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Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Authors Conflicting interests make forests an inevitably political issue. We examine the political roles that Finnish forest owners take as decision-makers and citizens. Inspired by post-political theories of democracy, we examine forest owners’ aim of open, constructive treatment of the controversies between views, ideologies and actors. Our data consisted of a survey (n = 452) informed by an interview (n = 24). We applied a mixed-method critical discourse analysis. The forest owners produced four alternative discourses of forest-related controversies, the major controversy being that between productivism and environmentalism. The ‘involved discourse’ positioned itself in between these two ideologies, although closer to the former. From this position, it expressed an eagerness to discuss any issue with anyone. The ‘pragmatist discourse’ criticised ideological environmentalism but did not perceive its own productivist ideology. The ‘receding discourse’ perceived its own environmentalist ideology and criticised the productivist one but was not eager to discuss forest policy issues. The ‘uninvolved discourse’ excluded controversies, and thus the political dimension, from a forest owner's life. The involved discourse was closest to the constructed ideal of respectful, agonist, re-politicisation of forest issues. Recognition of one's own ideology while being comfortably close to the hegemonic view of the forest seemed to be the main factor behind this orientation. Yet, political views that challenged the status quo and demanded a transformative change towards sustainability were pushed into a silent antagonism. A major forest policy challenge is how to bring forest owners with these transformative ideas – the proponents of ecological citizenship – into the sphere of agonist re-politicisation.

The share of women among forest owners is growing in the traditionally masculine family forest sector. The present study continues the research on women who own forest in the Nordic setting. The fo...

Community-based energy initiatives have been regarded as a promising way to guide people toward a more sustainable future. We analysed whether the members of Finnish forest bioenergy co-ope...

Competing discourses of the forest guide forest-owners’ ideas about the proper forest use and about the need to conserve biodiversity. In this paper, we examine how five predefined forest discourses (re)produced by Finnish forest owners treat nature and biodiversity conservation. Our critical discourse analysis combines qualitative content analysis with quantitative multivariate methods (NMDS). The data consists of in-depth interviews with 24 Finnish forest-owners. The five forest discourses formed a gradient from an absence of nature issues to a profound ecological pondering with deep affection and responsibility for nature. The discourses in between these two ends of the gradient contained narration on personal experiences but lacked the moral responsibility and deep theorizing typical of the nature-oriented discourse. The nature-oriented discourse proposed forest uses where the needs of nature were raised to a determining role whereas the other four discourses adhered to the standard economy-driven forest management paradigm. Both nature and the forest-owners with a strong relationship with nature appeared marginalised in the prevailing order of the forest discourses. The discoursal conditions that we evidenced did not favour biodiversity conservation among forest-owners. The results thus call for active forest policy that aims to transform the prevailing order of the discourses, but also tries to overcome the discoursal hinders for biodiversity conservation within the prevailing order.

Evolving complex concepts, such as bioeconomy, cannot be applied without selecting (consciously or unconsciously) some definitions and excluding others. This process of selection may have a considerable impact on how bioeconomy is understood. This paper presents how the concept of bioeconomy took shape in a participatory development project that created foundations for new professional specialisation studies within the Finnish bioeconomy. Written documents (n = 21), produced in different phases of the project, were analysed with qualitative content analysis to find out how bioeconomy was A) understood as an activity, and B) conceptually linked with different global meta-discourses. Bioeconomy was primarily understood as an intensive use of diverse biomasses within a forest cluster, agriculture, the food industry, waste management and the energy sector, whereas many other bioeconomy sectors were marginalised or excluded. The idea that biomasses should be saved was very rare, and the concepts that prioritise some biomass uses over others, such as the cascade principle, were excluded. Bioeconomy itself was understood as a societally and globally influential new way of thinking i.e. as a meta-discourse. Strong associations were also made to nationalistic and statist meta-discourses. Conceptual transformation during the project was most distinct in the sustainable development meta-discourse: sustainability turned from a self-evident characteristic of bioeconomy into a consciously reflected and desirable goal. The results illustrate how a common consensus of bioeconomy is built through exclusion and inclusion in a participatory development project. Project organisers should be conscious about this process and explicitly state how and why some aspects, actors and activities are emphasised while others are downplayed or excluded in their bioeconomy projects. Only then we can create far-reaching policies and considered actions to guide societies toward the desired and defined future.

