Globalization, specialization, decentralization, and urbanization are changing social, economic, and ecological conditions for forest landowners throughout the United States. One possible response to these new and recurring challenges is economic cooperatives, an old idea being retooled and reapplied, keeping more of the power, control, and profit generated by natural resource extraction and management in the hands of private forest landowners and local communities. Detailed case studies were carried out on four cooperatives in the Southern Appalachian region. The objectives for this study were: 1) to develop a set of potential criteria/attributes/dimensions/benefits by which these cooperative ventures can be evaluated, 2) to document and understand what mechanisms, institutions, and people will contribute to the success of these cooperatives, 3) to document and understand what obstacles stand in the way of these cooperatives, and 4) to illustrate these findings using four case studies and summarize results in key challenges and keys to success. The four main criteria developed to assess the success or potential success of landowner and business cooperatives were economic feasibility, social feasibility, community enhancement, and ecological sustainability. The results of this study show that cooperative forestry endeavors such as those studied here are reaching out to forest owners missed by traditional service providers and outreach programs. They emphasize a different set of services coming from a different set of trusted sources and can build community capacity, improve ecological qualities, and enhance local economies; however, professional forestry, state and federal governments are only marginally involved with cooperative ventures. Additionally, nine key challenges that forestry cooperatives need to overcome were identified, and twelve keys to success defined. / Master of Science

Many of the Swedish environmental targets are related to forests, mostly “Living forests” and “A rich plant and animal life ”. These targets are not being met and the development in the environment is negative. Forests and the species living within them are being affected. With the landmass of Sweden being 69% forest and 47% of this being owned by private forest owners, these people can influence the direction of Swedish forestry. Problems revolve around clear cutting, which influences many species as they cannot survive in the changed habitat. The aim of the report is to investigate how private forest owners in Sweden view their forests and the environmental considerations within it. A survey was sent to 500 Swedish private forest owners, with 11% responding to the questions. The survey asked questions about the respondents, such as age, sex, how much forest they own, their knowledge of environmental consideration in the forest, how they manage their forest and how much environmental consideration they take in doing so. There was no correlation between the respondents' age, sex, how long they had owned their forest, how much forest they owned and how they acquired their forests to what knowledge level they had. Most respondents wish for more economic compensation in order to increase their environmental consideration and consider the economy the most im portant part of their forestry. Thus, the results from this study show more investments are needed, as well as spreading information regarding how continuous stand forestry can be economically profitable.

No description available.

Climate scenarios for Sweden show that average temperatures could rise by 4-7 degrees by year 2100. Forecasts show that climate zones will shift northward by about 5-10 kilometers every year, which will result in large changes for forestry. The purpose of this study was to answer whether private forest owner's belief in and adaptation to climate change have increased since 2010. Furthermore, to investigate whether private forest owners have experienced climate change in their forestry and if this in turn affects the belief in and adaptation to climate change. A questionnaire was sent to 700 forest owners in Kronoberg County in Sweden. Nearly 20% of those respondents who answered that yes they certainly have experienced any weather or climate conditions which they interpret as a cause of climate change has also responded that they, yes certainly believe that climate change that it affects their forest. 28% of the respondents replied that they had adapted their forestry to climate change. The study showed that the proportion forest owners believing in climate change as well as the proportion adapting forestry to climate change has increased since 2010. There was a relation between belief in climate change mand the degree of adaption. There was also a relation between the perception of climate change and belief in climate change. A correlation was also seen between the experience of climate change and the level of adaption.

