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MILJØFORSK-Miljøforskning for en grønn samfunnsomstilling

ILLEGAL HUNTING AS A CHALLENGE TO NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND LAW ENFORCEMENT: CONTESTED LEGITIMACY AND RESISTANCE

Alternative title: ULOVLIG JAKT SOM UTFORDRING FOR NATURFORVALTNING OG RETTSSYSTEM: MOTSTAND OG SVIKTENDE LEGITIMITET

Awarded: NOK 4.0 mill.

The work of regulating UU is demanding. The police face criticism both for doing too much, going after "ordinary people" and using resources on this, but also for doing too little and taking too easily on such matters. These conflicts are also found within the police. Many are hunters and can have quite strong views on wolves. In SNO this seems to be a minor problem. The regulation consists of both preventive work, supervision / surveillance and investigation. Today's control picture is characterized by the fact that SNO carries out much of the police work and follow-up in the field, while the role of the police there has diminished in recent decades. It depends, among other things. along with the closure of local police units and lack of resources in the field. Method use has also changed. Very rarely do the police receive tips that are of such a nature that a case can be raised. Investigation of "ordinary" cases is often based on information from witnesses who have observed the offense, which is unusual in the case of wolves. In recent years, after 2013, therefore, the police have in some cases used so-called proactive methods, that is, they have used hidden methods to monitor environments or persons believed to be operating UU. These types of methods help to make experts, intelligence and analysis more central than the local knowledge that local police had before. An unintended effect is that this type of offense is often classified as more serious than before and can be described as organized crime. In the context of our other findings, there is little doubt that this may reinforce the impression of abuse of power by the authorities.

Se resultatrapport.

Environmental governance, such as natural resource management (NRM), depends on the legitimacy of the institutions that decide, implement and enforce policies and regulations. With the recovery of large carnivore (LC) populations in Scandinavia, a relative consensus about NRM regimes has been challenged by several forms of resistance including illegal hunting. This study answers to the need for a better understanding of the socio-political drivers of this development. Taking illegal hunting of LC as our example, we will investigate how illegal activities that jeopardize national environmental goals are related to legitimacy challenges facing government institutions. We will address these issues by means of quantitative as well as qualitative methods. Based on previous studies of the LC conflicts, we will design a general population survey (in selected areas and at the national level) and a survey of hunters. In parallel, a qualitative study of enforcement agencies will be undertaken. The study as a whole will focus on the acceptance of illegal hunting in communities and population segments, and especially among hunters, in order to better understand the "social climate" in which illegal hunting takes place. This social climate will also affect enforcement, especially in small rural communities. We will attempt to explain how views on illegal hunting are connected to other political issues, and are embedded in "general worldviews". We anticipate that this is essential in order to understand the drivers behind this type of defiant activity, and to develop methods to deal with it. Suggesting such methods, in a dialogue with enforcement agencies, hunters? organizations, and other stakeholders, is a goal for the project. Our aim is to contribute to a framework of understanding that elucidates more general mechanisms of non-compliance and resistance related to NRM, thus providing guidance for mitigation strategies in other types of conflict as well.

Funding scheme:

MILJØFORSK-Miljøforskning for en grønn samfunnsomstilling