Co-planning of land use sector climate change mitigation in the Kiiminkijoki river catchment

In Finland, climate change mitigation in the land use sector concentrates on peatland dominated areas. However, local actors have limited knowledge how to prioritize and target climate measures within catchment areas. In this project, we construct a comprehensive plan of land use sector climate measures for Kiiminkijoki catchment, located in northern Finland. The ensemble of climate measures is planned so that it is environmentally sustainable, socially just, and economically feasible. The project gathers natural and social scientists as well as local actors into a transdisciplinary co-planning process that integrates science and practice, and which enables active commitment of local actors. In the process, we firstly choose which climate measures are assessed with which criteria, secondly, conduct a pilot of sub-catchment ecological management planning, and thirdly, perform a multicriteria assessment with which the collaboratively accepted measures are chosen. The chosen measures are included in a road map, which defines responsible actors, preliminary timetable, and possible funding source for each measure. While the measures are not widely implemented during the project, they are planned to be implemented before 2035. The project starts a transition towards lower climate emissions and increased sinks in the catchment. It also promotes local commitment for climate work.