Editors: Savitri Jetoo, Silja Laine, Jaana Kouri and Anna Törnroos-Remes
The current global environmental crisis can be traced to the relationship of humans with the environment. Problems such as land use changes, overfishing and eutrophication are further compounded by the effects of climate change. The sea and coastal areas are especially vulnerable to these stressors, which can be characterized as wicked problems. These wicked problems facing the seas of Norden and the Arctic, that is the Norwegian, Barents, Greenland and Iceland Seas as well as the Baltic and North Seas togheter with the ocean areas connecting them, invite conflicting stakeholder values due to incomplete or seemingly contradictory knowledge. This makes it important, for example, to integrate local and experience based knowledge with scientific knowledge but the question remains how to do this. The problems facing these sea areas are multidimensional and as such, there is an urgent need for interdisciplinary study that pools knowledge sources. The wicked problems have ecological, social and cultural dimensions. For instance, human perceptions and interaction with the sea environment have affected and are behind the current marine crisis, which is a result of culture and cultural perceptions. This crisis is global, but we are looking especially at how it has taken shape along the coasts and seas of Norden and the Arctic region.
We are looking to gather an anthology, which has the objective to make room for cross- and interdisciplinary dialogues among researchers oriented to marine issues. The volume focuses on the production, interaction, and circulation of knowledge regarding open sea, archipelago and coastal areas. In this project we see research integration as the means of synthesizing different knowledge from various disciplinary and stakeholders’ viewpoints to examine the issues facing these seas in the Northern hemisphere. In addition to results or case studies produced through such dialogues, the ways disciplines have worked to integrate knowledge and methodologies are specifically of interest. How can integrated knowledge from different research perspectives contribute to greater understanding of the seas of Norden and the Arctic and their coastal and marine environments? We see that the interdisciplinary collaboration between different disciplines is necessary to answer for the present environmental catastrophe, like climate change and biodiversity loss.
The focus of the volume is to identify, produce and contribute to the recognition and dialogue of the different kinds of knowledge, methods and methodologies on scientific communities that are relevant in various situations and networks of actors during environmental changes. We are particularly interested in successful outcomes/ways/examples of conducting integrated knowledge, multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research. The abstract may also be an offer to collaborate with other researchers on the subject matter of the author’s own research. We look forward to receiving contributions from all disciplines including natural, educational, environmental, humanistic, legal and social sciences.
We invite both empirical and conceptual papers on the following or other relevant thematic areas:
Experience based, local environmental knowledge and scientific knowledge
Heritage and change
Environment, biodiversity, and ecosystems
Resilience and sustainability
Ecosystem functioning and management
Relationships and connections
Risks and threats
Agency and networks/webs
Time and place
Scientific and vernacular language(s)
Theoretical constructs and concepts
If you are interested in contributing a chapter, please submit a 400-500 word abstract by the 11th of August, 2021 to email: seaherblog@gmail.com. Writing and interactions are supported by a workshop on September 2, 2021, to which the selected authors are invited. For any questions, please contact: sjetoo@abo.fi and/or anna.m.tornroos@abo.fi
We aim to publish this anthology with an established international publisher such as Routledge.
