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- Convenors:
-
Katriina Siivonen
(University of Turku)
Ullrich Kockel (University of the Highlands and Islands)
Kirsi Laurén (University of Eastern Finland)
Riina Haanpää (University of Turku)
Send message to Convenors
- Chairs:
-
Riina Haanpää
(University of Turku)
Kirsi Laurén (University of Eastern Finland)
- Discussants:
-
Katriina Siivonen
(University of Turku)
Pauliina Latvala-Harvilahti (University of Turku)
Catherine McCullagh (Heriot-Watt University)
Mairéad Nic Craith (University of the Highlands and Islands)
- Formats:
- Panel
- Stream:
- Environment
- Sessions:
- Monday 21 June, -
Time zone: Europe/Helsinki
Short Abstract:
Traditions associated with natural environments add understanding to human-nature relationships. In the current ecological crisis, we need to think more seriously than ever about what kind of interactions of people and nature may be sustainable. What is the changing role of heritage in this process?
Long Abstract:
Traditions associated with features of nature such as forests, mires, mountains, lakes, and maritime environments, extend beyond history and memory. They are aspects of cultural heritage adding understanding to our relationships with nature and changes taking place in it. The human-nature relationship is affected by changes in society. However, because of ecological crisis, we need to think more seriously than ever about what kind of interactions of people and nature may be sustainable. In this cultural-ecological context natural areas have become physical and symbolic sites not only for travel, recreation, and documentation, but also for active intervention conveying political messages and artistic dialogue.
Our aim is to look analytically at the relationships of human and non-human components of place and to seek out possibilities for more sustainable human agency. How has the human-nature relationship changed in the current ecological crisis? What kinds of new acting in nature have emerged in the 21st century? Are there alternative rules in engaging with natural areas and understanding the communal value of nature? Can art or media influence the values and attitudes associated with nature? What is the role of heritage work and museums in the ecological crisis?
We invite papers that address and problematize the ways that culture, and cultural heritage, are involved with nature. Empirical examples may include, e.g., environmental/political art, video performances, oral narratives, community events, sports, carnivals, visual images, or media texts. In the roundtable we concentrate on the combination of human-nature relationships, sustainable human agency and changing cultural heritage.
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Monday 21 June, 2021, -Paper short abstract:
Rural entrepreneurs utilize the natural, cultural and historical elements of the area in their business activities. What is the role of nature-based entrepreneurs in maintaining and transmitting the traditions and values associated with locality, living heritage and human-nature relationship?
Paper long abstract:
Rural entrepreneurs utilize the natural, cultural and historical elements of the area in their business activities. They also may have an important role in local cultural heritage processes. This paper focuses especially on the activities of nature-based entrepreneurs from the point of view of future-sustainable environment. The aim of the paper is to emphasize the role of nature-based entrepreneurs in maintaining and transmitting the traditions and values associated with locality, living heritage and human-nature relationship.
I examine the phenomenon in the light of few nature-based entrepreneurs in Merikarvia (a small rural municipality on the west coast of Finland). The research data bases mainly on in-depth interviews with the entrepreneurs.
All the entrepreneurs interviewed run small businesses, and the small-scale character of the entrepreneurs is a factor that can as such contribute to the sustainable development. First, I will pay attention to the driving factors for starting as a nature-based entrepreneur and to the entrepreneurs’ values and attitudes associated with nature and sustainable development. Secondly, I will examine how the features of the nature (e.g. river, rapids, springs, maritime environment, forests, rocks, fields or animals) and the local stories associated to these features are utilized in practice. Furthermore, I will shortly examine how the climate change has effected the entrepreneurs’ agency especially during winter seasons and what kinds of new acting in nature have emerged in recent years.
The paper is related to my post doctoral research that examines cultural heritage entrepreneurship in promoting vitality, sustainable development and local identity.
Paper short abstract:
The presentation seeks ways from the Skolt Sami cultural heritage to a sustainable relationship with nature. The importance of rules and regulation emerges. The presentation considers how cultural traditions and administrative practices should be transformed to support sustainability.
Paper long abstract:
The industrial-economic model has made it possible to exploit natural resources quite freely. In Inari municipality northern Finland, such activities have often been seen as part of large-scale activities and the environmental threats they pose. Less attention has been paid to the challenges of environmental sustainability in traditional and other nature-related activities of local people. In Lapland's marketing, the natural environment is defined as, for example, “Wild North”. This definition has aroused criticism among locals because it includes a dimension of unregulated freedom in order to lure visitors. However, the trend towards freedom in relation to nature has also been largely embraced by local people. Biological studies have attempted to define conditions for sustainability. However, in the context of socio-cultural research, there has been less attempts to define sustainable practices, i.e. what environmental sustainability means, for example, in traditional nature-linked livelihoods. This presentation highlights factors that have made it difficult to define sustainable practices. The presentation seeks new ways to maintain a sustainable relationship with nature by examining old and contemporary features of Skolt Sami cultural heritage. The central role of rules and regulation in the use of natural resources emerges. The cultural tradition does not support unrestricted freedom in the relationship with nature. The tightening of fishing rules in Upper Lapland in 2016 to protect fish stocks, in turn, highlighted how the emphasis of local people differed from the views of officials. The presentation considers how cultural traditions and administrative practices should be transformed to support sustainability.
Paper short abstract:
This paper examines how the water shortage in the World Heritage of Southern Öland was portrayed in local news media in 2016 when historically low groundwater levels were measured in the area. What accounts of new relations to nature can be found in the media coverage about the acute water shortage?
