Abstract

The purpose of this dissertation was to explore ways to transcend the current negative impact of rationalisation in the agricultural sector that has taken place during the last five decades. Rationalisation has been part of the process of globalisation, which induced environmental degradation and a decrease of liveability in rural areas in Sweden. Globalisation has caused the disembeddedness of people from their local environment. As a result, people no longer perceive feedback from that part of the non-human environment that is affected by their action. Moreover, global society has become increasingly vulnerable to crises as the redundancy of numerous relatively self-sufficient systems gradually disappeared. To examine the interface between the human and non-human environment, an interdisciplinary research approach has been adopted. Participatory research has been complemented with an interview study and questionnaire survey. I have chosen to explore the role of the non-human environment in liveability and the potential consequences of this for the scientific discussion of ecological land use. Liveability comprises of (the interrelationships between) five variables: local inhabitants, community life, service level, local economy and physical place. Social activities generate a sense-of-community and reinforce the local stock of social capital, an important driving force behind the local economy. In order to understand the role of the non-human environment in liveability, the relationship between physical place and the other variables has been investigated. A shift has been perceived from an emphasis on the production value of the local, non-human environment to a perception of this environment in experiential terms. For the scientific discussion of ecological land use this might imply that a certain degree of local self-reliance and self-sufficiency could both induce liveability and re-establish feedback relationships that allow for the adaptive management of the non-human and human environment. This learning approach to ecological land use, facilitated by a certain degree of re-localisation of decision making and resource use, is considered to be one alternative for obtaining liveability and a more ecologically sound land use.