The YHYS 2024 Fall Colloquium brought together over 200 attendees, making it the largest event in the history of the Finnish Society for Environmental Social Science. Hosted for the first time by LUT Business School, this year’s colloquium also marked the 30th anniversary of YHYS, commemorated with a published book. The theme, The Anthropocene: Action and Agency for Preventing Collapse, focused on environmental governance, systemic change, and interdisciplinary research.
Action4Commons researchers participated in the event by co-hosting the session Collective Action for the Commons: Stakeholder Engagement and Polycentricity including researchers from both LUT Business School and Tampere University. The session explored governance challenges related to shared natural resources and how stakeholder engagement and polycentric governance can support sustainable management. Professor Laura Albareda—the Principal Investigator of the Action4Commons project at LUT Business School—also acted as the Conference Chair of the entire YHYS 2024, showcasing the strong connection between the conference themes and the research focus of Action4Commons.
Addressing the Governance of Commons
The session examined the governance of common-pool resources such as biodiversity, ecosystem services, and genetic diversity—resources that are shared by many but vulnerable to overuse. Drawing from Elinor Ostrom’s (1990) research, discussions focused on how polycentric governance—decentralized decision-making involving multiple actors—can help manage these resources more effectively.
A key theme was the role of stakeholder engagement in managing these resources. Stakeholders, including businesses, policymakers, and civil society organizations, play a crucial role in shaping governance structures. The discussion highlighted how businesses, rather than being external actors, are embedded within commons governance and must collaborate with other stakeholders to generate both economic and social value.
Multidisciplinary Exchange at YHYS 2024
YHYS 2024 facilitated discussions between scholars from social sciences, humanities, business studies, and environmental sciences. The colloquium emphasized systemic change across sectoral boundaries and scales, aligning with Action4Commons’ focus on collaborative and polycentric governance modes for sustainability.
Keynote talks by Professor Steffen Böhm and Research Professor Katriina Soini addressed agency and action in the Anthropocene, emphasizing governance models that account for environmental complexity and empower actors to drive change.
Looking Ahead: YHYS 2025 in Oulu
YHYS 2024 set the stage for continued discussion on commons governance and stakeholder engagement. Next year’s colloquium will be hosted by the University of Oulu, providing another opportunity to build on these conversations.
Thanks to the organizers at LUT Business School, session hosts, and participants for contributing to this year’s discussions. Action4Commons remains committed to advancing research and practice in commons governance and stakeholder engagement. More updates to come as we continue our work.
Comments