The four case studies in which ToSIA was applied in:
1) The Finnish case study aimed at analysing sustainability impacts of increased use of forest resources for bioenergy. Bioenergy supply chains were compared using sustainability indicators which were selected by regional stakeholders. A small scale district heating plant showed a higher employment effect, lower cost efficiency and smaller greenhouse gas emissions compared to a medium scale district heating plant. ToSIA was applied to assess sustainability impacts of supply chain modifications in interaction with the managers of district heating plants. The multi-criteria analysis module of ToSIA was tested in a stakeholder session with the regional Forestry Council, to assess the impacts of alternative harvest levels for developing the next forest management plan. ToSIA was also used in regional strategy preparation in assessing the impacts of the targets set in the “Climate and Energy Programme of North Karelia 2020”. More info about the case is available at:
http://www.northerntosia.org/files/attachments/northerntosia/final_conference/final_copy_of_flier_case_study_north_karelia.pdf
2) The Scottish case study in the Cairngorms National Park worked at two levels: at a forest stand level by assessing various forest management scenarios, and at a National Park level by spatially determining where woodland expansion is suitable. The case study focused on regional development and multi-functionality of forests, and on examining the impact this has on several sustainability indicators. The case study developed a linkage between a GIS-based heuristic optimization model for site suitability and ToSIA to generate spatially explicit management alternatives. The selection of scenarios and indicators concerning the case were developed and discussed with managers and planners from the Cairngorms National Park Authority and numerous regional stakeholders. Results were suggested to be included in the upcoming Cairngorm National Park Plan 2012. More info about the case is available at:
http://www.northerntosia.org/files/attachments/northerntosia/n_tosia_brochure_scotland_cairngorms.pdf
3) The Swedish case study extended the ToSIA applications to include non-forest-wood-chains. The study included both the indigenous Sami people’s reindeer husbandry chains and regional forest-wood-chains, which are not linked in their operations but take place on the same forest resource and thus influence each other. Hereby the case investigated challenges and effects of land use between forest industry and reindeer herding: Indicator data for forestry and for reindeer husbandry chains were collected, checked and discussed in meetings with Sami representatives and other stakeholders. The interest for continued communication between Sami and forest industry also after the project end was initiated. More info about the case is available at:
http://www.northerntosia.org/files/attachments/northerntosia/mala_case_study_flyer_final.pdf
4) The Norwegian case study investigated how regional sustainability indicators are affected by changes in the local wood processing industry (one saw mill closed down and could possibly be replaced by a new one in the future). Furthermore, the possible impacts of increased forest protection on the local forest and tourism industry were investigated. An MSc thesis on implications of tourism in protected areas as a source of local, forest-based income was completed. More information can be found at:
www.northerntosia.org/portal/case_study_in_norway
More information on ToSIA, all cases and the project is available on the Northern ToSIA website (www.northerntosia.org) and on the ToSIA webpage (http://tosia.efi.int).
Northern ToSIA was lead by the European Forest Institute, and case studies were implemented together with the partners Forestry Centre of North Karelia (Finland), Forest Research / Forestry Commission (Scotland), Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences SLU (Sweden) and Department of Agriculture, County Governor of Nordland (Norway).
Final products:
Northern ToSIA focused on sustainable use options of forest resources in the Northern periphery, and on investigating with stakeholders which impact their (potential) decisions have on forests, people working and living from them, and other (professional) groups who are not directly employed in the forest-based sector but for whom Nordic forests are a vital base of their existence. These included Samí reindeer herding corporations (siida) as well as national park authorities and nature-based tourism, but also regional authorities working on programmes translating EU regulations from the international to the local level.
These impact assessments are reproducible, transparent and quantitative, based on comparing possible scenarios with a baseline (=status quo). The tool used, adapted and further developed for this was ToSIA: Tool for Sustainability Impact Assessment. The case study results and the impact they had in terms of challenging creative and impact-cause-related thinking for local decision makers is the most important “final product”.
Here is a collection of other main products from the Northern ToSIA project:
ToSIA 2.0:
The ToSIA tool package consists of the ToSIA Database Client used for designing case studies and the ToSIA model used to run them. The focus of improvements was in giving users more guidance in entering their case studies into the system, and running them. This included creating a guided data entry template (“Wizard”) that can be used for entering or updating large amounts of data for case studies. Data error tracing was improved both in the database client and the ToSIA model. The ToSIA model developed a new result allocation functionality and more customisable reports of calculation results. The ToSIA model is now also available in three language (English, Swedish and Finnish); the operational language is chosen automatically based on desktop settings.
Information on accessing the improved ToSIA 2.0 can be obtained from http://tosia.efi.int/tmug.
Information package
- General ToSIA brochure: "ToSIA - Tool for Sustainability Impact Assessment" in several languages:
http://www.northerntosia.org/files/attachments/northerntosia/final_conference/final_copy_n_tosia_general_flier.pdf
- Brochure with results of the Finnish Case Study on "Bio-energy case study in North Karelia, Finland":
http://www.northerntosia.org/files/attachments/northerntosia/final_conference/final_copy_of_flier_case_study_north_karelia.pdf
- Brochure with results of the Swedish Malå case study:
http://www.northerntosia.org/files/attachments/northerntosia/mala_case_study_flyer_final.pdf
- Brochure with results of the Scottish Inshirach Case study:
http://www.northerntosia.org/files/attachments/northerntosia/n_tosia_brochure_scotland_cairngorms.pdf
ToSIA – the film:
An animated ToSIA film was created, so that awareness of the ToSIA tool could be spread to a more general audience using an approachable format. The 5 minute film has been consequently posted on EFI web pages and YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6hNi-g6f3s). This visually enticing result works to motivate new users of ToSIA or for use in public presentations of the tool for interested experts new to the topic.
Northern ToSIA Conference
The final conference was one of the project highlights, which brought international stakeholders from policy, practice and research into the wild of Lapland to exchange experiences from within and outside the project. Vivid discussions formed around the topics of the cases and further experiences (reindeer husbandry, indigenous people’s rights, certification, tourism, mining, nature consideration, bioenergy, environmentalistic grassroot activism, forest and park management) from different national backgrounds within the Northern Periphery (Swedish, Finnish and Norwegian Lapland, Scottish Highlands) were shared freely, as well as how sustainability impact assessment – as provided by ToSIA – can be and was helpful.
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