Pursuing the good life in the North:examining the coexistence of reindeer herding, extractive industries and nature-based tourism in northern Fennoscandia

• Main Author: Komu, T. (Teresa)
• Other Authors: Herva, V. (Vesa-Pekka), Heikkinen, H. (Hannu I.), Sarkki, S. (Simo)
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Oulun yliopisto 2020
• Subjects: Lapland; anthropology of the good; extractive industries; reindeer herding; resource conflicts; tourism; well-being; wilderness; Lappi; erämaa; hyvinvointi; hyvän elämän antropologia; kaivosteollisuus; luonnonvarat; matkailu; poronhoito; Fennoscandia; Poronhoito
• Online Access: http://urn.fi/urn:isbn:9789526225029

Abstract This dissertation argues for an understanding of land use negotiations in terms of overlapping projects of striving for the good life in northern Fennoscandia. The dynamics of coexistence between reindeer herding, the extractive industries and nature-based tourism are examined in the Torne River Valley area, of the Swedish-Finnish border region. Here, the collision of competing livelihoods offers a passageway to examine the differing understandings of how to be well and live well in the North. The study is based on ethnographic research methods, mainly semi-structured interviewing and participant observation, and has a long-term perspective on issues around land use. The dissertation first discusses the various ways in which the impacts of mining and reindeer herding on the well-being of local communities can be understood. Then, the study examines the interplay between trying to live well as part of one’s community while struggling to secure the continuity of one’s livelihood in the decision making of a specific livelihood group during local land use negotiations. Finally, the influence of various cultural conceptions, future visions and longstanding cultural dreams concerning mining and the North on current land use disputes over mining in northern Fennoscandia is scrutinised. An approach that takes into consideration the good life and its pursuit is a step towards a holistic understanding of the behaviour and motivations of residents in local communities during land use negotiations and alleviating the current polarisation of the discussions around mining. Tiivistelmä Väitöskirjassa ymmärretään pohjoisen Fennoskandian maankäyttöneuvottelut päällekkäisinä hyvän elämän tavoittelun projekteina. Tutkimuksen kohteena on poronhoidon, kaivosteollisuuden ja luontomatkailun yhteiselo Tornionjokilaaksossa, Suomen ja Ruotsin raja-alueella. Täällä kilpailevien maankäyttömuotojen yhteentörmäys tarjoaa mahdollisuuden tarkastella erilaisia tapoja tavoitella hyvinvointia ja hyvää elämää pohjoisessa. Tutkimus ...