OVERVIEW ICRPS 2019 Summer Institute: Rovaniemi, Finland The sixteenth International Comparative Rural Policy Studies (ICRPS) Summer Institute will take place in Rovaniemi, Finland, from June 16 to 29, 2019. The institute will convene for fourteen days and will involve approximately 25 graduate students and numerous faculty members from universities around the world. Classroom sessions will Read More ...
The 2019 ICRPS summer institute will be held at the University of Lapland, Rovaniemi, Finland (street address: Yliopistonkatu 8). The University of Lapland is the northernmost university in both Finland and the European Union. The university is located about two kilometers from the city centre. Rovaniemi is the vibrant capital of Lapland, with a population Read More ...
Student and Faculty Registration Registration ends June 6th. Only students selected and accepted by one of the ICRPS network universities can register. The cost of registration includes accommodations, all sessions, field trips, and special events. All bank transaction costs are the responsibility of applicants. Students must send a headshot (minimum 300 dpi) for inclusion in Read More ...
Day 5: Transition from a fossil fuel to a green economy: New economic opportunities for rural areas based on bio resources and beyond. Bio products, bio services and land-use conflicts.
By Edoardo Desiderio and Louise Ormstrup Vestergård
Photo by Carlos Soto and Hanna Stephani
21st of June marks the beginning of Midsummer celebrations in all the Nordic countries. Finland usually celebrate this day with bonfires across the country. As usually the day started with breakfast in the main hall at the University, but contrary to the other mornings we had the university to ourselves as everybody else was on holiday. We have been told that for this peculiar holiday, most Finnish people spend the weekend in their cabins on the seaside, enjoying the celebrations that last a couple of days.
The main topic of the day was
circular economy and how different rural areas through policy tools can shift
from a linear growth model to a more sustainable and circular one.
Coordinator of the all day was Karen
Refsgaard, research and deputy director at Nordregio. She works as an
institutional economist with expertise in rural development and policy, natural
resource, circular economy and innovation. Karen introduced the Nordregio Institution
from 8.00 to 8.30, showing to the ICRPS team Nordregio’s 2018 report “State of
the Nordic Regions”. We learned about the research conducted at Nordregio, and especially
how Nordregio has an expertise in creating maps by the use of GIS technology. A
brief overview was given over reports published by Nordregio. The bioresources
on which the Nordic green economy can be based on are dispersed and diverse,
and mainly in rural and coastal areas.
Karen’s introduction was then
followed by two 20-minutes-lectures. The first about Food Waste from Professor
Matteo Vittuari, University of Bologna, and the second by Professor Thierno
Thiam, University of Tuskegee, addressing the political challenges to the
transition away from fossil. The first lecture taught us about the different
strategies to tackle and contain food waste and losses, two different issues
that regard the food supply chain. Matteo’s lecture was then followed by a
brief work group, where we were divided in couples, with the aim of identifying
typologies of policy interventions: market-based approaches, regulations and
suasive approaches.
In conclusion it turned out as the
main lesson of the day, that to shift from a traditional petroleum-based
economy to a green one, the role of institutions is fundamental in order to
make the transition happen. The transition takes place starting from green
growth to green transition. The role of institution should be the one of
mediating. A second group work followed were we had to create a product/service
with a circular approach. Our group came up with the idea of a pen, made of
pressed wood dust and reindeer blood as ink, that could be a symbol of Lapland
attempt to use by-products from traditional manufacturing processes.
The topic then shifted to land use
management in rural communities. Professor Gabino Naval Bernal from the
University of Mexico gave us a lecture about land use and policies in Mexico,
and how much private companies are sometimes influencing local areas for personal
benefits. In a comparative framework, the Mexican scenario was then compared to
the Finnish one through a lecture from Professor Eeva Aarrevaara, from the
Finnish University of Lahti. One output is the importance to be aware of how
rurality is presented in e.g. the new Finnish government programme. This
government programme focuses mostly on agriculture which show a quite narrow
perception of rural areas. The last lecture of the day was given by faculty
member Mikaël Akimowicz on sustainable rural-urban fringes addressing both the
challenges as well as the opportunities that exist and arise in the areas where
urban and rural areas meet.
After the many inspiring lectures,
the day ended with Midsummer celebrations that among others included bonfire by
the river and singing and dancing in the Midnight Sun.