
Irmeli MustalahtiUniversity of Eastern Finland | UEF · Department of Geographical and Historical Studies
Irmeli Mustalahti
PhD
Research on collaborative and responsive natural resources governance, action research, co-creation of knowledge
About
87
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Introduction
The aim of my research group is to analyse natural resources policy and governance interventions that can lead to expected and unexpected impacts in the society as well as to study distribution of benefits, risks and opportunities of natural resources governance interventions. Our research group contributes to policy-relevant research, empirical knowledge and theoretical debates on responsive and collaborative natural resources governance and current transformation towards biosociety.
Additional affiliations
September 2017 - August 2019
September 2017 - August 2022
September 2017 - August 2022
Publications
Publications (87)
In the extensive literature scholars have demonstrated that the goals of power transfer in the decentralization of natural resources governance have not been fully achieved. Powerful actors have maintained their positions of domination, while the interventions have transferred tasks and duties to communities and local decision makers without adequa...
Community forestry has been suggested as a viable alternative to balance the needs of people and forest sustainability. Drawing upon analytical frameworks of environmental justice, we explore how community forestry has reshaped the plural values of forest and the collective capacities of communities. Based on an ethnographic study in a community in...
Actors across multiple levels, such as the private sector, national and subnational government institutions, and local communities, are expected to have the capacity to adapt to climate impacts and risks. This study analyzes how collaborative governance has been developed and carried out by multiple actors in everyday life to adapt to peatland fire...
The forest-based bioeconomy plays an important role in the transition towards a bio-based economy, also offering solutions for mitigating global climate change. Tanzania has seen a swift expansion of commercial tree growing, especially in the Southern Highlands, since the early 2000s. The increasing demand for timber has attracted both resident inh...
As climate change becomes an increasing concern in European countries, the bioeconomy could challenge previous conceptualizations about how states, citizens and corporations interact in everyday practices of natural resources governance. The conceptual understanding of responsive governance of the forest-based bioeconomy is an example of this chall...
Natural resource governance and mitigation of environmental problems require cross-administrative and cross-sectoral collaboration. However, such collaboration is often hampered by the conflicting interests and values of actors and their incompatible claims to natural resources and land. Based on our research
findings, we proposed the following th...
Globally, forest-based bioeconomy is expected to create alternative raw material and products to oil based products. Small-scale tree growers have become increasingly important producers of timber and other forest products. Small-scale plantation forestry has been accounting for an increasing share of the national timber supply since the beginning...
Forest-based communities are embedded in complex and uncertain global processes. We aim to understand the repercussions of uncertainty on forest-based livelihoods through a focus on implications in terms of access to resources for inhabitants of forest concessions.
Uncertainty is conceptualized as unpredictability (not knowing), limited
knowledge...
Politiikkasuositus 2023: Globaalisti vastuullista, paikallisesti vuorovaikutteista.
Demokratian puolustaminen on nykyisessä monikriisisessä ja kroonisen epävarmuuden sävyttämässä maailmantilassa entistäkin tärkeämpää. Ympäristöhallinnan eri tasoilla ja tavoilla tulisi varmistaa, että kansalaisilla on mahdollisuus oikeudenmukaiseen ja merkitykselli...
RNRG-research group Policy Brief 2023.
The current global context is characterized by poly-crises and chronic uncertainty; thus, it is crucial to protect and promote democratic practices and values. We consider responsive and collaborative governance a mean to support these values through the fair and meaningful involvement of various actors in de...
We analyse how the concept and practices of village forestry evolved in Laos through various donor driven forestry interventions since the early 1990s. We start our analyses with the Forest Management and Conservation Programme (FOMACOP) and conclude with village forestry interventions undertaken in the REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation...
Enviromental Collaboration and Conflict Resolution:
An intensive international course for Master’s students, PhD students and practitioners,
8-12 August 2022, University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu, Finland.
The deadline for applications is 1st May 2022: https://apply.summerschool.uef.fi/.
The Glasgow Climate Change Conference (COP26) emphasizes e.g. 1) the urgency of protecting nature, including forests, water landscapes and marine ecosystems and 2) the rights of local communities and indigenous people concerning the knowledge of and living in harmony with nature. In line with COP26 outcomes, we call for collaborative approaches and...