Paper long abstract:
In 2000, the Agricultural landscape of southern Öland – an island in southeastern Sweden – became a World Heritage site in the category of cultural landscapes. The category represents various expressions of successful interactions between humankind and its natural environment. The interaction that is emphasized in the case of Öland, is the adaptation of the way of lives to the physical constraints of the island. Consequently, it is the enduring and ongoing human activities in the area that have contributed to the unique environment that is protected through the World Heritage, and that contains values that are associated to both nature and culture. In 2016, however, historically low groundwater levels were measured in the area after several warm and dry autumns and winters. This led to an acute water shortage. When the drought became apparent, water was transported to the island in tankers and a water pipeline from the mainland was put in place to meet the immediate shortage. The lack of water affects the conditions for agriculture in the area and thus, the conditions for preserving the values of the World Heritage. This paper examines how the acute water shortage in 2016 were portrayed in local news media. It focuses on the relations to the natural areas within the World Heritage that are depicted in the media narratives. What kind of new relations to nature have the water shortage crisis contributed to? How does it affect the ways of looking at heritage and imagining the future?
Paper short abstract:
Although the ecological, socio-cultural and economic environment changes drastically, small-scale farmer communities’ relationship with wild animals is still significantly determined by traditional values and beliefs, current drivers have only a negligible impact on the attitude of local farmers.
Paper long abstract:
Direct and indirect drivers, like ecological, social, cultural, economic and political changes influence extensive land-use systems and the structure of the European cultural landscapes and so the local flora and fauna. These changes have an impact on resource-management practices, on local communities, and shape traditional ecological knowledge as well. Our aim is to reveal different layers and sources of traditional ecological knowledge of vertebrates in a farmer community in the Eastern Carpathians, Romania.
We conducted 92 semi-structured and structured interviews with 52 participants between 2010-2019 about the biology of vertebrates. The aim of the interviews was to study the dynamic character and different sources and layers of the traditional ecological knowledge.
More than 100 vertebrate folk taxa are known. A diversity of negative and positive economic and cultural prejudices influences the relationships to the different folk taxa (e.g. transcendent-based aversion from certain species, as common toad). These attitudes are determined by traditional ecological knowledge stems from different local and outer sources. Although education has been present at least since the beginning of the 20th century, and national media sources have been available and popular from the ‘90s, these channels have only insignificant impact on local ecological knowledge. The paper enlightens nature of the typical narratives are surround the preferred and non-preferred species. These stories show that local community’s relationship with and patterns of behaviour to wild animals is still significantly determined by traditional values and beliefs, current drivers have only a negligible impact on the attitude of local farmers.
Paper short abstract:
Our study presents the results of testing and singing with echo at Lammasjärvi rock art site. Sound analysis shows how the cliff responds to every note and literally sings with the performer. This may point to similar use of sound at rock art sites as is known at Sámi sacred sites.
Paper long abstract:
We have studied soundscape at over 100 rock painting sites in Finland and an exceptionally good echo appears to characterize the majority of these sites. One of the fascinating features of the soundscape is the reverberation or echoing created by singing in front of the painted cliff. Often it is exactly the richness and accuracy of singing that distinguishes the rock art cliff from many other cliffs nearby.
We present here the results of our fieldwork at the Lammasjärvi rock painting site in Raasepori as a case study. We have measured the acoustics of the site by impulse response measurements and tested their practical impact by singing with the echo of the cliff. Both measurements and the experience by the ear confirm that the echo responds directly from the painted cliff. We have also produced graphical sound analysis plots that show how the cliff responds to the singing by reflecting or reproducing accurately every tone and overtone - the cliff is literally singing the song with the singer. The experience of this can indeed feel magical on a quiet lake, even when the laws of physics are known for the listener.
Rock art sites in Finland resemble in many ways old Sámi sacred sieidi sites. We know from the historical accounts that echo has been an important feature in choosing a sieidi and that singing has been central part of ceremonies. An exceptionally good echo and reverberation of
singing suggest similar acoustic ceremonies at rock art sites as well.
Paper short abstract:
The focus of this paper is in the conscious cultural transformation, regarded as necessary to tackle the current, global ecological crisis. As a solution is suggested Heritage Futures, which needs to include experience of both culturalizated, cultivated and un-cultivated nature.
Paper long abstract:
Ecological crisis, in a complex connection to global interconnectedness and mobility of people and information and in connection to radical new technology, is a megatrend (Kiiski Kataja 2016) which indicates the great global change of the living environment of people everywhere on the Earth. In this paper, culture is seen as an interactive part of nature (e.g. Siivonen 2018; Willamo et al. 2017). Anticipatory communication and actions of human beings are not separate from the communication of other species or inorganic nature; rather, they are tightly intertwined (Deely 1994, 6, 24, 41 and passim; Poli 2017, 2–3, 5). The focus of this paper is in the conscious cultural transformation, regarded as necessary to tackle the ecological crisis. The aim of this paper is to develop a new conceptual model of Heritage Futures, which combines 1) transformative power of culture defined as a dynamic, interactive process, 2) anticipatory understanding, and 3) cultural heritage as a tool to engage people in an inspiring, affectual, cognitive and practical way. The new model of Heritage Futures is an intentional, anticipatory, cultural tool to co-create alternative images for sustainable futures and accordingly actions in culture and society. In order to help us to better understand the human-nature interface and to form practical solutions towards a more sustainable Globe, Heritage Futures needs to include experience of both culturalizated, cultivated and un-cultivated nature (Boudes 2011; Simmel 1988). As examples are used Human-Sea and Human-Forest relationships.