Knowledge brokering and the historical legitimization of mechanized forestry
Jönsson, Jimmy LU
and Priebe, Janina
(2024)
26th IUFRO World Congress
p.1-1
- Abstract
- This presentation addresses knowledge as a policy instrument in relations to engage small-scale forest owners in contributing to profound societal transitions, such as the transition to a carbon neutral society. Learning from past transitions, the presentation is based on a historical case: the transition to mechanized forestry in the boreal regions of Sweden during the 1950s and 1960s. This transition aimed to enforce Swedish forest industry and was mainly expected to be implemented through a forestry act. As such, it was supported by state authorities and joint stock companies. However, it met resistance from small-scale forest owners, a group owning about half of the Swedish forest land. Instead of industrial silviculturalists, many of... (More)
- This presentation addresses knowledge as a policy instrument in relations to engage small-scale forest owners in contributing to profound societal transitions, such as the transition to a carbon neutral society. Learning from past transitions, the presentation is based on a historical case: the transition to mechanized forestry in the boreal regions of Sweden during the 1950s and 1960s. This transition aimed to enforce Swedish forest industry and was mainly expected to be implemented through a forestry act. As such, it was supported by state authorities and joint stock companies. However, it met resistance from small-scale forest owners, a group owning about half of the Swedish forest land. Instead of industrial silviculturalists, many of them identified themselves as farmers and were less keen to invest into chainsaws and tractors. In this context, we focus on how local forest owner associations used local knowledge campaigns to engage small-scale forest owners in adapting to mechanized forestry. We employ the concept of “knowledge brokering,” describing a process of “translating” knowledges and interests to “enroll” non-expert actors to a certain cause. The analysis was based on readings of historical texts. We found various effects of knowledge brokering on the Swedish small-scale forest owners. First, knowledge brokering helped building a multimedia knowledge society around forest owners, including, for instance, film screenings, forestry dictionaries, forestry journals, and machine demonstrations. Second, it provided forest owners with technical know-how through recurrent technological trials. Third, it helped building an educational structure for forest owners, most noteworthy through the means of locally arranged study circle courses. Forth, it shaped the identity of “the forest owner” as something different from “the farmer.” Fifth, and finally, it contributed with critical perspectives and cautious attitudes towards new technologies. We argue that knowledge brokering, ultimately, helped legitimizing the process of mechanization and, thus, contributed to the achieving of a profound societal transition in Sweden. We also argue that the climate transition can learn from historical cases, such as the mechanization of forestry, in combining the “hard” top-down policy instruments with “soft” bottoms-up instrument of knowledge brokering. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/f5392c66-a11c-467d-9faa-199c5a0d116d
- author
- Jönsson, Jimmy
LU
and Priebe, Janina
- organization
- publishing date
- 2024
- type
- Contribution to conference
- publication status
- published
- subject
- pages
- 1 pages
- conference name
- 26th IUFRO World Congress
- conference location
- Stockholm, Sweden
- conference dates
- 2024-06-23 - 2024-06-29
- project
- Route to Paris
- language
- Swedish
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- f5392c66-a11c-467d-9faa-199c5a0d116d
- date added to LUP
- 2024-06-29 14:08:10
- date last changed
- 2024-07-09 13:18:15
@misc{f5392c66-a11c-467d-9faa-199c5a0d116d,
abstract = {{This presentation addresses knowledge as a policy instrument in relations to engage small-scale forest owners in contributing to profound societal transitions, such as the transition to a carbon neutral society. Learning from past transitions, the presentation is based on a historical case: the transition to mechanized forestry in the boreal regions of Sweden during the 1950s and 1960s. This transition aimed to enforce Swedish forest industry and was mainly expected to be implemented through a forestry act. As such, it was supported by state authorities and joint stock companies. However, it met resistance from small-scale forest owners, a group owning about half of the Swedish forest land. Instead of industrial silviculturalists, many of them identified themselves as farmers and were less keen to invest into chainsaws and tractors. In this context, we focus on how local forest owner associations used local knowledge campaigns to engage small-scale forest owners in adapting to mechanized forestry. We employ the concept of “knowledge brokering,” describing a process of “translating” knowledges and interests to “enroll” non-expert actors to a certain cause. The analysis was based on readings of historical texts. We found various effects of knowledge brokering on the Swedish small-scale forest owners. First, knowledge brokering helped building a multimedia knowledge society around forest owners, including, for instance, film screenings, forestry dictionaries, forestry journals, and machine demonstrations. Second, it provided forest owners with technical know-how through recurrent technological trials. Third, it helped building an educational structure for forest owners, most noteworthy through the means of locally arranged study circle courses. Forth, it shaped the identity of “the forest owner” as something different from “the farmer.” Fifth, and finally, it contributed with critical perspectives and cautious attitudes towards new technologies. We argue that knowledge brokering, ultimately, helped legitimizing the process of mechanization and, thus, contributed to the achieving of a profound societal transition in Sweden. We also argue that the climate transition can learn from historical cases, such as the mechanization of forestry, in combining the “hard” top-down policy instruments with “soft” bottoms-up instrument of knowledge brokering.}},
author = {{Jönsson, Jimmy and Priebe, Janina}},
language = {{swe}},
pages = {{1--1}},
title = {{Knowledge brokering and the historical legitimization of mechanized forestry}},
url = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/190798262/vzsfPAMTwm3mSuVLZRrYMPpslpH2IU9o26pbG4ru.pdf}},
year = {{2024}},
}