Participatory Forestry: Involvement, Information and Science

• Main Author: Paletto, Alessandro
• Format: eBook
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI - Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute 2019; MDPI
• Subjects: AI decision-making algorithms; appraisal; assessment of sustainability; Book Industry Communication; British Columbia; climate change; climate change mitigation; cocoa; community forestry; community-based forest management; deforestation; deliberative-analytical process; diffusion; empathetic utility functions; entrepreneurial education; forest carbon; forest degradation; forest governance; forest history; forest management; forest management practice; forest multifunctionality; forest planning; forestry training; Ghana; green space quality assessment; innovative training; interviews survey; management program; national forest policy framework; Natura 2000; panarchy theory; participation; participatory; participatory forums; participatory modeling; participatory process; perceptions; photography; preferences; public opinion; public participation; Q1-390; questionnaire survey; REDD; Reference, information & interdisciplinary subjects; Research & information: general; role-playing games; slash-and-burn agriculture; Slovenia; smallholder; social assessment; social forestry; social network analysis; stakeholder analysis; stakeholder engagement; stakeholders; stakeholders’ involvement; summer-winter; traditional knowledge; transdisciplinary research; urban trees; urban woodland management; user participation
• ISBN: 9783039213320; 3039213318; 3039213326; 9783039213313
• DOI: 10.3390/books978-3-03921-332-0

Public participation in forestry is a key issue in ensuring the democratization of decision-making processes, increasing the social acceptance of policies, and reducing conflicts between forest users. Public participation also provides an opportunity for the improvement of the quality of information, public debate, personal reflection, and professionalization, raising awareness. Participation in forestry implies the involvement of stakeholders (the interest group participation approach) and/or the involvement of people (the direct citizen participation approach) in the decision-making process. Since the UN Conference on Environment and Development (1992), new norms and perspectives have emerged encouraging a bottom-up approach in forest governance. Consequently, several participatory techniques, methods, and tools for stakeholder involvement in forest governance have been developed and applied. These different experiences allow us to learn from failures and successes and contribute to knowledge improvement. The future challenges of participatory forestry deal with adaptation to changes in ecological, social, and economic contexts.