A-6/15 Moral landscapes of the outfields

This article explores the relationships between morality and landscape in the struggles over use and management of the Norwegian outfields. The outfields are appreciated and valuated by different stakeholder groups and has a range of uses, purposes and meanings, regarding natural, cultural, symbolic as well as economic resources. The article is based on studies of two areas: (1) The Dovrefjell area which has both high recreational value, locally and nationally, and is an area of great environmental significance – in particular as a vital habitat for wild reindeer and (2) The South-Sámi areas in Mid-Norway which has seen many debates and conflicts between the South-Sámi reindeer herding and other stakeholders’ urge to develop new and alternative sources of income based on the resources in the outfields. The article demonstrates how different stakeholders mobilise different moralities in the outfields, and uses the concept of moral landscapes to address these relationships between moral assessments and the landscapes of the outfields. It concerns how landscapes both shape and reflect moral values. The outfields both shape and reflect different moralities, and these relationships play a profound role in different stakeholders’ assessments of use and management of the outfields. Utmark, nr 1&2 2014