Luontoa is part of a EU Horizon funded project called Precilience, a project that seeks precision solutions to climate risks and adaptation in agriculture and forestry. Together with a consortium of 18 partners from five countries, we are mapping climate risks and co-developing adaptation tools along with stakeholders impacted by climate change. Altogether, the project covers 11 pilot areas across Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Estonia.
This autumn, we organized 11 workshops for stakeholders in forestry and agriculture. The Finnish workshops took place in the municipalities of Salo and Kouvola — pilot areas in South-West and South-East Finland. Around 70 participants attended these events, all of whom have already experienced some effects caused by climate change. Participants included farmers and forest owners, as well as representatives from advocacy and advisory organisations, finance sector organisations and research institutions.
Participants expressed particular concern about the growing risks posed by climate change, such as increasing drought and pest damages. There was a shared understanding that current practices must change, a concern that is widely shared by researchers. For example, Lauri Ahopelto, who studies drought risks, emphasized in an interview with Yle that the question is no longer whether Finland will experience a severe drought, but it has become a matter of when this will take place. Various water retention and management systems are also being tested as part of the Precilience project so that proactive measures in adaptation to droughts may be done.
Another recurring theme in the workshops was that the change is harder for ageing landowners. Letting go of long-standing habits can be difficult due to a strong emotional attachment to the customary ways of conducting agricultural and forestry work. Younger generations were perceived to be more willing to take financial risks and work longer hours. Participants highlighted the need for better information on the overall costs of climate risks to support investment decisions and insurance planning. Similarly, they called for clearer communication about existing funding channels and for these to be better directed toward proactive measures for adaptation.
The discussions also revealed the challenges relating to heavy workloads, the importance of family, and people’s deep connection to nature. Economic uncertainty and the need for peer support were identified as recurring concerns. The message was clear: farmers must not be left alone.
Recognitive justice plays a crucial role in climate work and hence also in Precilience project as it enables us to understand experiences of injustice and voice among different groups, and to value the work they have already done.In this project, our goal is not only to produce accurate risk modelling, but also to design, test, and share practical tools developed in collaboration with diverse stakeholders. Precilience aims for widespread uptake of precision solutions for climate change adaptation in ways that promote unified action and shared benefits of proactive action.
Text and photo: Paloma Hannonen