In the eye of the storm: adaptation logics of forest owners in management and planning in Swedish areas

With a changing climate, storm and wind throw is becoming an increasing risk to forest. However, Swedish forest management practices have so far involved relatively little consideration of adaptation to climate change. This study examined resistance and alternatives to “business as usual” forest management, drawing upon material obtained in interviews with individual forest owners who spontaneously identified and discussed storm and wind throw as a risk to their forest. They thereby expressed a logic differing from that of the forest industry in Sweden, which has largely normalised storm risk rather than considering it in climate change adaptation work. The present analysis illustrates the broad and largely concerned position of individual forest owners, in contrast with a more established industry position on storm as an accepted and existing risk. Overall, the study highlights the diversity, agency and power relations within Swedish forestry and the forested landscape – aspects that are vital to better understanding processes relevant to forest and climate change adaptation.     

Forest owners' attitudes toward pro-climate and climate-responsive forest management

Climate change is a global concern. Within Nordic countries such as Finland it has particular influence on the use of natural resources. Family forest owners own 61% of the forested land in Finland and 80% of the industrial roundwood purchased comes from these forest owners. Thus how private forest owners approach climate change is of high national economic and ecological importance. In order to understand family forest owners' perspectives on climate change in their own forests, qualitative interviews along walks through the owner's forests were conducted. Analysis of the conversations during these walks highlighted that forest owners discussed the phenomenon without prompting more often than hypothesized. Additionally, forest owners were less certain as to the causes of changes observed in their forests, mostly willing to take advice from professionals, and economically-driven in their response. For those forest owners who did express concern regarding climate change, they were at a loss for ways their efforts could make a meaningful difference. The prevalent uncertainty among forest owners calls for guidance from authority. Policy practices should make an effort to combine monetary incentives along with climate change focused forest management practices. Additionally, forest owner's reliance on the advice and expertise of forestry professionals should be utilized when pursuing climate-motivated forest management.     

Social capital in small-scale forestry: A local case study in Southern Sweden

Small-scale forestry builds upon interactions among local stakeholders. Forest management entails multiple social situations such as consultations or cooperative engagements between owners and forest professionals. Successful social endeavours rest on positive social capital as operationalised via trust. Based on qualitative in-depth interviews with forest owners, managers and other forestry stakeholders, this study explores how trust influences the social relationships in a local context of Southern Swedish forestry. Most strikingly, the analysis reveals large differences in owners' trust towards two major actors: the Swedish Forest Agency (SFA) and the forest owner association (FOA) Södra. Permanence of personnel, a client-based approach, and personal features of SFA's local forest officer lead to strong local anchoring and high trust towards SFA. Södra proved to be a trustful partner in the aftermath of calamities; however its industrial priorities seem to erode owners' trust. The empirical findings of this study demonstrate the importance of recognising personal relationships and the catalysing role of bonding social capital in order to understand the local forest management situations. Our results are useful for forestry organisations and policy-makers willing to comprehend the local context and implement best practices in small-scale forestry.     

Explaining gender differences in private forest risk management

In many countries, lower levels of forest management activities have been observed among female forest owners compared to male owners. The present study examined potential explanations for gender differences in private forest risk management among forest owners in Sweden (n?=?1482) using a questionnaire. Results from this study confirmed a slightly lower level of forest risk management among female owners in proactively combating damage caused by climate change and animal browsing when compared to their male counterparts. Further gender differences were revealed on a structural level. For example, female owners displayed higher levels of education and were more often non-resident owners and urban owners, as compared to their male counterparts. In addition, female and male owners differed regarding social-psychological variables (e.g. forest values and threat and coping appraisals). However the greatest gender difference was found in involvement in forest planning and forestry work. Even though gender differences were evident on multiple levels, involvement in forest issues and forest planning were found to be most important for explaining gender differences in forest risk management. By disentangling predictors of gender differences in private forest risk management, this study may contribute to a more strategic gender approach to forest risk governance.     

