What constitutes a meaningful stakeholder process in the transition to sustainability?

Efforts are often made in various ways to protect the Saimaa ringed seal, Finland's only native mammal and a species classified as critically endangered. Among these measures, restrictions on fishing – and net fishing in particular – have led to prolonged tensions between supporters of stricter and more lenient restrictions. There is broad support for the protection of the Saimaa ringed seal as a species, but there are differing views on how this protection should be implemented, which causes tension.

The challenges have been particularly evident in the working groups established by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MMM) and the Ministry of the Environment (YM) to prepare conservation policy, which have been unable to reach consensus on the formulation of conservation measures and monitoring indicators. The Ministry of the Environment is responsible for the management and monitoring of Saimaa ringed seal conservation, and a conservation working group appointed by the ministry updates the Saimaa ringed seal conservation strategy every five years. Fishing restrictions, on the other hand, fall under the responsibility of the MMM and are implemented by a government decree issued every five years. The ministry has set up a working group bringing together several stakeholders to prepare the decree. 

Cooperative capacity at the heart of working group research

As with the Norppa working groups, the Finnish government routinely convenes working groups that seek to resolve various socio-ecological challenges and provide a forum for stakeholder participation. However, insufficient attention is often paid to power relations, conflict dynamics, and group operating methods.

In a recent article in the Alue ja Ympäristö magazine, we examined the stakeholder processes established by the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry from the perspective of collaborative capacity using surveys and interviews. Collaborative capacity refers to the conditions that different groups need in order to achieve effective cooperation and sustainable change. It can be examined in four different dimensions: the capacities of individuals, organizations, relationships between parties, and administrative systems.

Previous research has shown that stakeholder processes benefit from members who are motivated to participate and trust each other. Members must have a clear mandate and sufficient resources from their own organizations and background groups, as well as from the convening actor, such as a ministry. Clear operating methods and the working peace they create play a key role in supporting interaction and problem solving. These factors are particularly important in conflict situations, but they also help prevent conflicts. 

In our study, we found that seal working groups tend to coordinate mainly superficial interests and demands, and that little attention is paid to the working methods of the groups, among other things. Many of the cornerstones of constructive negotiation, such as the decision-making structure, roles, and the mandates and decision-making powers of the groups, appear unclear to members, which does not allow for predictable and stable planning processes and peaceful working conditions. These factors have contributed to increased confrontation and mistrust between the parties and alienated some members from the groups' work. The siloing of ministries into their areas of responsibility for fisheries (MMM) and conservation (YM) also creates overlap and deadlocks in the groups, which undermines the meaningfulness of the work.

Strengthening cooperation in the ringed seal working groups requires timely investments in all dimensions of capacity. In order to develop trust between the parties, it is necessary to clarify the working group infrastructure, constructively integrate different types of information, and resolve previous conflicts through dialogue. If the operating methods and conflict dynamics of the groups are not actively taken into account, or if development measures are not implemented simultaneously in several capacity dimensions, the conditions for cooperation may be paralysed far into the future. 

Major trends such as the decline in biodiversity and the transition to sustainability will increase the need to reconcile different interests. This will highlight the need for new expertise in both administration and among other parties involved in environmental decision-making.

The work of the conservation working group continues in the Material Democracy project

We are currently serving as invited experts in the Ministry of the Environment's Saimaa ringed seal conservation working group as part of Matias Sivonen's doctoral dissertation and the Material Democracy project, researching and developing stakeholder processes and working groups related to sustainability and energy transition.

We aim to introduce new ways of working to the groups and strengthen their long-term problem-solving capabilities through various interventions. The seal groups offer lessons for developing new ways of participation that can be widely utilized in environmental decision-making.

Sivonen, M., & Peltonen, L. (2025). Yhteistoiminnallinen kapasiteetti kalastuksen ja saimaannorpan suojelun yhteensovittamisessa. Alue ja Ympäristö, 54(1), 28–52. https://doi.org/10.30663/ay.149239

Text: Matias Sivonen and Lasse Peltonen

Editing: Liisa Perjo and Kaisa Schmidt-Thomé

Photo: Unto Rautio, Aalto University