Warsha kuhusu “Usimamizi wa Moto Katika Misitu ya Kupandwa Nyanda za Juu Kusini mwa Tanzania” ilifanyika mnamo tarehe 19 & 20 Aprili 2021 katika Kituo cha Mafunzo ya Viwanda vya Mazao ya Misitu na Mbao, Iringa, Tanzania. Warsha hii iliwakutanisha wadau mbalimbali kama vile wakulima wa miti ya kupandwa waishio mijini na vijijini, wafanyabiashara wa...
With 20% of the world’s forests, Russia has global potential in bioeconomy development, biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation. However, unsustainable forest management based on ‘wood mining’ reduces this potential. Based on document analysis, participant observations and interviews, this article shows how non-state actors—environm...
ALL-YOUTH – Kaikki nuoret haluavat määrätä elämästään on monitieteinen hanke, joka tutkii 16–25-vuotiaiden nuorten yhteiskunnallisen osallistumisen kykyjä ja esteitä sekä nuorten käsityksiä kestävästä kehityksestä ja hyvinvoinnista. Tässä esityksessä pohdimme nuorten ympäristökansalaisuutta. Moni nuori tuntee omaavansa aineksia ympäristökansalaisin...
This compilation of articles and policy briefs constitutes part of the Responsive Natural Resources Governance Research Group’s international collaboration at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies of the University of Eastern Finland. The articles have been published in Responsibilization in Natural Resources Governance, a special iss...
Nuoret metsänomistajat ovat pieni, mutta sukupolvensa edustajina kokoaan tärkeämpi metsänomistajien osajoukko. Tässä tutkimuksessa perusjoukkona oli Pohjois-Karjalassa ja Pohjois-Savossa asuvat 16–30-vuotiaat, vuosina 1987–2002 syntyneet, metsänomistajat. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli täydentää tutkimustietoa ja tunnistaa nuorten metsänomistajien om...
Apelo a uma melhor colaboração dos actores na governançã de recursos naturais: A pandemia de coronavírus COVID-19 e mudanças climáticas agravaram as condições de incerteza, desinformação e desconfiança, o que pode levar a conflitos e gestão insustentável dos recursos naturais. Apelamos pela governança colaborativa e o desenvolvimento de plataformas...
The international course on Environmental Collaboration and Conflict Resolution, hosted by the University of Eastern Finland in August 2020, brought together more than 40 participants from over 15 countries all around the globe. The aim of the online course was to further our understanding of environmental conflicts and explore the possibilities of...
The diversity of governance instruments for natural resources provides a rich analytical field for scholars of public action and policy. Existing research contributions on natural resources governance suggest that governance interventions, coupled with the diversity of contexts in which they occur, are associated with many different social and ecol...
This interactive session discusses the importance of human relations and capabilities as often neglected factors in development cooperation. The session draws on two different scientific studies. First of them looks at decentralization of natural resources governance in Mexico, Nepal and Tanzania by group of researchers led by the University of Eas...
Conceptual framework of the current research of Irmeli Mustalahti and her research group at the University of Eastern Finland.
Analysoimme artikkelissa laadulliseen haastatteluaineistoon pohjautuen muslimitaustaisten nuorten naisten työelämäkokemuksia Suomessa. Kysymme, millaisiin suomalaiseen yhteiskuntaan kuulumisen oletuksiin ja normeihin he ovat törmänneet etsiessään paikkaansa työelämässä. Näkökulmamme nousee sosiaalisten ja kulttuuristen käytäntöjen määrittämästä ele...
Though there is an increasing trend of natural resources governed by local communities, disadvantaged groups who are highly dependent on natural resources are still far behind in terms of being involved in the natural resource governance. When the wider public is included in decision-making in natural resources governance, the ways in which people...
The NOVA courses 2016-2019 address natural resource conflicts that are topical for the course participants. The case studies provide a real-world context and tools to develop participants’ practical skills. The themes include natural resource conflicts in the fields of forestry, nature conservation, mining and land-use conflicts in general. The cou...
This paper maps the policy actors and their networks in the European Union's Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan and the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) process in the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR). It analyzes power relations in the FLEGT VPA process, as well as actors' preferences in relation to a n...
The objectives of Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation, forest conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of carbon stocks (REDD+) can be achieved if communities are actively involved in and benefit from forest resource management. The study examined factors affecting justice in REDD+ benefit sharing in c...