Why do forest owners fail to heed warnings? Conflicting risk evaluations made by the Swedish forest agency and forest owners

In the aftermath of a hurricane in Sweden that felled some 250 million trees, the Swedish Forest Agency advised forest owners to reduce forest vulnerability by planting different tree species. This paper analyses why forest owners failed to heed the Forest Agency's recommendation, thereby reproducing a forest vulnerable to storms. This paper focuses on the deliberations and risk evaluations of forest owners when deciding which tree species to plant. The analysis identifies three main categories of reasoning that guided the forest owners' decision-making process: short-term economic reasoning caused by the pressing situation they faced; an understanding of windstorms as natural catastrophes that are impossible to influence; and the uncertainties associated with alternative forest management practices. Furthermore, given their risk-averse strategy, their approach to understanding and coping with uncertainty was crucial in determining their responses. This paper concludes that the forest owners primarily employed experience-based, practical and embodied knowledge, implying that abstract risks and theoretical knowledge regarding future developments were not deemed relevant. An additional conclusion is that even if a huge storm felling shows the need to change forest management practice, it does not provide the most favourable social conditions for achieving change.     

Extreme events and climate change: the post-disaster dynamics of forest fires and forest storms in Sweden

How are extreme events understood in the forest sector? What are the implications of forest professionals' understandings and evaluations of extreme events? These questions are central to this study, which analyses the handling of the largest forest storm and the largest forest fire in modern Swedish history. The theoretical approach is that of risk governance in practice, which stresses that understanding the framings, practices and strategies used by members of professional organizations is pivotal for how disasters are managed. Two interview studies have been conducted with forest professionals involved in the two cases. The analysis shows that there were fundamentally different understandings of the two events and their implications for forestry practice. The storm was seen as an unavoidable natural disaster, but the consequences of future storms were considered possible to mitigate through changed forest practices. The forest fire, on the other hand, was conceptualized as a partly natural and partly man-made disaster, and forestry was seen as having very limited possibilities to reduce the likelihood as well as the consequences of similar events. The different understandings had significant implications for the post-disaster dynamics and for which management practices that were developed. Thus, understanding how extreme events are perceived is crucial to understanding which management practices that emerge in their wake, a topic of growing relevance because climate change is predicted to increase the frequency of forest fires and storms.     

Land-use and land-base patterns in non-industrial private forests: Factors affecting forest management in Northern Spain

There is increasing worldwide interest in land-use allocation and management within the sphere of rural planning and development. The study of land-use patterns mainly focuses on understanding the practices and values of individuals involved, and no debate of this issue would be complete without taking into account non-industrial private forest (NIPF) ownership as a key component in most rural areas worldwide. This paper empirically explores and assesses NIPF owners' management in terms of analysing dynamics in farming and forestry practices (past conversions from forestland to meadow and from marginal meadow to woodland, and intentions to change the current productive forest species and to extend the area of woodland) and landholding attributes (size and degree of parcellation in productive forestland). Logistic regression models were also used to investigate the probabilities and influencing factors involved in transforming marginal meadows to woodland, and attempts on the part of NIPF owners to change the current productive forest species and increase productive forestland. For this, a total of 103 NIPF owners in Northern Spain were interviewed in person, in March 2004, about their commitment to and involvement in land management during 1999–2003. The models correctly explained 73.3%, 83.7% and 73.3% of the variability in having converted marginal meadow in woodland and of future intentions to change the productive forest species and increase the area of productive forestland, respectively. The results of the study indicate that forest management mainly responds to investment and increasing the productivity of the land as a capital asset, which is directly influenced by the size and degree of parcellation of the holding, and directly or indirectly related to the owner's interest in timber production. The results may be used by forest professionals, researchers and policymakers in order to design and execute successful forest policies related to land management and planning.     

Look at what they do – a revised approach to communication strategy towards private forest owners

Private forest owners in Sweden and other countries are becoming an increasingly heterogeneous group as regards their experience and knowledge of forestry. Over the past decade, a number of studies have been conducted with the aim of describing different aspects of forest owners. However, little attention has been paid to the owners' self-activity and how they learn. With the overall aim of exploring the relationship between self-activity and knowledge to use it as a starting point for new recommendations for planned communication towards forest owners, this study examines the extent and type of the work different categories of private forest owners perform, and from whom or where they learn. An analysis of data from a mail questionnaire and from the Database for Forest Owner Analysis showed that self-activity is common in all categories of owners but more frequent among male and resident forest owners. Forest owners have relatively few knowledge sources. Besides being self-taught, the most common ways of learning are from their fathers and from attending forest days. The study also shows a strong connection between self-activity and self-estimated knowledge of forestry. The recommendation for communication planning is therefore to use the extent and type of self-activity among different groups of forest owners as a point of departure for planning communication strategies.     

