Taru Peltola

I am an environmental social scientist specialising on environmental policy. My research topics have ranged from energy, forest biodiversity, wolves and other wildlife to food and waste issues. 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 calling for attention 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.

Projects:

PlastLIFE SIP (2023-2029)

Sense of Water (2022-2026)

Public Science (2021-2025)

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