Residents of Savukoski are encouraged to respond to an online survey mapping environmental changes and their effects. The survey is conducted by the Universities of Lapland and Turku. Answers can be given during February – March 2022.

The survey is part of EU Horizon 2020 funded research
project called CHARTER, which studies how the Arctic environment has changed and
will change in the next decades due to natural and man-made factors, such as climate
change. 

Changes in northern climate and in land use
affect biodiversity, snow and ice cover, as well as human communities and local
industries. The changes are especially felt in the daily lives of those who work in
nature, such as reindeer herders and fishermen, and those involved in agriculture,
forestry and tourism. Northern nature and local communities are also increasingly
affected by new forms of land use, such as mining and wind power generation, which
bring both challenges and opportunities.

Bruce
Forbes, a research professor at the Arctic Centre, University of Lapland and the
leader of the CHARTER project emphasizes the importance of the local
knowledge. 

– Local people’s observations will be heard
and they enrich the research data. The observations help to build an overall picture
of the changes and their significance. This way we can provide to decision makers
data that is more diverse and that takes local specificities into account, Forbes
says.

In the online survey respondents can tell about the changes
they have observed in the environment and mark them on the map. 

– The changes can concern for example changes in seasonal weather or snow
and ice conditions during the respondent’s lifetime or changes in the
occurrence of certain plant and animal species, erosion, floods or changes in forest
fires, says researcher Salla Eilola from the Department of Geography and Geology,
University of Turku.

In addition, the survey
collects information on future views, such as where possible new activities in the
Savukoski region should be directed or which areas should be saved from land use
development.

The survey is intended for residents of the
Savukoski region and those who live there seasonally. Researchers are looking for
answers especially from reindeer herders, fishermen, hunters and others who spend a
lot of time in nature.

The survey is available in Finnish and in
English and it can be answered on a computer, tablet or smartphone.

Go to the survey: bit.ly/Savukoskenkysely

More information about the survey and CHARTER -project

Salla Eilola
PhD, Postdoctoral researcher
Department of Geography and Geology, University of Turku
salla.eilola@utu.fi 

Bruce Forbes
Research professor
Arctic Centre, University of Lapland
bruce.forbes(at)ulapland.fi
040 847 9202

Website of the CHARTER -project: www.charter-arctic.org