Hydropowering sustainability transformation: policy frames on river use and restoration in Finland

IF 1.3 Q2 GEOGRAPHY
Eerika Albrecht, J. Lukkarinen, Miikka Hakkarainen, Niko Soininen
{"title":"Hydropowering sustainability transformation: policy frames on river use and restoration in Finland","authors":"Eerika Albrecht, J. Lukkarinen, Miikka Hakkarainen, Niko Soininen","doi":"10.11143/fennia.120946","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Hydropower, as a flexible energy source, has sparked renewed interest in the ongoing decarbonisation of the society. Simultaneously, a wider transformation of the socio-ecological system towards more sustainable practices of energy production is required. Our paper draws from the sustainable transformation theory and the concepts of transformability, hydro-social cycle, and aquatic regime to study a system of water governance and regulation in Finland. Our case study data consists of 16 semi-structured interviews and 207 news articles from Yle national broadcast company. We studied the policy frames to reveal how the water governance actors understand, view and make sense of future river use and restoration, and how they utilise the frames for strategic purposes. Results demonstrate that the future river use and restoration were framed by four modes of thinking: 1) hydropower as a ‘cultural trauma’, 2) restoring rivers and dam removal after hydropower construction and operation to improve ecological flows in rivers, 3) improving the social acceptance of hydropower and dam removal, and 4) improving the efficiency of the hydropower regime as a flexible source of power. Our paper shows that to enable pathways for socio-ecological-technical transformations of aquatic ecosystems further scientific scrutiny should be focused on reconciliation of the interest of river restoration, recreational uses of aquatic environments and the flexible energy function of hydropower in energy transition. Removal of migration barriers and small-scale hydropower plants and building fishways and bypasses are part of this transformation. Furthermore, the river regulation needed to give impoundment facilities the flexibility, causes changes in water levels which may be a potential source of conflict between riparian residents and hydropower operators. Therefore, more emphasis should be placed on water governance that recognises the local dynamics and interactions within the social-ecological systems.","PeriodicalId":45082,"journal":{"name":"Fennia-International Journal of Geography","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3000,"publicationDate":"2023-06-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"1","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Fennia-International Journal of Geography","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.11143/fennia.120946","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"GEOGRAPHY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 1

Abstract

Hydropower, as a flexible energy source, has sparked renewed interest in the ongoing decarbonisation of the society. Simultaneously, a wider transformation of the socio-ecological system towards more sustainable practices of energy production is required. Our paper draws from the sustainable transformation theory and the concepts of transformability, hydro-social cycle, and aquatic regime to study a system of water governance and regulation in Finland. Our case study data consists of 16 semi-structured interviews and 207 news articles from Yle national broadcast company. We studied the policy frames to reveal how the water governance actors understand, view and make sense of future river use and restoration, and how they utilise the frames for strategic purposes. Results demonstrate that the future river use and restoration were framed by four modes of thinking: 1) hydropower as a ‘cultural trauma’, 2) restoring rivers and dam removal after hydropower construction and operation to improve ecological flows in rivers, 3) improving the social acceptance of hydropower and dam removal, and 4) improving the efficiency of the hydropower regime as a flexible source of power. Our paper shows that to enable pathways for socio-ecological-technical transformations of aquatic ecosystems further scientific scrutiny should be focused on reconciliation of the interest of river restoration, recreational uses of aquatic environments and the flexible energy function of hydropower in energy transition. Removal of migration barriers and small-scale hydropower plants and building fishways and bypasses are part of this transformation. Furthermore, the river regulation needed to give impoundment facilities the flexibility, causes changes in water levels which may be a potential source of conflict between riparian residents and hydropower operators. Therefore, more emphasis should be placed on water governance that recognises the local dynamics and interactions within the social-ecological systems.
水力发电的可持续性转型:芬兰河流利用和恢复的政策框架
水电作为一种灵活的能源,引发了人们对正在进行的社会脱碳的重新关注。同时,需要对社会生态系统进行更广泛的转变,使其转向更可持续的能源生产做法。本文从可持续转型理论和可转型性、水社会循环和水生制度的概念出发,研究芬兰的水治理和监管体系。我们的案例研究数据包括16个半结构化访谈和来自Yle国家广播公司的207篇新闻报道。我们研究了政策框架,以揭示水治理参与者如何理解、看待和理解未来河流的使用和恢复,以及他们如何利用这些框架实现战略目的。研究结果表明,未来的河流利用和修复应以四种思维模式为框架:1)水电作为“文化创伤”;2)在水电建设和运营后恢复河流和撤坝,以改善河流的生态流量;3)提高水电和撤坝的社会接受度;4)提高水电作为灵活的电力来源的效率。我们的论文表明,为了实现水生生态系统的社会生态技术转化途径,进一步的科学审查应该集中在河流恢复的利益、水生环境的娱乐利用和能源转换中水电的灵活能源功能之间的协调。移徙障碍和小型水力发电厂的拆除以及修建鱼道和旁路是这一转变的一部分。此外,河流管理需要给予蓄水设施灵活性,导致水位变化,这可能是沿岸居民与水电运营商之间冲突的潜在根源。因此,应更加重视认识到社会生态系统内部的地方动态和相互作用的水治理。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
求助全文
约1分钟内获得全文 求助全文
来源期刊
CiteScore
2.70
自引率
0.00%
发文量
15
审稿时长
16 weeks
×
引用
GB/T 7714-2015
复制
MLA
复制
APA
复制
导出至
BibTeX EndNote RefMan NoteFirst NoteExpress
×
提示
您的信息不完整,为了账户安全,请先补充。
现在去补充
×
提示
您因"违规操作"
具体请查看互助需知
我知道了
×
提示
确定
请完成安全验证×
copy
已复制链接
快去分享给好友吧!
我知道了
右上角分享
点击右上角分享
0
联系我们:info@booksci.cn Book学术提供免费学术资源搜索服务,方便国内外学者检索中英文文献。致力于提供最便捷和优质的服务体验。 Copyright © 2023 布克学术 All rights reserved.
京ICP备2023020795号-1
ghs 京公网安备 11010802042870号
Book学术文献互助
Book学术文献互助群
群 号:481959085
Book学术官方微信