Although environmental conflicts over forestry have been constant in Germany in the 1980s and 1990s, they have rarely reached the interest of the national mass media. Instead, the conflicts can be mostly characterized as theoretical debates and disputes, including also some campaigning. During the period investigated (1984-95), a major development in the German environmental forest debate was its strong internationalisation. In the beginning of the 1980s, forest damage gained unique public interest. In the mid 1980s, hard criticism and campaigning was focused on tropical forestry, and later also on forestry in the boreal zone. In addition to international conflicts, local and national conflicts still continued to exist, including issues like protected areas and forest management (e.g. even-aged forestry vs. selection forestry). Based on interviews of representatives of relevant interest groups, these conflicts are in this study viewed in relation to values and interests, policy processes and participants, policy goals and means, policy implementation, markets and economic activities, and the structure and use of forest resources. In Germany, the persistent environmental criticism of forestry has increased awareness of environmental problems within the forest sector, and helped define issues. This has gradually led to concensus between various interest groups about the need for increasing application of close-to-nature forestry, despite disagreement on what the concept means. A gradual change in forest management and forest policy towards this goal has, indeed, taken place, affected not only by conflicts but also by external influences (e.g. storms) and market conditions.
