This article analyses how technological, industrial, institutional, social, and spatial context influences the adoption of clean energy technologies using the Stockholm archipelago as its empirical setting. The paper examines the role of technology as an independent contextual element along with commonly used concepts within context analysis. Empirically, the paper provides new knowledge of what affects the adoption of clean energy technologies. The study was designed using a combination of phenomenology and text analysis, based on data extracted from semi-structured interviews, field visit notes, workshops, public documents, and other sources. We identified five meaning-bearing units, namely systemic issues; monopoly issues; government, governance, formal and informal institutions; networks, social capital and agency; and geography and infrastructure. Results indicate that the adoption of clean energy technologies is easier when technologies have gained support from the state and can be adopted individually with a low level of infrastructural investments. Technologies that are conditioned by the need to make large infrastructural investments are more difficult to adopt. The institutional, geographical, and infrastructural fragmentation of the archipelago limits the possibility of adopting clean energy technologies, thereby limiting the access of sustainable solutions for local communities and local businesses. The article outlines possible pathways to foster the adoption of clean energy technologies in the archipelago context.
Croatia is among the European countries struggling with serious demographic issues, having experienced a population decline of –9.64% between the last two censuses. For over a century, Croatian islands have been hotspots of emigration, with the demographic peak occurring in 1921. Despite negative natural change continuing to affect island demography, in the last decade, it seems that the migrational flow has turned in favor of these sensitive and isolated communities. As a result, the islands which are predominantely rural areas, seem to become an immigration oasis, potentialy offering new opportunities for growth and development. Available data shows that during the last intercensus period (2011–2021), only two out of the 50 inhabited islands experienced a negative migrational balance. At the same time, significant increase in housing construction has been recorded on the islands, which, combined with the pressure of massive tourism, is transforming their traditional rural landscapes. Many of those houses have been used as second homes ocasionaly or seasonally over the year. This research provides a comprehensive analysis of statistical demographic and housing data for Croatian islands, contextualizing them to answer the question of whether the Croatian islands have suddenly become an immigration hub. The findings reveal the unreliability of statistical data and highlight the issue of false residence registration in Croatia. Namely, a thorough data analysis of the number of issued island cards, together with a survey conducted among representatives of island administrations, indicates that the observed population increase and positive migration balance may be the result of false residence registration on the islands. This brings up challenges in accurately interpreting the social and demographic processes occurring on the islands, and calls for better methods for collecting and analyzing data. The research sheds light on the impact of the aging population and population decline, revealing the transformation of the islands from permanent residential areas to secondary residency sites.
This article details corrections to Bohlin, M and Bohlin, N. (2026) ‘Promoting Vitality and Sustainable Development on Åstol Island: Insights from Local Perspectives’. Rural Landscapes: Society, Environment, History, 13(1): 1, 1–13. DOI: https://doi.org/10.16993/rl.152
Forests are contested spaces where state agencies and local communities vie for authority. India’s Forest Rights Act (FRA) seeks to address these tensions by formally recognizing the rights of forest-dwelling communities and acknowledging historical injustices. Although this recognition is implemented through committees involving tribal welfare, forest, and revenue officials, forest departments continue to obstruct the process. How do they manage to do so despite the presence of the other departments? Drawing on sensemaking and sensegiving theory, this article investigates the recognition of forest rights claims submitted by Adivasi communities in Nagarhole National Park. Using discourse analysis of forest rights committee meetings and interviews with relevant actors, we show that power is exercised through historically grounded knowledge and legal expertise, deployed via particular forms of sensemaking. To enhance the effectiveness of transformative policies such as the FRA, training programs for officials must incorporate local histories to help them better navigate complex socio-ecological realities. Policymakers should also work toward integrating related laws to avoid fragmented reforms. Such measures can reduce the ambiguities that powerful actors exploit through certain forms of sensegiving, and instead, foster more constructive interpretive practices. Only then can transformative policies meaningfully redress past injustices against communities deeply connected to natural landscapes, supporting more just and sustainable futures.
This study explores agricultural fertilization practices in al-Andalus—the Medieval Islamic territory in Iberia—through textual sources and the archaeological record. Following research on the off-site record, it is suggested that the presence of Andalusi ceramic fragments in cultivated fields is not accidental but rather the result of intentional use due to their incorporation into fertilizer produced in domestic environments. Through the analysis of Andalusi geoponic treatises, it is demonstrated that ceramics, along with other waste materials such as construction debris, were added to compost to enhance soil quality. Despite the increasing application of off-site record studies in Iberian archaeological research, the role of domestic waste in Andalusi agricultural practices remains understudied. This paper seeks to bridge that gap by integrating written sources with archaeological survey data, thus providing new insights into Andalusi agricultural landscapes. The findings emphasize the need for interdisciplinary approaches that combine archaeology, geoarchaeology, and historical sources to reconstruct medieval cultivation strategies.
