The purpose of this thesis is to explore the relation between national economic ventures, environmental security and community development. It does so through a case study of the implementation process of an iron and copper mine (La Dominga Project) in a “biodiversity hotspot” in central-northern Chile. Using qualitative methods to gather empirical data and a discursive analytical framework, it seeks to understand how the mine affects livelihoods and community development, as perceived by local citizens. The results show that the state, the extractive industries and private landowners constantly contest the local community’s access to land. The state and the industry have an advantage in power, manifested in the decision-making procedure. As a consequence of the deficient participation in this process, the community faces a forced exposure to risk. La Dominga jeopardizes local livelihoods and alternative development plans, which show potential to be long-term ecologically sustainable. Those are 1) the community based- and adaptively co-managed area for exploitation of benthic resources and 2) the tourist activities, based on the bird and whale spotting tours to the closely located protected islands. The thesis further suggests that social mobilization and articulation of local resistance fails because of 1) elements of social control within the community, 2) the discursive role of mining, and more specifically copper mining in the Chilean landscape ideologies and 3) CSR-interventions in form of extensive, individual “grant programs”.

Establishment of big companies in rural areas is something that is getting more and more common as the phenomenon of land acquisition is growing. This study is based on a case study in Manhiça where a big scale multinational sugar company, consisting of a sugar factory and sugarcane plantations, has been present for almost 20 years. The theoretical framework is based on the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach (SLA) that is made into a method by taking dimensions from the theory and converting them into analytical tools. The aim is to identify and analyse the impacts that the company’s activities have on longer term on the capital basis of the various groups with which the company relates. Using the perspective of SLA helps identify the wide range of impacts – direct and indirect, positive and negative – that matter to local people. The study is qualitative and based on semi-structured interviews made with different groups of outgrower farmers and employees as well as representatives for the company and the municipality. The results are, in accordance with the principles underlying the SLA, focusing on the perceptions of people and the dynamic nature of livelihoods. A pilot study is used to indicate which impacts that are a result of the company’s presence and which only a result of switching to cash crops. The study shows that different groups are affected different from the interactions with the company. People with already weak livelihoods are benefited least since their access to different capital assets decrease.

The land grabbing phenomena grew in both reported cases and in scholarly interest after the 2008 financial crisis. The concept of land grabbing has been greatly debated and some have chosen the term large scale land acquisition instead, focusing on win-win outcomes while the land grabbing term rather focuses on the unequal power relations involved. Our study has defined land grabbing as; a global land rush characterized by transnational and domestic investors, governments and local elites taking control over land in order to produce food and other industrial commodities for domestic and international markets. The study's aim is to examine land grabbings implications on smallholders local livelihoods in Ethiopia and furthermore to reveal what narratives that are being promoted by the Ethiopian government to justify these land grabs. This to understand how the implications on smallholders' livelihoods and the narratives by the government match. The study is based in a qualitative methodology, basing most of the study's result in a literature review. The study is examined through a Political Ecology framework, focusing on political economy with theory influences from both Marx and David Harvey. Furthermore, the study will also combine the theoretical understanding of discursive power, focusing on development discourses, with a narrative analysis. Findings of the study show that the main narratives pushed by the government to justify said land grabs in the country was economic growth, further enabling a ‘development state’, modernizing pastoralists by providing stable income and changing living situations for pastoralists and increasing the food security in the country. Furthermore, the study found that the livelihood implications for smallholders have been overall negative, with outcomes such as displacement, loss of land and resources, weakened food security and also negative psychological and social impacts as well. Therefore the study could conclude that the Ethiopian government's argumentations have not matched with the lived realities for many smallholders.

The spread of Community-based Natural Resources Management (CBNRM) programs can be attributed to the failure of top-down approaches and the development of more equitable governance strategies. A CBNRM approach seeks to fulfill dual objectives by balancing environmental conservation goals and local livelihood opportunities. This thesis analyzes how the implementation of CBNRM programs at Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve (MSDR) influences the available livelihood opportunities for local communities. Data was gathered through document analysis and online qualitative interviews and questionnaires with MSDR's staff, directly involved with these programs. The study found that trust, empowerment, and engagement are crucial for the effective implementation of these programs. By including local knowledge, promoting community participation and organization, providing continuous training, and having an ongoing evaluation and adaptation approach when managing resources, MSDR balances conservation goals with local development. Additionally, results indicate that the existing challenges are related to the efficacy of policy and legislative frameworks at the local and national levels, which complicates the work of implementing organizations. The findings suggest that a participatory approach to conservation can lead to positive outcomes, highlighting the importance of sustainable development within protected areas. These results have implications for future CBNRM projects and deepen our understanding of the intrinsic relationship between nature conservation and local livelihoods.

