Publications
NIBIOs employees contribute to several hundred scientific articles and research reports every year. You can browse or search in our collection which contains references and links to these publications as well as other research and dissemination activities. The collection is continously updated with new and historical material.
2021
Authors
David Natcher Ingrid Kvalvik Olafur Reykdal Kristin Beate Hansen Florent Govaerts Silje Elde Bjørg Helen Nøstvold Rune Rødbotten Sigridur Dalmannsdottir Hilde Halland Eivind Uleberg Jón Árnason Páll Gunnar Pálsson Rakel Halldórsdóttir Óli Þór Hilmarsson Gunnar Þórðarson Þóra ValsdóttirAbstract
In 2016, the Sustainable Development Working Group (SDWG) endorsed The Arctic as a Food Producing Region research project. Involving research teams from Iceland, Norway, Canada, Greenland, and Russia, the objective of the project was to assess the potential for increased production and added value of foods originating from the Arctic, with the overarching aim of improving food security, while enhancing the social and economic conditions of Arctic communities. Although the Arctic was recognised as an important food-producing region, there was a shared sense that the Arctic was not meeting its full potential, either in terms of satisfying local food needs or for maximising its domestic or international export potential. Yet beyond speculation, much of which was informed by individual or anecdotal experience, there was little understanding of the current production capacities of Arctic food sectors or where opportunities may lie for sustainable growth. The aim of the project was, therefore, threefold: (1) complete an inventory of the current levels of Arctic food production in terms of products, volumes, revenues; (2) identify the constraints and opportunities for increased production value-added opportunities; and (3) identify potential pathways and new value chains for expanding Arctic food production and distribution opportunities. .............
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No abstract has been registered
Abstract
Background Bioenergy plays a key role in the transition to a sustainable economy in Europe, but its own sustainability is being questioned. We study the experiences of Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway, to find out whether the forest-based bioenergy chains developed in the four countries have led to unsustainable outcomes and how the countries manage the sustainability risks. Data were collected from a diversity of sources including interviews, statistical databases, the scientific literature, government planning documents and legislation. Results Sustainability risks of deforestation, degradation of forests, reduced carbon pools in forests, expensive biopower and heat, resource competition, and lack of acceptance at the local level are considered. The experience of the four countries shows that the sustainability risks can to a high degree be managed with voluntary measures without resorting to prescriptive measures. It is possible to add to the carbon pools of forests along with higher harvest volumes if the risks are well managed. There is, however, a marginal trade-off between harvest volume and carbon pools. Economic sustainability risks may be more challenging than ecological risks because the competitiveness order of renewable energy technologies has been reversed in the last decade. The risk of resource competition harming other sectors in the economy was found to be small and manageable but requires continuous monitoring. Local communities acting as bioenergy communities have been agents of change behind the most expansive bioenergy chains. A fear of non-local actors reaping the economic gains involved in bioenergy chains was found to be one of the risks to the trust and acceptance necessary for local communities to act as bioenergy communities. Conclusions The Nordic experience shows that it has been possible to manage the sustainability risks examined in this paper to an extent avoiding unsustainable outcomes. Sustainability risks have been managed by developing an institutional framework involving laws, regulations, standards and community commitments. Particularly on the local level, bioenergy chains should be developed with stakeholder involvement in development and use, in order to safeguard the legitimacy of bioenergy development and reconcile tensions between the global quest for a climate neutral economy and the local quest for an economically viable community. Keywords: Bioenergy, Sustainability, Risk assessment, Risk management, Nordic countries
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No abstract has been registered
2020
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In studies of consumption of local food specialties (LFSs), individual personalities are rarely mentioned. In this article, we want to expand on and provide a nuanced explanation of the characteristics of these consumers of these products, asking: Are there any personality traits that characterize these consumers? We use the Big Five personality model to unpack the relationship between individuals' personalities and choices of LFS in the Norwegian context. The model consists of the following five personal traits: extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience. These personality traits are latent, but through questions regarding behavior, the traits may be revealed. To construct latent variables to measure these traits, we apply the graded response model. Furthermore, socioeconomic variables are combined with personality traits in logistic regression models to find the relationships between personality and choice of Norwegian LFSs. Our results show that in all models the latent variable Openness to experience was one of the most important predictors of all the choices of LFS made by individuals. Openness to experience is characterized by fantasy, aesthetic sensitivity, attentiveness to inner feelings, preference for variety, and intellectual curiosity. The consequence of the connection between Openness to experience and LFS is that stakeholders may take this into account when seeking to increase sales.
Abstract
This paper contributes to the debate on sustainable water consumption by exploring the relation between consumers’ personality, understanding of risk/trust and social distinction in water drinking practices in Norway. Our main research question, how can we understand preferences for water consumption?, is approached by answering a set of hypotheses inspired by a combination of three theoretical approaches. Latent variables measuring personality and conspicuous attitudes are included in frequency models based on the statistical beta distribution together with other predictors. Statistical tests were performed to find the connection between expected frequency of water consumption, personality, risk/trust and conspicuous attitudes. The conclusion is that the consequence of the connections between consumers’ personality, understanding of risk and conspicuous consumption of water should be considered by Norwegian stakeholders when planning future strategies and methods for more sustainable water consumption.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Raffaele Spinelli Rien Visser Natascia Magagnotti Carolina Lombardini Giovanna Ottaviani AalmoAbstract
Integration of technology is commonplace in forestry equipment supporting higher levels of automation and efficiency. For technology adoption to be successful it must demonstrate improvement in productivity, cost–effectiveness or in human factors and ergonomics. Cable yarding lends itself to automation with repetitive machine movement along a fixed corridor, as established by the skyline. This study aimed at investigating the difference in productivity between the two possible settings (manual and automated) of a Valentini V850 yarder equipped with automatic path programming, with a Bergwald 3-t carriage and radio controlled chokers. The study took place in the northern Italian Alpine eastern region over a period of 8 days on two separate corridors, resulting in 280 measured cycles split between manual and automated. Results in terms of absolute numbers were very close for the two system options, but significant differences were found. For example, inhaul time was longer, but outhaul time shorter for the automated system. Productivity ranged from 8.2 to 13.3 m3 PMH-1, and cost from approximately 20 to 30 € m-3. The automated system did achieve a significantly higher productivity, but differences declined with extraction distance. When that was combined with the slightly higher cost for the automated system, the automated system was more cost-effective on extraction distances less than 200 m, and the manual system on longer distances.
Abstract
This study aims to identify some of the critically important factors in the sustainability of microbreweries in peripheral northern areas, focusing on the entrepreneurs’ understanding of sustainability. Theoretically, this study adopts the perspective of service-dominant logic on value. Methodologically, it uses an action-research approach and conducts in-depth interviews with four entrepreneurs. The findings suggest that the entrepreneurs reflect on several relevant issues in line with sustainability thinking. The perception of sustainability, especially environmental sustainability, is one subject that the entrepreneurs perceive and sometimes in conflict with the economic sustainability of their businesses. Constraints recognized include the lack of strategic planning and explicit discussions about sustainability with potential stakeholders. A critically important factor for the sustainability of microbreweries is the need for entrepreneurs to engage in wider discussions about the conceptual and practical aspects of sustainability, especially with government and community bodies.
Authors
Lampros LamprinakisAbstract
No abstract has been registered