Skogsstyrelsens inventering och registrering av nyckelbiotoper är ett högaktuellt ämne som berör många skogsägare över hela landet. En nyckelbiotop är ett område med mycket höga naturvärden där det kan förväntas förekomma rödlistade arter och som därmed är viktiga att bevara. Nyckelbiotoper saknar idag ett formellt skydd vilket skiljer sig från de områden som enligt svensk lagstiftning är formellt skyddade med berättigad ersättning. För att uppnå ett av regeringens miljökvalitetsmål har Skogsstyrelsen tilldelats ökade resurser för att genomföra en nationell inventering och registrera dessa nyckelbiotoper. Registrering av nyckelbiotoper kan medföra ekonomiska konsekvenser samt en upplevd inverkan på äganderätten för den privata skogsägaren. Denna uppsats behandlar de konsekvenser som kan uppstå för skogsägare när en nyckelbiotop registreras ur ett ekonomiskt och äganderättsligt perspektiv. Dagens moderna skogsbruksmetoder har inverkan på möjligheten att bevara områden med höga naturvärden vilket tidigare gjord forskning belyser. Syftet med denna uppsats är att vidga förståelsen om de privata skogsägarnas uppskattade värde av en nyckelbiotops område och därmed underlätta vid värdering, överlåtelse och fastighetsbildning. På längre sikt är målet att förståelsen kan leda till en hållbar utveckling av den biologiska mångfalden. För att utreda och besvara ämnet har metoder i form av enkätutskick till privata skogsägare samt intervjuer med sakkunniga på marknaden tillämpats. Resultatet visar att privata skogsägare upplever äganderättsliga och ekonomiska konsekvenser när ett område registreras som nyckelbiotop. Många anser att äganderätten påverkas oavsett i vilken omfattning det upplevda intrånget är samt att ersättning bör utgå för detta. / The Swedish Forest Agency’s inventory and registration of “nyckelbiotoper”, key biotopes, is a current topic which affects many forest owners in Sweden. A key biotope is an area which has been identified for having a very high natural valuation in endangered and at-risk species, it also has the required habitat for regenerating endangered species and is therefore important to protect. Key biotopes are missing formal protection that differs from other areas which are already protected by Swedish law with legitimate compensation for land owners. The identification and registration of key biotopes can cause economic consequences as well as having a perceived effect on the forest owner’s ownership. To reach one of the Swedish governments environmental quality objectives, the Swedish Forest Agency has been assigned increased resources to undertake and operate a new national inventory and registration of these key biotopes. This essay discusses the consequences that can emerge for forest owners when a key biotope is registered from an economic and ownership perspective. Modern-day forestry methods have an impact on the ability to protect areas with high natural importance which former research already illustrates. The purpose of this essay is to broaden the understanding about private forest owners appreciated value of key biotope areas and in turn simplify the valuation, conveyance and land parcelling of these areas. The long-term ambition of this work is to build knowledge which will result in the sustainable development of biodiversity across Sweden. To investigate and answer the subject, a methodical approach in the shape of a survey directed to private forest owners and interviews with experts in the field have been used. The results show that private forest owners experience consequences on ownership and economical value when an area is registered as a key biotope. Most find that their ownership is affected no matter the size of the felt infringement and that compensation should be paid out for this.

The forest plays a large role both nationally and internationally towards a sustainable planet. Therefore, understanding non-industrial private forest owners’ preferences is important to achieve the environmental targets, since they are a large ownership group in Sweden. The present study focusses on non-industrial private forest owners’ harvesting decisions in Norrbotten. Furthermore, the study extends to analyze how the forest owners’ preferences towards promotion of ecosystem services are affected if compensation is offered. To understand the harvesting decisions of non-industrial private forest owners’, an empirical approach was used where a questionnaire was constructed. The data were analyzed through logistic regression. The results suggest that non-industrial private forest owners’ harvesting decision is positively affected by previous experience in the forest, days present in the forest, membership in a forest cooperative and a price increase of timber. Forest owners with economic objectives harvest more than owners with no or other objectives. No significant relationship between nature- and economic objectives in the harvesting decisions were identified. The results related to willingness to promote ecosystem services for compensation indicated ambiguous results.

Through qualitative interviews and secondary research, the emotional and ecological layers to a forest have been explored. Several studies and sources of data speak against Swedish forestry being sustainable, and the industry often views the forest through anthropocentric ethics with focus on economic value. The aim is to inform and inspire small-scale private forest owners in their decision making in forestry to consider more environmentally sustainable cultivation methods. There is a gap in communication between facts on forestry and small-scale private forest owners which the project aims to fill. The project looks at the forest holistically, through biocentric ethics and the Swedish folk art Kurbits, and covers ecological and cultural sustainability. This takes the shape of a booklet which uncovers a forest’s layers in both text and visuals.