Swedish private forest owners’ perceptions and intentions with respect to adopting exotic tree species

Swedish forest growth can be increased through intensive forestry practices, enabling an increased use of forest biomass for climate-change mitigation. However, the diffusion of such practices depends on the forest owners’ adoption of them. We study Swedish private forest owners’ perceptions and intentions with respect to increasing forest growth by adopting exotic tree species. The results of a mail-in questionnaire survey show that although a majority of forest owners desire increasing forest growth, most owners have only a basic understanding of exotic tree species and a smaller proportion is interested in adopting them. The intention to adopt exotics seems to depend on the perceived performance of the species with respect to the economic aspects of forest management rather than on environmental or recreational concerns. Whereas a knowledge gap among the private forest owners regarding how to increase forest growth is implied, forest owners with higher self-rated knowledge of forestry and exotics have stronger intentions to adopt such species.     

Comparative analysis on the communication strategies of the forest owners' associations in Europe

This research reports a comparative analysis of the communication strategy that forest owners' associations across Europe use to influence society on one side and the decision-makers on the other, in order to fulfill forest owners' interests. 60% of Europe's forests are privately owned by an estimated number of 16 million forest owners, who are represented by forest owners' associations. One of its main functions is to influence the public perceptions on forests and forestry. In this article it is analyzed how a specific forestry stakeholder fixes its strategies to communicate with and lobby society in order to get acceptability for their proposals/demands. Open-end surveys have been used as a source of information in 2006 and repeated in 2012. Besides of the comparison among countries, a comparison along the time has been also performed. The whole communication frame is analyzed, considering the objectives, the structure, the messages, the channels, and the evaluation. The main conclusions that arise are: first, the temporary comparison (2006–2012) results into an improvement in several issues; second, there is room for improvement of professionalization of communication in forest owners' associations in Europe; third, social research into public perception of forestry might help to define communication strategies.     

Do forest decision-makers in Southeastern Norway adapt forest management to climate change?

To study whether, why, and how forestry decision-makers in Southeastern Norway adapt to climate change, we conducted a series of semi-structured interviews in focus groups consisting of non-industrial private forest owners, forest managers, and forest advisors. Our results show that a majority of the participants believed in climate change as a phenomenon, and had experienced events or observed changes that they attributed to climate change. However, we found little evidence of concern regarding climate change impacts on forest ecosystems and forestry among the participants. Instead, the majority regarded climate change more as an opportunity for the Norwegian forest-based sector than a threat. A minority had implemented proactive practices motivated by climate change but in all but one case, the adjustments were adaptation of forest infrastructure. In general, the participants agreed that the uncertainty associated with the effects of climate change and the (economical) uncertainty associated with adaptation of forest ecosystems were too large to change forest management practices at present. However, many participants, in particular the managers, are already adapting in response to experienced problems, such as increased frequency and duration of periods with low carrying capacity of the ground implying reduced or no accessibility within and to stands.     

Comparing the profiles,objectives and behaviours of new and longstanding non-industrial private forest owners in Quebec,Canada

Owing primarily to private forest owners' important role in supplying wood to the forest products industry, various studies have attempted to describe owners' profiles, objectives and behaviour. However, there have been few detailed examinations of the differences between the new generation of owners and the previous one. To better understand these differences, an analysis was carried out of data obtained from a telephone survey of a representative sample (n = 1723) of the 134,000 private forest owners in Quebec, Canada.The results reveal differences between the new (< 10 years of ownership) and longstanding forest owners (> 20 years of ownership) responding to the survey. In terms of owners' profiles, a number of variables differed significantly between the two categories of owners: education level, family income, way the first forest was acquired and the distance between the closest woodlot and the owner's place of residence. Differences in the two groups' objectives for owning a forest and for carrying out management work were also identified. Certain behaviours such as harvesting levels and sources of information consulted on forestry also differed significantly between the new and longstanding owners participating in the survey.In short, a shift is occurring towards owners who are from the professional class, are more highly educated and live farther away from their forests. The forest is integrated into these new owners' lifestyles in a different way since it is a leisure-time activity rather than part of their main occupation. The increasing diversity among owners will require a new approach by the agencies and associations offering them services and the government, which wants to encourage owners to harvest wood from their forests.     