Abstract New forms of environmental governance are implemented with promises associated with more flexible and participatory decision-making. However, resistance towards these ways of doing decisions occurs also in relation to forests in northern Finland. This thesis seeks to explain this resistance and to discuss how participation in the context of multi-level environmental governance can be enhanced. A combination of anthropological fieldwork methods and concepts from environmental politics is used to create a bottom-up research strategy to examine forest governance. Based on theme interviews, planning documents and press releases of various actors, this thesis identifies problems for hybrid forest governance modes, which combine State, market, and civil society actors in decision-making processes. Based on selected topical case studies regarding state-owned commercial forests in Inari, Forest Lapland, Muonio, and Liperinsuo three different governance modes are identified: a State-based mode with a participatory dimension and two ‘pressure’ modes taking place via market-based campaigns of environmental NGOs and local protests. Concerning the protected areas, namely Malla Strict Nature Reserve and the Pallas-Ylläs and Oulanka national parks, one governance mode is identified as taking place on the vertical park managements – international conservation agencies – local resource users axis. A major explanation for resistance towards the different governance modes is that decision-making processes neglect site-specifics. Related problems include missing stakeholders, lack of site-specific discussions in planning processes, generalised concepts used in standardisation practices, engagement of ‘faraway’ stakeholders in decision processes, and lack of transparency. As a result, ‘the site strikes back’ responses, i.e. pressure campaigns, protests, opposition, and rumours have emerged. In order to mitigate resistance, this thesis proposes ways to enhance participation and deliberation in forest governance. However, the utility of these suggestions is challenged by polarised views and a lack of trust between the different parties. Finally, hypotheses explaining resistance towards decision-making are formulated. Also, contributions to environmental anthropology are outlined, and further questions relevant for research on environmental governance are posed. / Tiivistelmä Uudet ympäristöhallinnan muodot lupaavat parempaa kansalaisosallistumista ja joustavuutta päätöksentekoon. Kuitenkin näitäkin hallinnan muotoja vastustetaan myös Pohjois-Suomen metsiin liittyen. Tässä väitöskirjassa pyritään selittämään vastarintaa metsien hallintaa kohtaan valtion omistamissa talousmetsissä ja suojelualueilla. Väitöskirjassa yhdistetään antropologisia kenttätyömenetelmiä ja ympäristöpolitiikan käsitteitä. Pohjaten teemahaastatteluihin, suunnitteludokumentteihin, lehdistötiedotteisiin ja www-sivuihin tämä väitöskirja määrittää ongelmia hybrideille hallinnan ja päätöksenteon muodoille, jotka koostuvat valtioon, markkinoihin ja kansalaisyhteiskuntaan liittyvien toimijoiden vuorovaikutuksesta. Pohjaten ajankohtaisiin metsäkiistoihin Inarissa, Metsä-Lapissa, Muoniossa ja Liperinsuolla kolme erilaista hallinnan muotoa erotellaan: valtiovetoinen hallinnan muoto, johon kansalaisyhteiskunta linkittyy osallistavien prosessien kautta sekä kaksi ”painostusmuotoa”, jotka koostuvat ympäristöjärjestöjen markkinapohjaisista kampanjoista sekä paikallislähtöisistä protesteista. Mallan, Pallas-Ylläksen ja Oulangan suojelualueisiin liittyen määritellään yksi hallinnan muoto, joka muodostuu puistojen hallinnoista, kansainvälisistä suojelutoimijoista sekä paikallisista luonnonkäyttäjistä. Näitä hallinnan muotoja yhdistää se, että niiden kohtaama vastarinta johtuu paikkakohtaisen päätöksenteon puutteista. Ongelmat liittyvät päätöksentekoprosesseista puuttuviin intressiryhmiin, suunnitteluprosesseissa käytyjen keskustelujen yleisluonteisuuteen, yleispätevien käsitteiden käyttöön standardoimisprosesseissa erityisesti suojelualueilla, läpinäkyvyyden puutteeseen sekä kaukaisten toimijoiden osallistumiseen paikallisiin päätöksiin. Näiden ongelmien seurauksena paikkakohtaisuutta ei huomioida riittävästi hallinnassa, mistä seuraa ’paikan vastaisku’ protestien, huhujen, vastustuksen ja kampanjoiden muodossa. Vastarinnan syntymistä voitaisiin ehkäistä parantamalla osallistumista ja neuvottelua, joskaan parannusehdotuksetkaan eivät ratkaise luottamuksen puutteeseen ja osapuolten näkemysten napaistumiseen liittyviä ongelmia. Väitöskirjassa luodaan hypoteeseja, jotka selittävät ympäristöhallinnan kohtaamaa vastarintaa. Lisäksi väitöskirja tarjoaa antia sekä uusia tutkimuskysymyksiä erityisesti ympäristöantropologialle.