography and transition studies, the article examines the engagement of different regions in Norway in the innovation networks created within the European Union’s environmental programmes. The aim is to explore the programmes’ potential for supporting green economy and economic restructuring through branching and new path creation. The authors assess which regions participate in the programmes, which international networks they build, and which organisations participate in different regions. They compare three regions with different restructuring needs and research capacity – the counties of Rogaland, Hordaland, and Sør-Trøndelag (now part of the county of Trøndelag). They find that overall, Norwegian organisations participate relatively frequently in the programmes, but private firms play a marginal role. Their partners are mainly in core EU regions. Regional participation in the programmes is a function of research capacity as well as oil dependence. The authors conclude that in research-oriented regions, research establishments tend to dominate participation, creating potential for restructuring mainly through path creation. In oil-dependent regions, private firms account for a higher share of participants, enhancing the potential for branching. As the former regions participate more, the programme can mainly stimulate path creation.     

From highly polluted inland city of China to “Lanzhou Blue”: The air-pollution characteristics

Air quality was improved considerably and the so-called "Lanzhou Blue" appeared frequently in Lanzhou due to implementation of some strict emission-control measures in recent years. To better understand whether the concentration of each air pollutant had decreased significantly and then give some suggestions as to urban air-quality improvement in the near future, the variations of the Air Quality Index (AQI) and six criterion air pollutants (PM_2.5, PM₁₀, CO, SO₂, NO₂, and O₃) at five state-controlled monitoring sites of Lanzhou were studied from 2013 to 2016. The AQI, PM_2.5, PM₁₀, and SO₂ gradually decreased from 2013 to 2016, while CO and NO₂ concentrations had slightly increasing trends, especially in urban areas, due to the large number of motor vehicles, which had an annual growth rate of 30.87%. The variations of the air pollutants in the no-domestic-heating season were more significant than those in the domestic-heating season. The increase of ozone concentration for the domestic-heating season at a background station was the most significant among the five monitoring sites. The vehicle-exhaust and ozone pollution was increasingly severe with the rapid increase in the number of motor vehicles. The particulate-matter pollution became slight in the formerly highly polluted Lanzhou City. Some synergetic measures in urban and rural areas of Lanzhou should be taken by the local government in the near future to control fine particulate-matter (PM_2.5) and ozone pollution.     

Conserving Biodiversity in Farm Animals: Do Farmer and Public Biodiversity Knowledge and Awareness Matter?

Increases in biodiversity losses are a growing concern globally. In farm animals, related concerns about losses in genetic diversity have potentially increased with the emergence of breeding technologies that allow for faster genetic change in herds. Farmer and public acceptance of specific breeding practices can be influenced by a number of factors, including concerns about biodiversity and knowledge of biodiversity. The link between these factors and acceptance of new genetic technologies, if it exists, may help explain concerns about genetic technologies. This article examines the effect of attitudes and knowledge about biodiversity on the acceptance of genomic selection in livestock production using farmer and public survey data from Canada. Our results suggest that the link between biodiversity concerns and the acceptance of genomic selection is more robust for the public than for farmers. We also find that biodiversity knowledge and attitudes have opposite effects on acceptance of genomic selection.     

Scientific documentation of crop land changes in the Sahel: A half empty box of knowledge to support policy?

The Sahel has been subject of considerable environmental research and development efforts, specifically since the droughts of the 1970s and 1980s. This article uses a meta-study approach to summarize knowledge of crop land change, the documented driving forces, and the perceived impacts. The analysis of case studies shows that crop land has increased in the majority of cases mainly due to population increase. However, despite population increase, crop land has been stable in some areas, particularly where land availability is a limiting factor or where farmers are able to intensify their farmers from expanding their plots or because households have diversified their activities. The study shows the huge gap in the scientific literature concerning actual measurements of crop land change in the Sahel, which is in contrast to the attention given to crop land changes in theoretical and policy discourses. On the basis of the poor documentation available on crop land change and the contrasting results observed, we point out the need to exercise caution with regard to simple narratives about crop land change.