Tag: forest landscapes

Citizens’ jury deliberates over the future of municipal forests in Voxnadalen

11 November 2024 /

On November 9th 2024, 22 randomly-selected citizens from the municipalities of Bollnäs, Ljusdal and Ovanåker assembled in Alfta for the first day of the Voxnadalen citizens’ jury about the management of municipally-owned forests. This initiative is a collaboration between the LANDPATHS research programme and Voxnadalen biosphere reserve. Through small-group discussions, informational presentations and a field trip to some forest plots, this diverse group of people learned, shared and discussed perspectives on the different values of forests. 

Participants listening to a presentation at Ol-Anders Gård. Photo: Judith Lundberg-Felten

Lead facilitator Johan Hammarlund from Kairos Future, who designed the process together with Tim Daw and Vera Telemo from the LANDPATHS team, introduced the concept of a citizens’ jury. The process emphasises considered, open and respectful dialogue, and the exchange of perspectives. These aspects were reflected in the first exercise the participants completed: each table of 7-8 people defined their own rules of discussion for the day, such as respectful language, letting people make their point, and turning phones to silent. 

Learning about ecosystem services in the woods

The group then went out together to visit a forest, stopping at two different sites. On the way, Urban Larsson from the Swedish Forest Agency, the first of the day’s knowledge-brokers, introduced the participants to the four groups of ecosystem services that were discussed during the day: provisional, cultural, regulating and supporting services. 

The first stop was a 2.7 hectare key habitat from 1996 that is protected by a nature conservation agreement. The participants made a steep descent to where the clear Långbäcken stream winds calmly through a forest of lichen-covered spruce trees, softly illuminated by the November sun on the day of the excursion. They gathered around Urban Larsson, who asked the participants how they felt in this place. There were expressions of calm, peace and seeing beauty, as well as a forest “as it should be”, with appreciation of the untouched appearance due to both dead and living trees. Urban also asked the participants to mention the different ecosystem services they could see. Examples mentioned by the participants included mushroom and berry provision, a place for hunting, cultural services such as a place to experience calm, and a place of cultural history where water has an important function. The area is also home for several endangered species such as the fungus Phellinidium ferrugineofuscum and freshwater pearl mussels. 

Visit to the key habitat. Photo: Jonathan Mattebo Persson

The second stop of the excursion brought the participants to Gammel-homna, a demonstration site for restoration of water streams and part of the local project Rivers of Life. A short walk through rocky terrain, surrounded by blueberry-covered ground under spruce, pine and birch trees, brought the participants to the border of a small, lively flowing river.

Here, the second knowledge-broker, Helén Berggren, Head of Culture at Bollnäs municipality, introduced the importance of cultural values of the forest and her work in Bollnäs with young people to help them experience and create a relationship with the forest. Helén’s talk was accompanied by the appearance of two teenage girls dressed in white, dancing through the forest and creating a magical ambience around the participants. Some participants opened up to share how they had experienced the forest in their childhood and how they built a relationship to the forest, as well as how raising the topics of local culture and history can be a way to create identities and roots for young people in their local environments.

At Gammel-holmna Helén Berggren talked about cultural activities and how to create opportunities for teenagers to experience the forest. Photo: Johan Hammerlund

Two teenage “forest dancers” from Bollnäs (in white dresses) share their joy of being in the forest. Photo: Tim Daw

From forest products to red-listed species

Back at Ol-Anders Gård, the participants shared a lunch before listening to the other two knowledge sharers of the day. The first was Anders Lundberg from Billerud Korsnäs, who presented a variety of products from the forest such as timber and microcellulose that is used in medical drugs, packaging, soap, hygiene products, fabric, and novel packaging such as paper bottles. Anders also emphasised the economic importance of forest-based production nationally, and especially in Gävleborg. The participants engaged in a lively discussion about Anders’ contributions over the following coffee break. Next, Matthias Ahlstedt from Naturskyddsförening in Dalarna informed the participants about planetary boundaries, the carbon balance in the forest and what the effects of harvesting are on the balance, as well as the rationale behind the red-list for endangered species.

Diverse forest products. Photo: Tim Daw

Creating visions and unlocking new perspectives

Participants ended the day by deliberating about the pros, cons and interest conflicts related to the different values and uses that had been identified throughout the day. Each participant wrote down their own visions for the municipal forests in 15-25 years from now. Collectively, the participants expressed appreciation for the process and the opportunity to talk with people with different backgrounds and experiences. One participant phrased her experience as “unlocking her own thinking” and that she got to open up to new perspectives. Hanna Alfredsson from Voxnadalen Biosphere Reserve expressed gratitude for the opportunity to hear voices from a wider variety of people than are usually represented in discussions about the management of the biosphere.

Participants discuss novel forest products with Anders from Billerud Korsnäs. Photo: Tim Daw

Sofie Zetterlund from Bollnäs municipality is keen to hear about the results of the citizens’ jury and hopes that they will inspire new ways of management. During the second day of the process on November 23rd, representatives of forest management in each of the three municipalities, as well as local politicians, are invited to receive the suggestions from the participants about their perspectives on management of the municipal forests to encourage versatile and multifunctional use and values.

