Paper short abstract:

This presentation concentrates on the environmental history of telecommunications infrastructure and its building in the Arctic, especially in the context of northernmost Finland and the traditional lands of the indigenous Sámi people.

Paper long abstract:

This presentation concentrates on the environmental history of telecommunications infrastructure and its building in the Arctic, especially in the context of northernmost Finland and the traditional lands of the indigenous Sámi people. The certain features of the Arctic, such as snow, ice, wind (in treeless areas), and ground frost have always affected telecommunication lines, but also the infrastructure has had impacts on the environment in which it is built. Although getting a telephone was generally a positive thing for local communities, the construction of a new kind of infrastructure always caused changes to the environment. Forests have been cut down to make way for telephone lines, and telecommunications towers have been built on high fells, which have changed the landscape. The construction of the infrastructure has changed the habitats of the animals (e.g. reindeer), but the animals have sometimes used the telecommunications infrastructure for their own purposes. Although the construction of the telephone infrastructure has affected the sensitive Arctic environment, telephones could also be used in work related to environmental protection. This presentation highlights examples of such cases in the context of the 20th century.

Paper short abstract:

The Bothnian Bay in the northern Baltic Sea is a sea area that is strongly affected by ice. The paper deals with seafaring and maritime infrastructure there in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, drawing attention to the risks in the northern conditions and how the risks were managed.

Paper long abstract:

The Baltic Sea is the only sea in the world, which may freeze through occasionally. Its gulfs freeze usually every winter. The Bothnian Bay, the most northernmost sub-basin of the Baltic, has a complete ice-cover even in the mildest winters. The significance of ice for the coastal towns has not been studied much. The topic is essential especially for the emerging field of ice humanities. In the coastal towns of the Bothnian Bay, the ice blockade set the rhythm for the life. Before the modern ice-breaking, the sailing season was short, extending from June to October or November. The rest of the year the Bay was surrounded by ice. It was a considerable hindrance for their economies and the mobility of people and goods. The seafarers tried to lengthen the season, though the risks were growing in the early summer and late autumn due to the floating drift-ice and coastal ice formation. The infrastructure of seafaring was developed vigorously with the intention to promote shipping and increase its safety in the northern conditions. This included marking routes, founding pilot stations and building sea marks. The paper deals with risky business of seafaring in the towns of the Finnish coast of the Bothnian Bay, and how the risks were managed by building maritime infrastructure during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The attention is drawn especially to the navigation close to the icy seasons. The topic is well covered in the archival materials left by the national and local pilot services.

Paper short abstract:

This study analyses the content and relative importance of arguments related to the environment made during the long-lasting debates over Arctic railways. It focuses on a project in northern Finland and Norway but makes comparisons with projects in different parts of the circumpolar North.

Paper long abstract:

Heated debates concerning railway projects have taken place in different parts of the Arctic during recent years. While railways are in general seen as an environmentally friendly mode of transport with low levels of carbon dioxide emissions, the direct and indirect negative environmental impacts have also received plenty of attention. Many of these projects have long histories and some arguments used today either on behalf of or against them can be identified from discussions that happened already decades ago. Yet, the arguments vis-à-vis the environment or nature and the overall attention paid to the environmental concerns seems to be much larger in contemporary debates. To understand the role of environment in the long-lasting debates over Arctic railways, this study focuses on the planned railway connecting northern Finland to the Arctic Ocean. While the possibility of constructing this kind of railway line has been debated for a century, discussions about potential cargo flow through the Northern Sea Route, international attention paid to oil and gas reserves in the Barents Sea, and expectations concerning the development of Finnish mining sector revitalized the planning at the end of the 2000s and the beginning of the 2010s. The findings made concerning this infrastructuring process that has not materialized are compared with other Arctic railway projects. Besides researching the content and relative importance of arguments related to the environment, this study analyses the actors referring to the environment and alignments that have brought for example arguments concerning environment and indigenous rights together.

Paper short abstract:

This paper argues that the concerns presented by scholars of collaborative governance relating to power and the role of business ought to be integrated into research on urban sustainability. It calls for both literatures to consider non-democratic contexts.

Paper long abstract:

The literature on urban sustainability and sustainable development tends to champion collaborative governance approaches. Business is treated as a core component of such partnerships, representing an opportunity for advancing sustainability rather than a cause for concern. In contrast, work on collaborative governance at large has noted the need to consider the way power asymmetries can distort the collaborative process, resulting in undesirable outcomes. Business, given its disproportionate financial resources, is likely to hold more power than local governments. As such, scholars of collaborative governance have increasingly called for more studies on business power. Both the sustainability and collaborative governance literatures, however, tend to neglect the way non-democratic contexts can affect collaborative governance approaches. This paper provides a conceptual contribution, arguing that the concerns presented by scholars of collaborative governance relating to power asymmetries and the role of business ought to be integrated into research on urban sustainability. It additionally calls for both literatures to consider non-democratic contexts.

