Payments for Improved Ecostructure (PIE): Funding for the Coexistence of Humans and Wolves in Finland

Abstract

The gray wolf (Canis lupus) is a source of concern and a cause of damage to people's livelihoods. In Finland, as in most countries, actual damages are compensated according to the real lost value. However, often, the suffered damages are larger than what is compensated, and worries and fears are not accounted for at all. The purpose of our transdisciplinary action research is to contribute to the process of modifying the scientific, administrative, and everyday habits of mind in order to meet the practical prerequisites of living with the wolf. In 2014, we planned and participated in a process designed to update Finland's wolf population management plan. During our study, we applied e-deliberation, conducted a national wolf survey, and organized solution-oriented workshops in wolf territory areas around Finland. By applying abductive reasoning, we illustrate the basic features of an economic scheme that would help finance and coordinate practical modifications to the ecological, economic, and institutional circumstances and settings in wolf territory areas. The potential economic instrument is based on payments for improved ecostructures. In our paper, we describe the organization, functioning, and financing of this instrument in detail.

Looking for a common ground: useful knowledge and adaptation in wolf politics in southwestern Finland

“…This had led hunters in our study area both to apply for derogates from the regional wildlife administrators and to request killing orders from the police annually. While this is not clearly present in our case focusing on the territory level the process has fostered co-adaptation in the institutional setup, administrative practices and useful knowledge (see also Hiedanpää andPellikka 2012, Hiedanpää et al 2016). The co-adaptation of authorities has been to increase collaboration, exchange information, and inform each other about the decisions they make regarding wolves.…”

Embracing diverse worldviews to share planet Earth

“…To take one particularly prominent example, the nature‐as‐service‐provider framework, including the concept of ES and associated programs, such as payments for ES (PES), has been successful in driving conservation efforts in many locales, for example, wolf conservation in the U.S. northwest and Finland, where compensation payments to ranchers have been a central part of conservation efforts (Muhly & Musiani ; Hiedanpää et al. ). Another example comes from Switzerland, where the Landscape Quality Contribution program ( Contribution à la qualité du paysage ), which provides payments to promote aspects of landscape quality, such as increased biodiversity and reduced erosion, expanded in the 3 years following its 2014 launch to the point where it was working with three‐quarters of farmers in the country (OFAG ).…”