Stakeholder perceptions,management and impacts of forestry conflicts in southern Sweden

ABSTRACT

Forests are under increasing pressure with increasing risk of conflicts between stakeholder groups with different interests in sustainable forest management (SFM). This study investigated the different dimensions of conflict as perceived by private forest owners and other stakeholders, and the likely impact of these pressures on SFM in a southern Swedish context. Data were collected through a mixed methods approach using qualitative in-depth individual semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions and a quantitative survey (n?=?6–161), with questions on present and past conflicts, actors, drivers, acting, management and solutions. Stakeholders felt that in the past the conflicts were more about technical dimensions of forestry practice, and today more about the political and cultural dimensions of forestry issues. The most frequently mentioned reason for forest conflict was forest protection, especially woodland key habitats. In all conflicts, forest owners emphasised the importance of knowledge, responsibility and emotions. Other stakeholders did too, but with emotions less emphasised. In managing conflict, meetings, adaptation and education were stressed by stakeholders. Dialogue arenas on different levels are needed for all stakeholders. Governing bodies also need to realise the implication different approaches and strategies have on forest owners management.     

Forest social values in a Swedish rural context: The private forest owners' perspective

The sustainability paradigm of the European Landscape Convention calls for increased involvement of all affected parties in combination with active leadership to promote social values. As a result, the Swedish Forest Agency (SFA) has requested further development of methods for broad consultation and active participation in order to strengthen the social values of forests. This paper aims to identify in particular the private forest owners' perceived need for collaboration and dialog regarding the social values of forests. The study's primary empirical data was derived from interviews with 40 private forest owners. A framework developed by Emerson et al. (2012) was applied to facilitate analysis of the forest owners' perceptions of procedural and institutional arrangements, existing leadership, the current level of knowledge and access to different types of resources. The paper identifies a need for the SFA to become more proactive and assume more of a leading role. The level of knowledge regarding social values was found to be quite low among the majority of the private forest owners. They wanted more information; they asked for increased support and advice, and they wanted to see improved coordination rather than collaboration on social values.     

Adapting the Congo Basin forests management to climate change: Linkages among biodiversity,forest loss,and human well-being

Tropical forests are at the center of any global debate on climate change and sustainable forest management because of their twin roles in climate change adaptation and mitigation and for resilient development. However, in the countries of the Congo Basin forests receive very little attention in national planning and policies. Climate change is not currently considered in decisions and long-term forest management plans in these countries. This paper demonstrates that: (1) Congo Basin forests are needed for adaptation because they can help to decrease human vulnerability to climate change; and (2) Congo Basin forest management practices need to be adapted to accommodate climate change because these forests are vulnerable to climate change. A framework for facilitating adaptation in forestry is discussed and a review of adaptive actions presented. The paper recommends the adoption of sustainable forest management approach that includes a climate change focus. Such management should not only avoid any adverse effects on the forest resources and conservation of biodiversity, but also provides opportunities for greater, more sustainable rural development and poverty alleviation through income generation and employment opportunities.     

Creating alternative spaces and articulating needs: Challenging gendered notions of forestry and forest ownership through women's networks

The forest industry continues to be men dominated, dependent on forest owners' supply of raw material and of significant importance to the national and local economy and economic development in Sweden. The interconnection between masculinity and the work, knowledge, forest owners and professionals in the sector contributes to exclusion of women. In response to this, women forest owners have formed networks in different local areas. Through focus group interviews, this study examined the strategies, functions and positions of these networks, both in their individual locations and the overall policy processes of gender mainstreaming of the sector, to scrutinise the reproduction of gender inequities and the gendered notion of forestry. The results show how the networks are acting to expand the discursive space, establish alternative publics and empower their members by inventing and circulating counterdiscourses. The different strategies adopted by the networks appear to have emerged in response to contemporary political processes. The conclusion is that one single public sphere cannot encompass the diversity of the contemporary forestry sector, indicating a need to contain a multiplicity of publics, both to challenge the modes of deliberation that mask domination and to facilitate transformative processes.     