An indicative empirical section examines urban sustainability failures in Norilsk, Russia, considered one of the “least sustainable” cities in the world (Laruelle 2020). Despite this unfortunate epithet, Norilsk has invested in a robust collaborative governance approach, working closely with multinational corporation Nornickel on sustainability projects. If such an approach were as universally effective as the literature claims, we would expect the city to have a much better record on sustainability than it does. This case study illustrates some of the potential flaws with an uncritical promotion of collaborative governance for urban sustainability.

Paper short abstract:

Arctic homes offer sanctuary from the harsh cold, relentless winds, and extended darkness. Comfort is paramount but is hindered by the high costs of necessary resources and technologies in remote, often disconnected, locations.

Paper long abstract:

Low temperatures, variation in solar conditions, and remoteness form a complex foundation from which Arctic communities and homes must be built and maintained. The Arctic presents unique challenges for designing homes that prioritize comfort, refuge, and resilience. The paper delves into the multifaceted impact of extreme winter weather on the design of residential structures in the Arctic, highlighting the role of architecture in providing safety for residents.

Cold temperatures persist at extreme and deadly levels during winter months, necessitating advanced insulation techniques, airtight building envelopes, and high-performance windows. The weather influences the layout and orientation of homes to maximize natural light, minimize wind exposure, and optimize snow management. During the summer months of midnight sun, the sun provides an over-abundance of light, but, in winter months, the little available daylight provides relief from a reliance on artificial lighting. The balance between daylighting and risk of thermal exchange is tenuous, influenced by qualitative aspects of delight and pleasure.

Arctic communities are often secluded or isolated from external transportation networks, thus limiting access to needed products and technologies. The paper explores building methods suited for Arctic environments, considering both traditional and innovative approaches. These methods are examined considering the journey required for materials to reach a site from manufacturers and the ability for homeowners to maintain their properties.

This paper analyzes the challenges and opportunities associated with Arctic home design. It underscores the need for innovative, adaptable, and sustainable solutions that withstand the cold and enhance the overall well-being of residents.

Paper short abstract:

Current socio-ecological transitions, moving from fossil-based to renewable energy sources have evoked new constellations of protest groups. This paper explores the emergence, and continuous efforts to stabilise heterogeneous networks of resistance to land-based wind power in Norway.

Paper long abstract:

Europe has seen a growing political will to invest in renewable energy, such as land-based wind power. In Norway this have evoked a series of conflicts over natural resources, land use and risk of environmental degradation. New movements and new alliances between various political fractions, environmental groups, NGOs and climate activists has been forged. They represent a plurality of perspectives and positions but share a common goal of opposing the current energy regime policies and established narratives and imaginaries. Through a series of concerted actions and campaigns they have successfully influenced on the energy transition pathways. Still they represents fragile constellations, with multiple diverging views and visions.

This paper explores the emergence, and continuous efforts, to stabilise and coordinate new protest alliances related to the development of a wind power installations in Norway. The paper is based on a series of qualitative interviews with representatives from NGOs, wind-power resistance groups, environmental movements and associations of indigenous people. It focus on a chain of protest events evolving around the development of land-based wind power in northern part of Norway, conflicting with indigenous arctic peoples needs for pasture land for reindeer herding. It explores how central actors in the protest movement worked to establish framework and common agendas, and how the “eventful protests” worked as catalysts to gain attention and opportunities refocus narratives and frames. It contributes to the wider discussion of how protest groups and constellations can contribute to disruptive breaks and changes in energy transitions pathways.

Paper short abstract:

Climate change, water quality and biodiversity are pressing concerns of today and the current restoration measures aim to correct the historical excesses. We ask whether there is any fundamental difference between the past and present management practices, since both base on engineering solutions.

Paper long abstract:

Climate change, water quality and biodiversity are pressing concerns of today. The urgency of needed corrective actions forces us to think what nature management is as a contemporary practice. The current active restoration and conservation tools aim to correct the historical management measures with detrimental environmental impact. Nevertheless, we ask whether there is any fundamental difference between the past and present environmental engineering practices?

This paper is based on the ‘Co-planning of land use sector climate change mitigation in the Kiiminkijoki river catchment’ project. We examine histories and futures of peatlands management through the Hetekylä village case, along a tributary of Kiiminkijoki river, where heavy environmental management begun in 1850s including for example drying of nearby lakes for fodder production, clearing of riverbeds for timber floating and draining of peatlands for industrial forestry and energy peat production. Today, the area is targeted for peatland restoration efforts with several constructed wetland projects, and riverbed and rapids restoration sites to improve the condition of Kiiminkijoki river. Ultimate local dream is that valued but currently extinct Baltic Salmon will be reintroduced in the river.

We discuss the advantages and shortcomings of active intervention, human agency and human benefits emphasizing management ideologies. We argue that currently popular technofix-methods of environmental restoration do not solve the root causes of environmental degradation but might instead deceive us to ignore the needed transformational change of the whole society and end up in terraforming the whole earth.