11 Publications
No longer solid: how thawing permafrost affects people’s lives in the Arctic
Rapid shifts in the environment caused by climate change impact people’s live in the Arctic. The changes challenge food availability, cause safety concerns, and in some cases deteriorate people’s health. Arctic air temperatures are rising up to four times as fast as the global average, and this causes dramatic changes to all components of the cryosphere, including permafrost. By 2050 permafrost will degrade and ultimately disappear in many areas of the Arctic and this will impact the lives of 3.3 million inhabitants. This storymap tells about local people and how they experience permafrost thaw. What challenges and impacts related to permafrost thaw do they recognize? How do local inhabitants deal with permafrost thaw and how does it affect their possibility to support themselves? The story presents the situation in three permafrost communities: Aklavik (Northwest Territories, Canada), Longyearbyen (Svalbard, Norway), and Qeqertarsuaq (Qeqertalik Municipality, Greenland).
2022 October
- Storymap
- Arctic
- Arctic issues
Jussi Nissi: Cows are not the problem, but the system!
Jussi is a young farmer passionate about food production and carbon sequestration through sustainable farming. Jussi is now finalising his bachelors program at Häme University of Applied Sciences. Jussi is also attending Savory Institutes online course where he has expanded his knowledge of ‘holistic management’. Holistic management involves a combination of practices that ensure the health and wellbeing of land, plants, animals, and the community. Jussi is currently applying some of these practices and developing new methods at Qvidja Gård (manor house) in Southwest Finland. These are improving the quality of the soil and the wellbeing of the cows and lambs while capturing carbon from the atmosphere. In the near future, Jussi will take over his family farm and introduce his knowledge on sustainable farming, which he also hopes will set an example for other farmers to follow. This storymap is a part of the BeUBio storymap series young people whose business ideas, jobs and other activities lead the way towards a different and more sustainable economic path. With a variety of different examples, young people from across the Baltic Sea Region, inspire new ways of making business while having a positive impact to the environment and society. The overall aim is to build a community of like-minded people, by sharing our stories and inspiring each other. This initiative comes from the BeUBio project, a collaboration between different partners across the Baltic Sea Region pushing for youth participation in the transition to a bio-based economy, and create synergies with other actors and initiatives addressing the SDGs.
2020 May
- Storymap
- Nordic Region
- Bioeconomy
Māra Lieplapa: Generating value in rural areas from wild herbs
Freshly graduated from university, in 2018, Māra Lieplapa founded PLŪKT, a company producing teas from herbs hand-picked from Latvian nature. “There are some 1300 varieties of herbs in Latvia that are good for human consumption, yet, only few of these are actually used”. Making a product with a positive impact on the environment and the local area of Madona, was Māra’s drive to start her own business. This storymap is a part of the BeUBio storymap series young people whose business ideas, jobs and other activities lead the way towards a different and more sustainable economic path. With a variety of different examples, young people from across the Baltic Sea Region, inspire new ways of making business while having a positive impact to the environment and society. The overall aim is to build a community of like-minded people, by sharing our stories and inspiring each other. This initiative comes from the BeUBio project, a collaboration between different partners across the Baltic Sea Region pushing for youth participation in the transition to a bio-based economy, and create synergies with other actors and initiatives addressing the SDGs.
2020 April
- Storymap
- Baltic Sea Region
- Bioeconomy
Liisa Aavik: Zero Waste influencer, blogger and coach
With more than 2 years of experience living the ‘zero waste’ lifestyle, Liisa is an influencer, blogger and coach. She offers consultations and workshops, writes articles about sustainable living and is the owner of a blog suletudring.ee. Rather than guilt-tripping, Liisa’s approach is to provide useful tools and tips for how to build individual habits to help people reduce waste in their daily lives. Liisa is also involved in projects surrounding the circular economy and is a journalist for Rohegeenius (Green-Genius in English) online magazine where she writes about sustainability and nature. This storymap is a part of the BeUBio storymap series young people whose business ideas, jobs and other activities lead the way towards a different and more sustainable economic path. With a variety of different examples, young people from across the Baltic Sea Region, inspire new ways of making business while having a positive impact to the environment and society. The overall aim is to build a community of like-minded people, by sharing our stories and inspiring each other. This initiative comes from the BeUBio project, a collaboration between different partners across the Baltic Sea Region pushing for youth participation in the transition to a bio-based economy, and create synergies with other actors and initiatives addressing the SDGs.
2020 March
- Storymap
- Baltic Sea Region
- Bioeconomy