Funded Projects 2014-2020

Project BusK

Project Acronym	BusK
Project Title	Building Shared Knowledge capital to support natural resource governance in the Northern periphery
Project Website	http://www.buskproject.eu

Summary

This project develops planning tools that enhance the use of participatory techniques, and gives assistance for decision makers concerning land use planning and natural resource governance. Concretely, the development of participatory tools such as participatory GIS (PPGIS) is needed. Until now, these tools have been developed for urban areas and utilized successfully. However, the challenges of the use of the tools in rural areas are the following how to reach various stakeholders in sparsely populated areas, and how to make especially socio-cultural as well as indigenous and local knowledge spatially explicit. In addition, the challenge is how to apply information technology dependent participatory methods for remote regions. The project will work with stakeholders in such livelihoods as herding, tourism, recreation, forestry, agriculture, mining and energy production. The focus is in local, as well as in indigenous, residents’ knowledge.

Objectives

The project objectives are to combine and disseminate of the best practice knowledge, and increase local acceptance and participation mechanisms in different nature-based industries, and, amalgamate indigenous and local knowledge into land use planning.

Impacts

Tangible

Reduced environmental impact:	Including indigenous and local knowledge into municipal planning in Greenland has increased the municipality´s preparedness for future local and tourism development. In Iceland, public participation in natural resource management is expected in the long term to reduce the environmental impact of tourism. All BuSK workshops with stakeholders in Iceland included discussion on the importance of increasing responsibility within tourism sector and reducing environmental impact.

Reduced environmental impact:

Including indigenous and local knowledge into municipal planning in Greenland has increased the municipality´s preparedness for future local and tourism development. In Iceland, public participation in natural resource management is expected in the long term to reduce the environmental impact of tourism. All BuSK workshops with stakeholders in Iceland included discussion on the importance of increasing responsibility within tourism sector and reducing environmental impact.

Intangible

Improving social cohesion:	In Sweden, a reindeer herding community provided knowledge about the reindeer movement and their routes. These were used for planning of the North Bothnia train line and contributed to building highway ecoducts. Through the citizens’ survey, Kittilä municipality measured residents´ acceptance of the mining industry. The results revealed areas of potential conflicts and highlighted the citizens´ perspective regarding future large-scale industrial plans.
Building institutional capacity:	BuSK developed guidelines and a factsheet for municipalities on how to include indigenous local knowledge, participatory planning processes/tools in land use planning and sustainable economies. For Greenland, the involvement of indigenous and local people into discussions about the newly established UNESCO site enabled the settlement to strategically plan and interact with tourism development. The Traffic Agency in Sweden initiated a programme to train its staff to increase their awareness of reindeer herding.

Improving social cohesion:

In Sweden, a reindeer herding community provided knowledge about the reindeer movement and their routes. These were used for planning of the North Bothnia train line and contributed to building highway ecoducts.

Through the citizens’ survey, Kittilä municipality measured residents´ acceptance of the mining industry. The results revealed areas of potential conflicts and highlighted the citizens´ perspective regarding future large-scale industrial plans.

Building institutional capacity:

BuSK developed guidelines and a factsheet for municipalities on how to include indigenous local knowledge, participatory planning processes/tools in land use planning and sustainable economies. For Greenland, the involvement of indigenous and local people into discussions about the newly established UNESCO site enabled the settlement to strategically plan and interact with tourism development.

The Traffic Agency in Sweden initiated a programme to train its staff to increase their awareness of reindeer herding.

Lead Partner

Natural Resources Institute
Finland
Seija Tuulentie
phone +358 50 391 4438
e-mail: seija.tuulentie@luke.fi

Project Info

Theme
Natural resources (forestry, hunting, mining), raw materials

Priority
4 Natural and Cultural Heritage

Objective
4 Increased capacity for sustainable environmental management

Project duration
31-05-16 to 30-05-19

Total budget
1 903 536 EUR

NPA co-financing
1 193 797 EUR

Target groups
local public authority
regional public authority
higher education and research
infrastructure and (public) service provider
interest groups including NGOs

Joint Secretariat Desk Officer
Christopher Parker