Rethinking peatlands : Exploring diverging care practices within Danish agricultural peatlands
Hegelund, Freja Marie LU
(2024)
16th NESS - Nordic Environmental Social Science Conference
p.147-147
- Abstract
- Positioned as a pivotal element in achieving up to 50% in emissions reduction from the
agricultural sector, peatlands assume a paramount role in Denmark's green transition of the
sector. Historically cultivated and drained by farmers, the current transformative process of
restoring and rewetting peatlands is characterized by inherent controversies in knowledge,
practices, and perceptions. Tensions emerge notably between national policies, public
authorities, and local farmers intimately connected to these lands. This paper explores how
the controversies and negotiations between public authorities and conventional farmers can
be understood through a conceptual lens of disrupting and contradictory... (More) - Positioned as a pivotal element in achieving up to 50% in emissions reduction from the
agricultural sector, peatlands assume a paramount role in Denmark's green transition of the
sector. Historically cultivated and drained by farmers, the current transformative process of
restoring and rewetting peatlands is characterized by inherent controversies in knowledge,
practices, and perceptions. Tensions emerge notably between national policies, public
authorities, and local farmers intimately connected to these lands. This paper explores how
the controversies and negotiations between public authorities and conventional farmers can
be understood through a conceptual lens of disrupting and contradictory care.
Understanding care both as an act of caring with central to the socio-ecological production
and reproduction of landscapes (Tronto 1993; Harcourt 2023) and as myopic and selfpreserving (Hultman and Pulé 2018) the paper advocates for a broadened perspective on
care within conventional farming encompassing contradictory practices and knowledges
with different scopes at various scales that both collide and merge in peatland restoration
efforts. This approach illuminates the complexities inherent in restoring, maintaining, and
remaking degraded agricultural landscapes, acknowledging both intentional and
unintentional ignorance embedded in nature and landscape restoration efforts. The paper
concludes by providing perspectives on how a focus on diverging and ambivalent care
practices both within the farm and beyond open new ways to reconceptualize agricultural
landscapes in times of ecosystem degradation, climate mitigation and negotiations between
different forms of knowledge and care practices.
References:
Harcourt, Wendy. 2023. “The Ethics and Politics of Care: Reshaping Economic Thinking and Practice.”
Review of Political Economy 0 (0): 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/09538259.2023.2241395.
Hultman, Martin, and Paul M. Pulé. 2018. Ecological Masculinities: Theoretical Foundations and Practical
Guidance. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315195223.
Tronto, Joan. 1993. Moral Boundaries: A Political Argument for an Ethic of Care. New York: Routledge.
https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003070672. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/37608842-fc9c-4940-b695-5ca796e7bd46
- author
- Hegelund, Freja Marie
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2024
- type
- Contribution to conference
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Care, Knowledge production, Peatlands, Restoration, Agriculture
- pages
- 1 pages
- conference name
- 16th NESS - Nordic Environmental Social Science Conference
- conference location
- Turku, Finland
- conference dates
- 2024-06-04 - 2024-06-06
- project
- Enacted peatlands: Practices of care and knowledge in the climate mitigation of agricultural landscapes in Denmark
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 37608842-fc9c-4940-b695-5ca796e7bd46
- date added to LUP
- 2024-06-10 16:04:55
- date last changed
- 2025-06-17 15:46:41
@misc{37608842-fc9c-4940-b695-5ca796e7bd46,
abstract = {{Positioned as a pivotal element in achieving up to 50% in emissions reduction from the<br/>agricultural sector, peatlands assume a paramount role in Denmark's green transition of the<br/>sector. Historically cultivated and drained by farmers, the current transformative process of<br/>restoring and rewetting peatlands is characterized by inherent controversies in knowledge,<br/>practices, and perceptions. Tensions emerge notably between national policies, public<br/>authorities, and local farmers intimately connected to these lands. This paper explores how<br/>the controversies and negotiations between public authorities and conventional farmers can<br/>be understood through a conceptual lens of disrupting and contradictory care.<br/>Understanding care both as an act of caring with central to the socio-ecological production<br/>and reproduction of landscapes (Tronto 1993; Harcourt 2023) and as myopic and selfpreserving (Hultman and Pulé 2018) the paper advocates for a broadened perspective on<br/>care within conventional farming encompassing contradictory practices and knowledges<br/>with different scopes at various scales that both collide and merge in peatland restoration<br/>efforts. This approach illuminates the complexities inherent in restoring, maintaining, and<br/>remaking degraded agricultural landscapes, acknowledging both intentional and<br/>unintentional ignorance embedded in nature and landscape restoration efforts. The paper<br/>concludes by providing perspectives on how a focus on diverging and ambivalent care<br/>practices both within the farm and beyond open new ways to reconceptualize agricultural<br/>landscapes in times of ecosystem degradation, climate mitigation and negotiations between<br/>different forms of knowledge and care practices. <br/><br/>References:<br/>Harcourt, Wendy. 2023. “The Ethics and Politics of Care: Reshaping Economic Thinking and Practice.”<br/>Review of Political Economy 0 (0): 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/09538259.2023.2241395.<br/>Hultman, Martin, and Paul M. Pulé. 2018. Ecological Masculinities: Theoretical Foundations and Practical<br/>Guidance. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315195223.<br/>Tronto, Joan. 1993. Moral Boundaries: A Political Argument for an Ethic of Care. New York: Routledge.<br/>https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003070672.}},
author = {{Hegelund, Freja Marie}},
keywords = {{Care; Knowledge production; Peatlands; Restoration; Agriculture}},
language = {{eng}},
pages = {{147--147}},
title = {{Rethinking peatlands : Exploring diverging care practices within Danish agricultural peatlands}},
url = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/206543241/NESS2024_Book_of_abstracts_FINAL.pdf}},
year = {{2024}},
}