Research on citizens’ juries

In the LANDPATHS research programme, Fanny Möckel (Uppsala University) and Tim Daw (Stockholm Resilience Centre) are studying the scientific process of citizens’ jury both in Voxnadalen and in Nämdö, through on-site observation, a before-and-after survey, and interviews with the participants. Read all of the news about the LANDPATHS minipublics.

The team that organized, observed and documented the first day of the citizens’ jury in Voxnadalen were delighted with the experience.
First row (left to right): Fanny Möckel, Vera Telemo, Anna Bohman
Second row (left to right): Elias Marin, Judith Lundberg-Felten, Jonathan Mattebo Persson, Johan Hammarlund, Tim Daw
Photo: Fanny Möckel

For more information about the mini publics being organised within LANDPATHS, contact Tim Daw at Stockholm Resilience Centre.

Unlocking imaginaries of future multifunctional landscapes through co-creation

28 August 2023 /

We live in a rapidly changing world with complex challenges. Envisioning future landscapes that harmoniously balance biodiversity with different land uses and the interests of diverse stakeholders is a difficult task that demands creative and collaborative efforts. Researchers in LANDPATHS subproject “Imaginaries” (SP2) are embarking on a journey towards shaping these desirable futures through a co-creation approach. This involves using the collective knowledge of stakeholders and citizens to address multifaceted challenges.

Navigating complexity: challenges and uncertainties

Landscapes are interconnected systems. As a result, even well-intentioned interventions that improve conditions for one group of stakeholders can unexpectedly cause challenges for others. Taking the example of forest landscapes, there are many different stakeholders concerned with the use of those landscapes, including residents, agencies, forest owners, reindeer herders and people using forests for recreation, to name a few. These groups can have different values and ideas about the future of the landscape. At the same time, science-based criteria related to climate change and nature conservation may impose other constraints on how we manage and use forests in the future. Together, these factors can make it difficult to imagine future multifunctional landscapes where the diverse aims and interests of stakeholders can co-exist.

hikers in the forest during sunset
wood piles
a lush forest
hunters on a path in the forest
Different stakeholders and civil society can have different visions and goals for forest landscapes.

Creating the basis for co-creation

As part of the co-creation process, we need to unravel the perspectives of the various stakeholders and the potential differences between their visions for the future and science-based criteria.

To do this, LANDPATHS researchers have developed an iterative process for co-creating future visions (also called imaginaries) with stakeholders and citizens in different landscapes in Sweden. The process consists of four phases:

  1. Scoping and framing
  2. Developing imaginaries
  3. Iterative revision of imaginaries
  4. Governance learning

In a collaboration with the Forest landscape subproject (SP5), researchers are working with the Voxnadalen Biosphere to explore future imaginaries of multifunctional forests (read more about this case on our blog).

In Voxnadalen, the co-creation process will unfold through a series of workshops with local stakeholders such as municipalities, forest owners, forest companies, nature conservation associations, tourism companies and hunting groups. The aim of the workshops is to shed light on both established and new visions of forest futures, by exploring potential synergies that emerge from the discussions and creating innovations that can support more multifunctional and biodiverse forest landscapes in the future.

Co-creation workshop with Voxnadalen stakeholders in April, 2023. Photo: Thao Do.

Co-creation for transformation

In light with the co-creation approach, participants are seen as co-designers of the future – they contribute to a transformation process with their knowledge, perspectives and values. This fosters an environment of creativity, exploration, and experimentation and unlocks a realm of possibilities. Possible outcomes are stories and visions that embrace the richness and diversity of values and perspectives of participants and challenge traditional power structures.

One method being used in the co-creation process is the co-design of a board game that participants with diverse interests can play together. The game allows them to experiment with different possible futures and to test actions and responses in a playful, inconsequential setting. While competing interests and unequal power relations can make it difficult to reach a solution in real life, the game allows participants to test and evaluate scenarios in a way where diverse forms of knowing and acting are less distorted by power relations. The researchers are also using anticipatory narratology, a technique that is based on stories and storytelling to craft future narratives. Together, these methods help to create a safe space for the participants to talk about alternative futures. They also enable stakeholders to navigate the complexities they are faced with and reflect upon their actions in the face of uncertainty. In this co-learning environment, novel governance arrangements can emerge to support the realization of their landscape imaginaries.

Games allow workshop participants to experiment with different scenarios for their landscape.

Embarking on a journey of transformation

Through this research, SP2 aims to shed light on innovative pathways towards multifunctional biodiverse landscapes. By harnessing the power of co-creation, the aspiration is that stakeholders feel empowered to imagine and design transformations that overcome traditional barriers and sectoral silos. As the work unfolds, it invites us all to become co-designers of alternative futures that reflect a mosaic of perspectives and values.

For more information about the Imaginaries subproject, contact the research team (and link to SP2 page).

We thank Thao Do (subproject Imaginaries) for valuable input into this blogpost. 

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