Research Output per year
Personal profile
Curriculum vitae
I have extensive grassroots-level experience in more than 25 countries immersing myself in, and engaging with, indigenous peoples and local communities, along with their knowledge systems, beliefs and practices. Alongside my academic work, I am a committed activist defending territories of life and their defenders, and in support of decolonized and decentralized governance systems. In trying to understand the roots of global processes of so-called “development”, I have also been drawn to understanding and explaining the nuances and universalities in cross-cultural perceptions of happiness and wellbeing.
I have on several occasions worked with national government and inter-ministerial policy groups in attempts to assist the incorporation of more holistic and integrated sustainability indicators (e.g. Ecological Footprint, Gross National Happiness) into decision-making. With 20 years of experience evaluating international cooperation projects worldwide, and following principles of permaculture, my current research looks at the ways in which the promotion and imposition of various forms of so-called “development” programmes – in the ways of mainstream systems of education, politico-spiritual governance, and natural resource management (including top-down conservation and food security strategies) - affect local cultures, environments, knowledge systems, and overall wellbeing. I sit in the Executive Committee of the ICCA Consortium, am Chair of the Finnish Society for Development Research, partner with the Centre of Indigenous Conservation and Development Alternatives (CICADA), and ambassador for the Global Ecovillage Network. I also sit in the Ethics Committee for Human Sciences at the University of Helsinki.
Education information
Ph.D. in Development Studies, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK (Oct 1999 - Apr 2004)
B.Sc. in Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK (Oct 1995 - Jun 1999)
B.Sc. in Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK (Oct 1995 - Jun 1999)
Fields of Science
- 5203 Development Studies
- Sustainability
- Cross-cultural Wellbeing
- 1172 Environmental sciences
- Conservation
- 5200 Other social sciences
- indigenous peoples
- knowledge systems
International and National Collaboration
Publications and projects within past five years.
Publications 1999 2019
Global Environmental Change: Local perceptions, understandings and explanations
Pyhälä, A. A., Fernandez-Llamazares Onrubia, A., Lehvävirta, H., Byg, A., Ruiz-Mallén, I., Salpeteur, M. & Thornton, T., 2 Sep 2016, In : Ecology and Society. 21, 3, 29 p., 25.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review
Open Access
File
Hunter-gatherers in a Changing World
Reyes-Garcia, V. (ed.) & Pyhälä, A. A. (ed.), Dec 2016, Springer International Publishing . 257 p.Research output: Book/Report › Anthology or special issue
The essential role of other effective area-based conservation measures in achieving big bold conservation targets
Dudley, N., Jonas, H., Nelson, F., Parish, J., Pyhälä, A. A., Stolton, S. & Watson, J., Jul 2018, In : Global Ecology and Conservation. 15, 7 p., 00424.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review Article › Scientific › peer-review
Open Access
File
Subjective Wellbeing and Income: Empirical Patterns in the Rural Developing World
Reyes-Garcia, V., Babigumira, R., Pyhälä, A., Wunder, S., Zorondo-Rodriguez, F. & Angelsen, A., Apr 2016, In : Journal of Happiness Studies. 17, 2, p. 773-791 19 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review
Protected Areas in the Congo Basin: Failing both People and Biodiversity?
Pyhälä, A. A., Osuna Oroza, A. & Counsell, S., Apr 2016, Rainforest Foundation UK. 144 p.Research output: Book/Report › Commissioned report
Projects 2011 2015
- 1 Finished
The Adaptive Nature of Culture: A cross-cultural analysis of the returns of Local Environmental Knowledge in three indigenous societies
Reyes-García, V., Pyhälä, A. & Fernandez-Llamazares Onrubia, A.
03/01/2011 → 31/12/2015
Project: Research project
Activities 1996 2018
The Politics of Sustainability: Re-thinking resources, values and justice
Aili Pyhälä (Chair of organizing committee)15 Feb 2018 → 16 Feb 2018
Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Organisation and participation in conferences, workshops, courses, seminars
Centre for Indigenous Conservation and Development Alternatives (External organisation)
Aili Pyhälä (Board member)Jun 2018 → …
Activity: Membership types › Membership or other role in research network
University of Helsinki Ethical review board in the humanities and social and behavioural sciences (External organisation)
Aili Pyhälä (Board member)1 Jan 2018 → …
Activity: Membership types › Membership or other role in review committee
Biocultural approaches to conservation
Aili Pyhälä (Speaker: Chair)13 Jun 2018
Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Organisation and participation in conferences, workshops, courses, seminars
Decolonising Methodologies in Conservation Research
Aili Pyhälä (Speaker: Chair)10 Jun 2018
Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Organisation and participation in conferences, workshops, courses, seminars
Press / Media
Alkuperäiskansojen perinnetieto hanke - videohaastattelu
04/11/2016
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Press / Media