Place-embedded agency: Exploring knowledge–place connections for enabling plurality in governance of social–ecological systems

[摘要] 1. Including different forms of knowledges and views in decision-making is crucialto managing the complexity of social–ecological systems (SES) in ways that areinclusive and embrace diversity.2. Sense of place scholarship can explain subjectivity in SES; however, it has hardlybeen considered together with the literature on knowledge processes, overlooking the epistemic dimension of sense of place and its potential to shed lighton the roles and views of individuals in respect to natural resources and theirmanagement.3. This paper explores how local knowledge and place-belonging (as a form of senseof place) intersect, and what kinds of implications these knowledge–place connections have for the interactions between actors and their agency in the HighCoast/Kvarken Archipelago UNESCO World Heritage Site (Sweden/Finland).4. Drawing on participant observation in workshops and semi-structured interviews with diverse actors in this transboundary governance context, we identifyfive types of knowledge–place connections, which exemplify diverse positionson local knowledge shaped by place-belonging.5. We propose a concept of place-embedded agency to reveal how these positionsshape action and interaction between people inside and outside formal decisionmaking processes. We argue that recognising and taking place-embedded agencyinto account can help to overcome tensions and enhance plurality in SES governance.

[学科分类] 护理学

[关键词] agency;ecosystem governance;local knowledge;place-belonging;social–ecological systems;World Heritage