The first part of this chapter discusses some national bioeconomy strategies and country highlights in relation to forests. The second part turns to reviewing and discussing some of the most recent social scientific research focusing on the forest-bioeconomy in Europe.
The term bioeconomy has been generated as a new discourse in the environmental policy arena. This paper raises three questions: (i) are environmental concerns integrated in the political discourses of bioeconomy and, if so, to what extent?, (ii) in which way is the environment framed in the political discourses of bioeconomy?, and (iii) are environ...
Suomen Akatemian blogi-kirjoitus: http://www.aka.fi/fi/akatemia/media/blogi2/2017/vuorovaikutteista-luonnonvarahallintaa-etsimassa/
REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) aims to achieve its purpose by working across multiple sectors and involving multi-level actors in reducing deforestation and forest degradation in tropical countries. By contrast, the European Union (EU) Action Plan on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) and its...
REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) aims to achieve its purpose by working across multiple sectors and involving multi-level actors in reducing deforestation and forest degradation in tropical countries. By contrast, the European Union (EU) Action Plan on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) and its...
The European forest-based bioeconomy is affected by a huge number of policy instruments. Different policies affect distinct stages of the forest-based value chain (and its respective sub-sectors) in different ways. Diversification processes, as part of a cross-sectoral bioeconomy, increase this complexity. (i) Several policies address trade-offs be...
The aim of this paper is highlight how Mexican-Finnish forestry cooperation (1982–1994) supported major shifts in Mexican national forest policy, by identifying the policy changes and relating these to the strategy taken by the cooperation program. We based our analyses in two proposals: four pathways of influence as well as context-specific impact...
Euroopan Unionin tasolla on käyty poliittista keskustelua biotaloudesta aina 2000-luvun alusta alkaen. Jo vuonna 2002 julkaistiin biotekniikkastrategia (Euroopan komissio 2002) ja pian termi ”biotekniikka” nousi keskiöön strategisessa keskustelussa (Euroopan komissio 2004). Erilaisia keskustelutilaisuuksia, useita konferensseja ja seminaareja valja...
Suomen Akatemian blogi-kirjoitus 26.10.2016 http://www.aka.fi/fi/akatemia/media/blogi2/2016/irmeli-mustalahti-unelma-uudesta-talousajattelusta/
The aim of this study was to determine the changes in forest carbon in three village forests in Tanzania during 2009-2012 using participatory forest carbon assessment, and to evaluate the capability of the local communities to undertake the assessment, and the costs involved. The results show that forest degradation is caused not only by disturbanc...
Luonnonvarojen hallinnassa ollaan siirtymässä yhä haastavampaan vaiheeseen niin Suomessa kuin muuallakin. Ilmastonmuutoksen entistä suurempi todennäköisyys ja sen aiheuttamien muutosten syvyys ja laaja-alaisuus tulevat vaikuttamaan koko suomalaiseen yhteiskuntaan. Ilmastonmuutos ja siirtyminen biotalouteen vaativat luonnonvarapolitiikan ja -hallinn...
Sustainable development (SD) is highlighted in different national strategies as the overarching goal of the shift towards bioeconomy. It promises to address major societal and economic challenges and at the same time to create a more favourable environment. The bioeconomy in itself however cannot be considered as self-evidently sustainable as visio...
Bioeconomy has been identified as a new (meta-)discourse (Pülzl et al., 2014) fueled by different political organizations and at different political levels highlighting sustainable development (SD) as a major goal. Addressing major societal and economic challenges and at the same time create a more favorable environment is promised in different bio...
Deforestation and forest degradation are among the leading causes of global environmental
change. Together emissions from deforestation and degradation account for nearly 20% of
global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, more than the entire global transportation sector and
second only to the energy sector (IPCC 2014). Reducing Emissions from Deforesta...
The aim of this study was to determine the changes in forest carbon via participatory forest carbon assessment (PFCA) from 2009 to 2012. We also set out to evaluate the capability and costs of the local communities to undertake the PFCA. The results and observations from the PFCA show that forest degradation is not only due to human disturbances ca...
Equity is frequently cited as one of the key design aspects of environmental governance regimes. In the context of Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+), a forest-based climate change mitigation instrument, the manner in which ‘equity’ is understood will be of critical importance for the impacts and acceptance of REDD...
