Taru Peltola

I am an environmental social scientist having background in environmental policy studies. My research topics have ranged from energy, forest biodiversity, wolves and other wildlife to food and waste issues. Currently my work is focused on water and plastics in the society. My research interest encompasses human-nature relations and the politics of environmental knowledge, including epistemic power relations and knowledge controversies. I am also exploring citizen engagement and agency in sustainability transformations. In addition to environmental policy studies I am inspired by science and technology studies, especially posthumanist and pragmatist approaches attending to non-human natures as well as corporeality and materialities in social scientific inquiry. Thereby, I am interested in the role of affects and emotions in environmental governance, human-wildlife cohabitation and care of things. In my work, I have also had a chance to experiment with science-art collaborations.

Ongoing projects:

PlastLIFE SIP (2023-2029)

Sense of Water (2022-2026)

Public Science (2021-2025)

Recent publications:

Peltola T, Saarela S-R, Kotilainen J, Litmanen T, Lukkarinen J, Pölönen I, Ratamäki O, Saarikoski H, Salo M & Vikström S (2023) Researcher roles in  collaborative governance interventions. Science and Public Policy, doi.org/10.1093/scipol/scad034

Peltola T & Ratamäki O (2023) Sharing epistemic power: digitally mediated wolf monitoring in Finland. Science as Culture, doi.org/10.1080/09505431.2023.2214148

Peltola T, Arpin I, Leino J, Peltonen L, Salmi P & Ratamäki O (2023) Management plans as resources in conservation conflicts. Environmental Policy and Governance 33(2), 206-218. doi.org/10.1002/eet.2014

All publications

I also work at the Finnish Environment Institute, Societal Change Unit