Environmental Forestry Conflicts, Forest Policies and the Use of Forest Resources : Recent Developments in USA, Germany, France, Sweden, Finland and Norway
This study is a preliminary visit to the world of environmental forestry conflicts in the interplay of valurs, policies and resources. Together with a review of a previous study of forestry conflicts in 1950-83, and a re-analysis of its findings, it forms a part of a larger research project that examines forest-related values and attitudes as reflected in environmental forestry conflicts in six case study countries during 1984-95. In addition, the influence of forestry conflicts on the transformation of forest and environmental policy and on the use of forest resources is to be examined. Here, a 'desk study' describing recent developments in the six case study countries of USA, Germany, France, Sweden, Finland and Norway is conducted. In addition, the design of the forthcoming research is presented. Today, most Western countries face the 'second wave' of environmentalism. Many environmental organizations have gradually become established in the political culture, and the new wave of criticism against forestry is more international, professional, and market-oriented than the movement of the 1960s and 70s. The new wave of criticism and international agreements on sustainable development have resulted in major revisions of existing forest and environmental policies in most of the case study countries, or such revisions have recently been initiated. All this has occurred simultaneously with the general trend in Europe towards increasing forest area, growing stock and annual increment, and decreasing annual fellings. In the international scale, various countries have adopted their own roles in the global battle for sustained forest management. As a conclusion of the study, common developments on environmental forestry conflicts, forest policies and forest resources are presented, and forestry conflicts are seen as potentially constructive elements of the forest policy cycle.
