Forest fires and landscape identity - values, meanings and engagement in local communities
Abstract as pdf
Corresponding Author:
Kerstin Eriksson
RISE Research Institutes of Sweden Sweden
kerstin.eriksson@ri.se
Author(s):
Linda Kvarnlöf1
1Risk And Crisis Research Centre, Mid Sweden University , Linda.Kvarnlof@Miun.Se, SWE
In the summer of 2018, Sweden faced one of the greatest national disasters in modern times. In total, about 60 forest fires ravaged around the country. In this paper, we draw on the concept of landscape identity (see e.g., Butler et al., 2018) with the purpose to investigate how local citizens were affected by these forest fires. The concept of landscape identity refers to the way that our identity is tied to how we engage with the landscapes in which we find ourselves. As such it can be utilized as a way to gain deeper knowledge of social aspects related to climate related events such as forest fires (Stobbelaar & Pedroli, 2011Íž Butler et al., 2018). This makes it possible to understand landscape as a social product, as something that rests upon processes, practices and cultural discourses (Either, 2010). On an individual level, on the other hand, landscape is internalized through values, meanings and engagement (Butler et al., 2018). When a landscape drastically changes, as in the case with forest fires, both practices and meanings associated with this landscape are likely to be affected. This paper rests on interviews with people that had to evacuate their homes due to the forest fires in 2018. The result indicates that values, meanings and engagement associated with the landscape played a significant role in how people made sense of the situation they found themselves in.
References
Butler, A., Sarlöv-Herlin, I., Knez, I., Ångman, E., Ode Sang, Å., & Åkerskog, A. (2018). Landscape identity, before and after a forest fire. Landscape Research, 43(6), 878-889.
Either, S. (2010). Landscape as an area perceived through activity: Implications for diversity management and conservation. Landscape Research, 35:339-359.
Stobbelaar, D.J. & Pedroli, B. (2011). Perspectives on landscape identity: A conceptual challenge. Landscape Research, 36:321-339.
Climate Change Resilience in Small Communities – and the Methodological Approaches to Explore it