Ongoing projects:
Chile - Finland Network on Socioenvironmental Studies for Forested Territories
Funding: CONICYT (Comisión Nacional de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica)
Project start: 2018
Status: Funded
Description: An academic collaboration network between CCR and NIES Centre (Chile) focused on the approach and discussion on socio-environmental conflicts and policies in the forest sector. The network seeks to strengthen scientific exchanges between both Centres linked by the specific experience in the forest policies, specially focused in specific programmes of the forest companies and communities. We explore research topics related to the following themes: - Forms and characteristics of socio-environmental conflict in forest environments. - Governance of corporate community relations in the form of policies and strategies developed by forestry companies for their insertion and establishment of links with the community. - Effects and consequences of this kind of actions in local territories.
Contact: For more information contact Dr Maria Ehrnström-Fuentes at maria.ehrnstrom@hanken.fi
SUSMINO - Sustainability challenges of mining in the Nordic countries: the business, politics and society
Funding: Ekon. dr Peter Wallenbergs Stiftelse för Ekonomi och Teknik
Project started: 2017
Status: Application process
Participants: The project is a cooperation between Centre for Corporate Responsibility (CCR) at Hanken, Finland; Centre for Sami Studies at UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Norway and the Department of Urban and Rural Development, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden
About the project: Sweden and Finland are currently experiencing a renewed mining boom in their northern territories. Many local communities in these areas are economically and culturally dependent on reindeer herding and other land-based livelihoods. While mining operations may boost rural economies, they may also have an adverse impact on the environment and regional livelihoods. This creates a risk of social and political conflicts, which can question the sustainability of mining, affect the companies’ performance and reputation negatively, and produce cross-border political instability. There have been various research projects on the complex social, cultural and political drivers, contexts and impacts of mining in the Nordic countries. By organizing three research workshops in 2018-19, the SUSMINO project seeks to build a synthesis on the research findings of previous projects to identify the key sustainability challenges and ways to tackle them in Nordic mining. The project promotes networking between Nordic scholars in social sciences, humanities and business studies as well as with business practitioners and stakeholders. One of the workshops is dedicated for connecting Nordic junior researchers with broader international research networks and key stakeholders of Nordic mining, facilitating interdisciplinary and cross-border collaboration in doctoral supervision, and identifying further research opportunities especially for junior researchers.
Contact: For more information contact consortia leader Dr. Ville-Pekka Sorsa at ville-pekka.sorsa@hanken.fi