TY - JOUR
T1 - The role of the Red Lists of Ecosystems in leveraging sustainability changes in Finland: perceptions of the assessors
AU - Salomaa, Anna
AU - Arponen, Anni
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank three anonymous reviewers and Janina Käyhkö, Sari Pynnönen, Heidi Tuhkanen and PONTE research seminar for their helpful comments and suggestions. We thank the interviewees for their input. Figure 1 was made by Joel Kanerva/Infograafikko. Both authors were supported by the Koneen Säätiö (Kone Foundation). AS got funding also from the Academy of Finland Grant no. 338557 and the Strategic Research Council Grant no. 312624. Open access funded by Helsinki University Library.
Funding Information:
Both authors were supported by the Koneen Säätiö (Kone Foundation). AS got funding also from the Academy of Finland Grant no. 338557 and the Strategic Research Council Grant no. 312624. Open access funded by Helsinki University Library.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - The human impact on nature has now reached a level at which the well-being of future human society is at risk. Therefore, transformative change in society is needed. Environmental assessments contribute to shaping environmental policy, potentially leveraging transformative change. Red Lists are a key information source on the state of biodiversity. Our aim was to study the Red List authors’ perceptions of how Red Lists contribute to leveraging sustainability changes. We interviewed 15 of the authors of the forest and peatland sections of the Finnish Red List of Ecosystems 2018. We used the framework of sustainability leverage points to locate sustainability changes that Red Lists have leveraged in the social part of the Finnish social-ecological system. Our results show how the assessors perceived the influence of the Red Lists at most of the leverage points, including the deepest ones, and how these influences simultaneously co-exist in several leverage points. The most prominent sustainability changes were linked with legislation and information flows, whereas current paradigms, system goals and legislation appeared to prevent Red Lists from leveraging sustainability changes in Finland. We conclude that the production and dissemination processes of Red List knowledge can make an important contribution to sustainability changes.
AB - The human impact on nature has now reached a level at which the well-being of future human society is at risk. Therefore, transformative change in society is needed. Environmental assessments contribute to shaping environmental policy, potentially leveraging transformative change. Red Lists are a key information source on the state of biodiversity. Our aim was to study the Red List authors’ perceptions of how Red Lists contribute to leveraging sustainability changes. We interviewed 15 of the authors of the forest and peatland sections of the Finnish Red List of Ecosystems 2018. We used the framework of sustainability leverage points to locate sustainability changes that Red Lists have leveraged in the social part of the Finnish social-ecological system. Our results show how the assessors perceived the influence of the Red Lists at most of the leverage points, including the deepest ones, and how these influences simultaneously co-exist in several leverage points. The most prominent sustainability changes were linked with legislation and information flows, whereas current paradigms, system goals and legislation appeared to prevent Red Lists from leveraging sustainability changes in Finland. We conclude that the production and dissemination processes of Red List knowledge can make an important contribution to sustainability changes.
KW - Biodiversity conservation
KW - David J. Abson
KW - environmental assessment
KW - knowledge production
KW - knowledge use
KW - threatened habitat
KW - transformative change
U2 - 10.1080/26395916.2023.2222185
DO - 10.1080/26395916.2023.2222185
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85163211055
SN - 2639-5908
VL - 19
JO - Ecosystems and People
JF - Ecosystems and People
IS - 1
M1 - 2222185
ER -