Eija Pouta

The expansion of wind power plays a crucial role in the European Union’s decarbonization strategy. However, the social acceptance of wind power projects, particularly among landowners and non-landowners, remains a significant concern. Drawing from behavioural insights of the social acceptance literature, this study examines the beliefs, attitudes, and behavioural intentions of these groups towards wind power. We focus on the national context of Finland, where wind energy development has accelerated in recent years. Utilizing survey data from 2,103 respondents, including forest owners and non-forest owners, the study employs Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) and regression models to explore how beliefs shape attitudes, policy support and forest owners’ behavioural intentions. The acceptance measures indicate that non-forest owners held more favourable attitudes of wind power, associating it with environmental benefits and economic opportunities, while forest owners expressed greater concerns about landscape changes, land ownership, and economic impacts. SEM model reveals that attitudes toward wind power were strongly influenced by beliefs about energy production and local impacts, which, in turn, shaped policy support. Additionally, forest owners’ willingness to lease land for wind turbines was associated with higher income level, owned land area size, and positive wind power attitudes, though compensation expectations varied significantly. These findings highlight the need for tailored landscape-orientated policies that address explicitly landowners’ concerns while fostering broader societal support for wind power. Enhancing procedural and distributive justice, improving compensation mechanisms, and integrating participatory planning processes could help accommodate resistance and facilitate a just energy transition.

The concept of multi-local living is a current and growing phenomenon in Nordic countries and elsewhere. However, the changes that multi-local causes in the temporal recreational activity of areas have remained unknown because official population statistics are not capable of detecting the temporal mobility of the population and thus the changes in the recreational activity of areas. The aim of this article is to estimate local recreational activity in Finland using new databases and to study the changes in local recreational activity caused by multi-local living. The results reveal that multi-local living remarkably changes recreational activities during the year and highlights the need to identify spatio-temporal changes at local and regional levels. Mobile phone data seems to be valuable for the regional targeting and prioritisation of recreational activities because it can identify the changing temporal roles of the regions.

Forests and forest management are crucial in achieving environmental objectives, including mitigating climate change by sequestering carbon, preserving biodiversity, and preventing the eutrophication of surface waters. Achieving environmental objectives heavily depends on the willingness of private forest owners to adopt environmentally oriented forest management practices (EFMPs). This study investigates private forest owners' intentions to implement specific EFMPs, including increasing the proportion of deciduous trees, ash fertilization on peatlands, extending rotation periods, implementing continuous cover forestry, and adding deadwood and retention trees. Guided by the theory of planned behavior, we explore how Finnish forest owners' beliefs about EFMPs, attitudes towards environmental objectives, subjective norms (SN), and perceived behavioral control (PBC) influence their intentions to implement EFMPs. A postal survey was conducted among forest owners in the Lake Puruvesi region of eastern Finland (n = 102). The data were analyzed using structural equation models (SEM). The findings indicate that forest owners generally have evident intentions to implement EFMPs. ATT towards environmental objectives had the strongest positive impact, while SN and PBC had no significant influence on the intention to implement EFMPs. The findings suggest that in promoting EFMPs, policy efforts should focus on evidence-based information regarding water protection and biodiversity impacts. Forest owners’ attitudes and subjective norms concerning carbon sequestration are less prominent compared to their views on water protection and biodiversity.

Artikkeli valottaa suomalaisten suhtautumista saimaannorpan suojeluun ja suojelun keinoihin. Norpan suojelukeinoihin liittyviä käsityksiä tarkastellaan oikeudenmukaisuuden ulottuvuuksien valossa. Kyselyaineistoon (n=1487) perustuen kvantitatiiviset tilastolliset menetelmät paljastavat, kuinka vastaajat ryhmittyvät suojelukäsitysten pohjalta. Laadullisen analyysin avulla syvennetään ymmärrystä norpansuojeluun liittyvistä näkökulmista, suojelukäsityksistä ja eri keinojen hyväksyttävyydestä. Kaiken kaikkiaan suojelukeinoihin suhtauduttiin myönteisesti. Vähiten kannatettua toimenpidettäkin eli kalastusrajoitusten alueen laajentamista piti erittäin tai jokseenkin kannatettavana 70 % vastaajista. Eniten kannatusta saivat ympäristömyrkkyjen vähentäminen, norppaturvallisten kalastusvälineiden kehittäminen ja käyttöönotto sekä apukinosten rakentaminen pesinnän tueksi vähälumisina talvina. Eri suojelutoimenpiteiden kannatettavuutta käytettiin vastaajien ryhmittelyyn klusterianalyysin avulla päätyen kolmeen eri vastaajaryhmään: innokkaat (42,3 % vastaajista), myönteiset (41,3 % vastaajista) sekä maltilliset (16,4 % vastaajista). Suojelun ja kalastuksen yhteensovittamista pidettiin tärkeänä jopa kaikkein innokkaimpien suojelijoiden keskuudessa. Yhteensovittamista korostaneet kansalaisnäkemykset ja konkreettiset ehdotukset esimerkiksi kalastustekniikan kehittämiseksi luovat edellytyksiä norpansuojelun ja kalastuksen välisten ristiriitojen lieventämiseen. Norpansuojelun keinoista päätettäessä oleellista on, että tunnistetaan erilaiset arvot, elämänmuodot ja niiden sovittelun tarve.

Potato production faces increasingly severe agronomic problems, including intensive production and pedoclimatic changes. Increasing pest/disease incidence is contributing to inadequate application of pesticides and external fertilizers. This study aims to identify critical agri-environmental challenges currently faced by potato growers in Europe, assessing the needs and priorities of end-users to determine the feasibility of integrating more sustainable farming practices into potato cultivation. Additionally, we identified sustainable strategies to reduce reliance on external inputs. A total of 203 potato stakeholders from six European pedoclimatic areas completed a survey in 2020 to identify agronomic and environmental problems, priorities for action, and best-suited sustainable farming practices. Statistical and multicriteria decision analysis was then performed. Subsequently, focus group meetings with stakeholders were organized to present and discuss results and validate and complement them. Stakeholders perceived that more sustainable potato production involved reducing tillage intensity, using organic nutrient sources, increasing soil organic matter and, especially, diversifying crop rotations. Barriers to adopting new sustainable practices included farmers’ lack of knowledge regarding novel farming practices and the need for expert technical advice. Some practices are complex, but also economic impediments. Therefore, thorough research, clear demonstrations, and tailored advice are crucial to farmers to lead agriculture toward profitable, sustainable systems.