This study was guided by the Empowered Deliberative Democracy (EDD) discourse. We analyzed how the Tanzanian Community Carbon Enterprise (CCE) model could reinforce the representation of disadvantaged groups in Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+). The findings from Tanzanian suggest unmet conditions with disadvantag...
Nordic Conference on Forest Policy Science. Ängavallen, Southern Sweden, November 2014. Task: Member of Scientific Committee; presentation of a research paper.
The concept of equity is increasingly salient in the design of funding mechanisms and multilevel governance regimes for environmental conservation. In the context of Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+), a climate change mitigation instrument based on payments for the maintenance and enhancement of carbon stocks of tr...
Nordic Development Studies Conference. Espoo, Finland, November 2013. Organised by Finnish Society for Development Research. Poster based working group leader’s (Irmeli Mustalahti’s) research Project.
The scope of the reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) mechanism has broadened REDD+ to accommodate different country interests such as natural forests, protected areas, as well as forests under communitybased management. In Tanzania the REDD+ mechanism is still under development and pilot projects are at an early stag...
This study was guided by the Empowered Deliberative Democracy (EDD) discourse. We analyzed how the Tanzanian Community Carbon Enterprise (CCE) model could reinforce the representation of disadvantaged groups in Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+). The findings from Tanzanian suggest unmet conditions with disadvantag...
Climate change is a major global challenge that elicits diverse and often conflicting views from researchers, policy-makers and civil society activists. Accordingly, the theme of climate change has increasingly entered the domain of development research, policy and practice, thus challenging our conceptualisation of sustainability and sustainable d...
The scope of the reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) mechanism has broadened REDD+ to accommodate different country interests such as natural forests, protected areas, as well as forests under community-based management. In Tanzania the REDD+ mechanism is still under development and pilot projects are at an early sta...
Research initiatives and practical experiences have demonstrated that forest-related data collected by local communities can play an essential role in the development of national REDD+ programs and its' measurement, reporting, verification (MRV) systems. In Tanzania, the national REDD+ Strategy aims to reward local communities participating in fore...
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This article deals with participatory forest management (PFM) in Tanzania, Mozambique, and Laos, focusing on the degree to which the legislation supports local communities' security of rights to the forest resources and access to resource benefits, as well as the degree to which the legislation is implemented. The findings are that local communitie...
This paper introduces case study analysis against an illustrative model, the ‘house model’, which contains a number of key
elements for sustaining participatory forest management (PFM). In theory, the elements in the model are basic requirements
for ensuring that the participation of local people in forest management will continue after external do...
AbstrAct The paper introduces an illustrative model, the 'house model', which contains a number of key elements for con-structing and sustaining people's participation in forest management. The model is used as a tool for analysing four donor supported forestry projects in Tanzania, Mozambique, Laos and Vietnam. The study shows that the two core el...
The paper analyses the development towards Sector-Wide Approaches (SWAps) in the forestry sector in Tanzania, Mozambique and Vietnam. The main research question is: does the sector-wide approach promote effective delivery of aid? There are two critical factors in effective implementation of SWAps in the forestry sector: (a) efficiency in financial...
This book contributes to the research and debates on the nexus of environment and development in the field of development studies by focusing on the social dynamics and outcomes of state and/or donor-led initiatives and on “local” efforts to manage the natural resources at stake. Although the authors draw on diverse methodological and conceptual ba...
Although participatory forest management (PFM) has attracted increasingly positive attention and its importance is clearly accepted among practitioners, pilot projects are experiencing difficulties expanding from externally funded donor schemes. Case studies in Tanzania and Mozambique show that the forest is important for local people and they unde...
The secret of good forestry project design seems to be finding the balance between forestry production issues, environmental issues and issues concerning society and livelihood. Finland has placed a high, though decreasing, priority on the forestry sector within its international development program. But what has been learned through the interventi...
Reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries (REDD) is an emerging international climate policy instrument that comes with considerable challenges and opportunities for forest management across the developing world. While REDD holds tremendous potential for rural, forest-dependent populations, its implementati...
Questions
Question (1)
If you are reseacher working in Mozambique, please, join to Facebook group "Academics for Peace in Mozambique". And invite more people, institutions and organisations to the group.
We would kindly request you to sign this peace petition (link above):
Junte-se a nós no grupo do facebook "Academics for Peace in Mozambique" e chame mais pessoas, instituições e organizações para o grupo.