This thesis is my exploration of the immaterial heritage that is the craft of bending of ?dn?ris? out of spruce. It?s a broken tradition that is scarcely described, mainly through Yngve Ryd?s report T?ltk?tor (1999) that contains interviews with two knowledge keepers, Nilas Tuolja and Johan Rassa. Yngve Ryd?s report went against the earlier opinion by the mid 20th century ethnologist Ernst Manker who claimed that they were only made exclusively out of mountain birch that has curved growth. As a background, I discuss the special importance of heritage conservation, both material and immaterial, in a S?mi context as being an indigenous people.

Zoos currently aim at keeping animals in as natural habitats as possible, since they havegone from displaying exotic animals to working with conservation of endangered species.It is therefore more common that zoos keep groups composed of two or more species in thesame enclosure. The aim of this report is to study why and how different species are held atzoos. Species in the wild can interact in different degrees depending on season andresources. When species are held together at zoos the space can be more effectively used,the animals increase their activity and the visitors increase their learning. Mixed speciesenclosures involve more work and risks of injury.

The aim of this essay is to contribute to a better understanding of the prehistoric site Flyhov in the province of V?sterg?tland, Sweden and its immediate surroundings from an archaeological perspective. The site contains material artistic and ritual expressions from different prehistoric periods, and its long use-history (from the Stone Age until today) shows that the site, and its remains, has attracted the interest from people in prehistory, in modern times, as well as today. With a point of departure in perspectives derived from hermeneutics and phenomenology the essay examines the site?s prehistoric remains, the use of, and the interest directed towards, the site and its remains during different time- and use-horizons and how these horizons have been affected and intertwined with each other, in a manner where earlier material expressions have affected people and their new expressions.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse and discuss clinch-nails found at an excavation at terrace II in the Garrison of Birka, on the island of Björkö in Sweden. This type of clinch-nails is common in Viking age Sweden and is usually interpreted as coming from boats. The study will try to show that these types of nails could have been used in several kinds of wooden constructions. It will also show how the nails were made and what kinds of tools were used by the Viking smiths. The study has shown that this type of nails were used in several different types of wooden constructions such as boats, sleds, cart bodies, coffins, Birka's ramparts and buildings.

Biodiversity consists of all life on Earth and in all forms. Biodiversity is often discussed at three levels: ecosystem, species and genetic variation within species. Biodiversity also provides many of the ecosystem services performed by nature and that we depend on, including cultural services such as aesthetic values, education and recreation. In Sweden the environmental objectives are central; there are 16 environmental quality objectives, and "A rich plant and animal life" is one of them. Conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity is a prerequisite for achieving also most other environmental objectives. Another environmental quality objective that is tied to a rich biodiversity in cities and biodiversity is "Good built environment" where cities, towns and other built environment should provide a good living habitat and contribute to a good environment.

Sweden has had laws protecting nature for about a hundred years. In this paper the views of nature and the values that serve as a rationale for protective measures are analyzed as results of a social process characterized by the dialectic relationship between institutions and discourse. Critical discourse analysis (CDA) is used to study this relationship and the discursive practices used by institutions, which reproduce or reshape views of nature that define the relationship between society and nature. Institutional design contributes to shaping discourse in the field of nature protection, while being originally shaped by discourse. In Sweden, the national park is an institution that reproduces a view of nature as the wild and untamed opposite of society, and the natural reserves reproduce a view of nature as holder of a multi-faceted set of values intertwined with society.

Feral animal populations are distributed over many parts of the world and are often seen as a problem. Since they are a threat against other species, destroy farmlands and can spread dis-eases, they are often referred to as pests. Artificial selection has contributed to loss of genetic diversity in our domesticated animals. Feral animal populations are affected by natural selec-tion, which allows them to adapt to the environment. Their ability to adapt is a reason to see them as pests but can also be seen as an asset.

This paper is the result of an osteological study of the skeletal remains uncovered during an archaeological excavation of the medieval cemetery in Norra Nöbbelöv. The purpose of the study is to compare the material from the rural site (Norra Nöbbelöv) with materials excavated from the old medieval graveyards in the city of Lund. The aim is to try and shedsome light on the question of whether there is any difference in the occurrence and frequency of fractures and osteoarthritis in the materials compared. The first section of the paper consists of a short historical background of Norra Nöbbelöv and Lund, a chapter on ethics, general results of the analysis and the methods used. Thissection was co-authored by Ulla Zagal-Mach and Åsa Strandh.

Baled silage has become one of the most important conservation methods in Sweden. Because we take our grass as silage we get the quality and the good hygenic that we would like to have. Silage has become a big buisiness also in the horse feeding where many of the breeders have changed from the hay to the hay-silage. The difference between regular silage and haysilage is that the hay silage is dryer (60-70%DM). The hay-silage has also put higher demands on machinery and wrapping material since the grass gets sharper and harder to press together real hard. The main reason for the test was to compare two different systems for wrapping, the new Cross Pac and conventional.

The purpose of this essay is to see if villages or bigger settlement locations can be found in south-eastern Blekinge during the viking age. There have been many archaeological findings from this period in Blekinge, for example grave findings, ring-forts , old roads and ancient harbors. But no evidence of a village has been found yet. If south-eastern Blekinge is compared with the area surrounding Järrestad on Österlen in south-eastern Skåne and the area surrounding Sorte Muld on Bornholm, many likenesses can be seen. In this essay, the findings in Blekinge will be used as different components when the three areas are compared with each other.

The castle Vivesholm is located about two miles north of Klintehamn on the west side of Gotland. The castle was built around year 1395 and burned down in the end of the 14thcentury. Around the 17th and the 18th century the castle was re-used. However, the emphasis on its use is during the middle ages.This paper aims at getting an insight in the animal husbandry at Vivesholm by analyzing the osteological material. The analysis revealed that bones from sheep/goat were more common than bones from cattle.

Today?s community requires an increase in food production. Animals are today bred so that they produce more than their ancestors did. Production has been the most important and breeds with the highest production levels have therefore become popular. Many of the old local breeds have become extinct or are about to become extinct because of this trend.

Large areas have been ditched in Sweden during the past 100 years to improve the forest production. Ditching and also maintenance of old ditches are operations having mainly negative effects on water quality, flora and fauna and changing characteristics of soil. The purpose of this study was to suggest a method for inventory of the need for ditching maintenance in old forest ditches that takes biodiversity, water protection and forest production into consideration. Inventory methods from five Swedish and Finnish forest companies, agencies and organisations were compared. Their employees were interviewed about their handling with ditches, forest production and nature conservation.

The purpose of this work, has been to examine how different actors in the Swedish eco movement and the Swedish forest industry looks at Sweden?s forest policy statement, which claims that environmental goals and production goals should be equal in Swedish forestry. By assembling focusgroups with participants from the Swedish eco movement and the Swedish forest industry, we look at if these participants consider the Swedish forest policy goals equal or not. Conflicts do occur between the two forest policy goals, but also between those and others of Sweden?s environmental goals.

In this report listed buildings, according to the Swedish Heritage Conservation Act, have been studied with a focus on cases where economical compensation has been given to the owner of the building and cases where the listing of the building has been appealed by the owner. In order for a building to become listed it needs to be particularly valuable from a cultural and historical standpoint. The listed buildings are protected through a list of regulations that determines which parts of the building can or cannot be changed, what methods and materials should be used for changes and repairs, and how the building should be maintained. These regulations should as far as possible be formulated in agreement with the owner, but a building can become listed against the owners will. To decrease the damage this causes the owner he can in some cases have the right to economical compensation. There is also a possibility for the owner to appeal the listing of the building.