Sweden is one of the countries in the world that has a great proportion of privately owned forests where up to half of all forests are owned by private individuals. What potential use do they have of their forest management plan? The purpose of this study was to examine whether there was any connection between the knowledge of the forest, the goal of forestry and the use of the forest management plan. A digital survey was conducted in cooperation with Vida, a private saw timber company. The respondents had two weeks to answer the survey and after that the analyses to find out any connection started. The results of the study showed that the forest owner had great use of the forest management plan. They were satisfied with it and the main objective of owning forest land was to manage it on to future generations. The conclusion of the study showed that there was a connection between the knowledge of the forest, the goal of forestry and use of the forest management plan. / Sverige är ett av de länder i världen som har en stor andel privatägd skog. Skillnaden mellan olika typer av skogsägare är stor och återspeglas i ägarens målsättning och intresse med hur fastigheten drivs. Idag bor och arbetar en allt större andel av skogsägarna i en urban miljö vilket innebär att de inte fått en naturlig inskolning i och kunskap om skogsbruket från sina föräldrar som det varit i tidigare generationer. Skogsägare har olika behov av beslutsstöd beroende på kunskap, intresse, ekonomi, självverksamhetsgrad och fastighetens karaktär men ett bra underlag för att fatta beslut behövs både av erfarna och oerfarna skogsägare. Skogsbruksplanen är en sammanställning av skogsfastigheten och ger också förslag på åtgärder utifrån förhållandena i skogen och skogsägarens mål. Syftet med denna uppsats var att undersöka om det för privata skogsägare finns något samband mellan kunskapen om skog, målet med skogsbruket och användning av skogsbruksplanen. Studien genomfördes som en enkätundersökning bland privata skogsägare med en aktuell skogsbruksplan som upprättats av Vida Skog. Enkäten gjordes i form av en webbenkät som skickades ut via mail. Totalt svarade 175 personer (40%). Respondenternas svar sammanställdes, analyserades och samband undersöktes. Studien visade att 96 % av skogsägarna, i varierande grad, använder sin skogsbruksplan för att fatta beslut om skogliga åtgärder på fastigheten. Skogsbruksplanen skaffas för att underlätta skötsel samt för att den ger en bra översikt över fastigheten och ansågs som mest användbar för att se vad som behöver göras i bestånden eller för att se volym i bestånd. Skogsägare med liten skoglig kunskap uppvisade ett något större intresse för förvaltning av skogen för kommande generationer samt för att skapa miljö för rekreation. Skogsägare med stor skoglig kunskap hade ett större intresse för virkesproduktion och de tyckte också skogsbruksplanen följde deras mål med sitt skogsbrukande bättre än gruppen med låg kunskap beroende på att de i större utsträckning var med och påverkar utförandet av den. Studien visade också att större kunskap minskade intresset för att skapa miljö för biologisk mångfald. Det fanns även ett samband mellan mål med skogsbruket och användning av skogsbruksplanen där de skogsägare som prioriterade biologisk mångfald använde skogsbruksplanen i större utsträckning än de med andra mål. Slutsatsen av examensarbetet blir att det finns ett samband mellan skoglig kunskap, mål med skogsbruket och användningen av skogsbruksplanen

Nästan hälften av landets enskilda skogsägare finns i Götaland och tillsammans äger de nära 80% av den produktiva skogsmarken i denna region. Flera studier har undersökt den enskilde skogsägarens mål och handlingar men ofta saknas djupare kunskap om vad som ligger bakom dessa mål och hur eventuella hinder och utmaningar påverkar dem. I denna studie genomfördes 11 kvalitativa intervjuer med enskilda skogsägare i Kronobergs län. Resultatet visade att alla skogsägare hade i genomsnitt fem olika mål med sitt skogsbruk och att ett mål kunde ha flera olika motiv. De hinder eller utmaningar som nämndes rörde många gånger faktorer som storm, klimatförändringar, skadedjur, skadesvampar, vilt, politiska beslut och EU- regleringar. Generellt kommenterades hinder eller eventuella utmaningar som faktorer skogsägarna var medvetna om och tog hänsyn till men som ej utgjorde någon större källa till oro.

Loss of biodiversity and interest in the promises of the bioeconomy creates pressure on forests and implications for their governance. In Sweden, forest policy for the protection of biodiversity is known as “freedom with responsibility”, which puts an onus on the many private forest owners in the country to reverse the critical loss of biodiversity. In this thesis, I explore Swedish forest governance through the narratives of private forest owners and highlight possible tensions between the design and implementation of policy for biodiversity. I use concepts from feminist political ecology and environmental justice to form a lens to highlight the experience of forest owners. I combine semi-structured interviews with transect walks to explore the views of private forest owners from Central and Southern Sweden. In doing so, I seek to highlight the partial knowledges and the personal narrative of persons involved in Swedish forestry. I find that current forest governance does not attend to the multilayered and complex emotions and attachments that forest owners have for their forests, which leads to a discrepancy between the design and implementation of policy for biodiversity protection. In accordance with previous research, this thesis highlights how the deregulated Swedish forest policy instead strengthens the narrative of forestry for production. With increasing pressure from both inside and outside Swedish forestry for more close-to-nature forestry management and alignment of multiple values, a remaining question is whether Swedish forest policy will attend to the pressure or continue following the narrative of the bioeconomy.