Abstract
Combining different knowledge systems by collaborative processes is widely recognized within environmental governance. In the context of co-management of natural resources, the benefits of integrating different knowledge systems are seen as leading to both an increased empowerment of local communities, as well as a way to identify and clarify the potential impact of policies or management on local livelihoods. In reindeer husbandry all over Fennoscandia, supplementary feeding has become increasingly necessary to buffer shortages in grazing resources, or to react to other rapid and profound social, economic, and environmental changes now taking place within the region. As experiences with supplementary feeding differ widely within and between countries of the region, we endeavoured to create an arena for reindeer herders and researchers from Finland, Norway and Sweden that would allow them to share experiences, knowledge and perspectives on supplementary feeding, and to discuss the potential challenges and opportunities associated with it.
In this chapter, we present and discuss our efforts to develop a workshop that would encourage the exchange of different experiences and inspire the combination of different ways of knowing and doing. We introduce our approach to community engagement by considering its current opportunities and challenges. Based on the specific background of the diverse participants in the workshop and the existing relationships between them, we reflect on the particular challenges that we have encountered before, during and after the workshop. Finally, we summarize some of our lessons learned during the planning of such an effort at community engagement and the co-production of knowledge.
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Acknowledgements
We are indebted to all dedicated herders who shared their knowledge and time during the workshop, and made the event possible in the first place. Invaluable contributors further include Svein Morten Eilertsen, Hannu I. Heikkinen, Grete Hovelsrud, Mia Landauer, Annette Löf, and Simo Sarkki. The interpreter, Michelle Francett-Hermes, deserves particular acclaim for her linguistic flexibility. Funding to prepare, hold and follow up on the workshop was received from NordForsk, CLINF, ReiGN and REXSAC, as well as from ARCUM and CIRC at Umeå University, Nordland County Municipality, SLU Future Animals, Nature and Health and Nordland Research Institute.
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Horstkotte, T., Lépy, É., Risvoll, C. (2021). Working Together: Reflections on a Transdisciplinary Effort of Co-producing Knowledge on Supplementary Feeding in Reindeer Husbandry Across Fennoscandia. In: Nord, D.C. (eds) Nordic Perspectives on the Responsible Development of the Arctic: Pathways to Action. Springer Polar Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-52324-4_14
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