Participation and compensation claims in voluntary forest conservation: A case of privately owned forests in Finland

A new market-based voluntary programme aimed at preserving forest habitats on private land has been implemented in Finland. This scheme is based on conservation by fixed-term agreements between forest owners and a governmental authority. In this study we examine the characteristics of forest owners and their properties that indicate the owners' willingness to participate in the programme. In addition, we analyse factors affecting the real compensation claims. The study uses a dual set of data from the pilot project, i.e. one data set supplied by the authority and another collected from the owners involved in the project. The results suggest that to increase the participation rate, information on the conservation project should be targeted in particular to the forest owners who either emphasize financial investment as a motive for forest ownership, have positive attitudes toward nature protection, or own large amounts of forest property. Additionally, owners' positive environmental preferences would decrease and high harvesting value and high ecological quality of a preserved forest stand would increase compensation claims. The voluntary programme could not, however, circumvent owners' strategic behaviour with respect to the claims.     

How financial compensation changes forest owners' willingness to set aside productive forest areas for nature conservation in Denmark

Abstract

Agri-environmental schemes' ability to increase the provision of environmental goods has been questioned because such schemes may pay landowners for something they would have done anyway. Contributing to this discussion, the aim of this paper is to investigate how financial compensation changes forest owners' declared willingness to set aside productive forest areas for nature conservation. The study is based on a survey of forest owner attitudes and ownership objectives in Denmark. First, it was analyzed how forest owners' declared willingness to set aside productive forest area for nature conservation changed when they were offered financial compensation. The majority of forest owners (64%) increased their willingness to set aside forest when offered financial compensation, whereas for others, compensation resulted in no change or, for a few respondents, even decreased the willingness. Hence, financial compensation may help to increase the provision of environmental goods but it is necessary to be aware of groups not motivated by financial incentives. Secondly, a binary logit model showed that the greatest likelihood of financial compensation increasing the motivation for setting aside forest is observed for owners who are young, female, live in the western part of Denmark and own farmland. Policy makers can use such information to target subsidy schemes at particular groups.     

Norwegian family forest owners' willingness to participate in carbon offset programs

Forests act as carbon sinks and can make significant contributions to climate change mitigation efforts. In Norway, family forest owners own 80% of productive forestland and play a central role in the management of the country's forests. Yet little is known about whether these landowners would be interested in increasing carbon sequestration on their land and selling carbon credits. Only a handful of studies have examined the factors that motivate family forest owners to participate in carbon offset programs, and all of these studies have been conducted in the United States. This study addresses this information gap using data from a mail survey of 1500 Norwegian family forest owners. A logistic regression model was developed to examine the effect of various carbon program, forestland, and landowner characteristics on participation in a hypothetical carbon offset program. Results suggest that there is a considerable amount of interest among Norwegian family forest owners and that the most important predictors of participation are payment amount offered, perceived barriers posed by management actions, importance placed on non-market forest amenities, and attitudes towards climate change.     

Forest owners’ views on storing carbon in their forests

Given the high percentage of private forest ownership in Finland, family forest owners have an important role in mitigating climate change. The study aims to explore Finnish family forest owners’ perceptions on climate change and their opinions on increasing carbon storage in their forests through new kinds of management activities and policy instruments. The data consists of thematic face-to-face interviews among Helsinki metropolitan area forest owners (n?=?15). These city-dwellers were expected to be more aware of and more interested in climate change mitigation than forest owners at large. Forests as carbon fluxes appear to be a familiar concept to most of the forest owners, but carbon storage in their own forests was a new idea. Four types concerning forest owners’ view on storing carbon in their forests could be identified. The Pioneer utilizes forestland versatilely and has already adopted practices to mitigate climate change. The Potential is concerned about climate change, but this is not seen in forest practices applied. The Resistant is generally aware of climate change but sees a fundamental contradiction between carbon storing and wood production. The Indifferent Owner believes that climate change is taking place but does not acknowledge a relation between climate change and the owner’s forests.