Creating common ground among research groups is a prerequisite for scientifically sound case study research, especially in multi-national and multi-disciplinary research projects. Therefore, this paper proposes a new procedure for case study selection: stochastic cognitive mapping (sCM). sCM complements the previously illustrated conceptual content cognitive mapping (3CM) with email enquiry on concepts and their interconnections, simple multi-attribute rating and stochastic estimation of priorities. The procedure was applied to select case studies in a study on the role of community-based initiatives (CBIs) in societal change towards sustainability. The procedure performed well, based on project members’ evaluations, and enabled them to consistently identify a map and ranked list of criteria for selecting case initiatives. Researchers of the project had two to some extent exclusive orientations towards case selection: sampling and searching strategies, i.e. emphasis on the representativeness of a case set or on the features that interesting and useful study cases should possess. Strategies were integrated and CBIs selected through the sequence of snowball, random, and purposive samplings. Moreover, the method and the criteria list are adaptable to support comparable studies across diverse contexts.

In many parts of the world, the success of biodiversity conservation strongly depends on the decisions of private landowners. These decisions are guided by the shared perceptions of the biodiversity problem. In this study, we applied a mixed method critical discourse analysis and examined how alternative discourses of biodiversity guide Finnish forest owners to maintain, or not maintain, biodiversity on their lands. Data collection combined a preliminary interview (n = 24) with a forest owner survey (n = 452). We identified four discourses of biodiversity. The concerned discourse acknowledges the biodiversity problems in forests caused by current forestry. The sceptical discourse denies the existence of all biodiversity problems and defends contemporary forestry against the accusations of environmentalists. The harmonising discourse emphasises the harmony of all forest uses in the spirit of multi-objective forestry. The uninvolved discourse distances itself from the biodiversity issue. Overall, only 21% of the survey respondents worried about biodiversity loss in Finnish forests. The discourses illustrate three different ways in which Finnish forest owners moderate the cognitive dissonance caused by 'unpleasant' information on biodiversity loss by either excluding or rejecting it, or assimilating it into multi-objective harmony. Overcoming these kinds of discursive barriers - the mechanisms that help decision-makers ignore alarming realities - is a major challenge for all those who aim to halt biodiversity loss.

The study draws a synthesis of participation in the regional forest programme process (RFP) in Finland, based on the science of planning theory and on the empirical findings on RFP process. The paper describes five eras of participation: (1) the participatory-turn, when post-Rio programme model was initiated; (2) the creation and (3) establishment of RFP as a policy instrument that applies forest councils as deliberative forum, and is conducted synchronously with National Programmes. Many scientific studies focused on the RFP process in earlier phases raised scepticism on the capability of the institution to fully serve its purposes. Reconsideration of programme practices started by (4) a search of an “ideal model” for participation procedures, but ended up to the ongoing era that can be labelled either as a (5) participatory downturn or as a strategic-turn, depending on the political position regarding to forest programme, i.e. if the programme is viewed from the implementation or social choice approach. A praxis story of the paper demonstrates sceptical findings on potentials of normative planning studies to contribute sustainable changes in participatory forest policy processes. The central role of power is to be more properly understood in the forthcoming studies and institutional developments.

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.

Our understanding of the world is essentially based on shared meanings that are intersubjectively produced and reproduced in different social practices. In this study we analyse private forest owners’ discourses of the forest as a social practice that produces alternative competing truths about the forest and forest ownership. We examine the order of five predefined discourses (1–5) in relation to discoursal power by analysing the signs of hegemony and marginalisation within these discourses. Importantly, we also analyse the position of different kinds of forest owners within the prevailing order of discourses. Our critical discourse analysis combines qualitative content analysis with quantitative multivariate analysis (NMS) and is based on in-depth interviews with 24 Finnish forest owners. The harmonious discourses of the forester (1) and the economist (2) demonstrated many hegemonic features. This essentially illustrates the hegemony of the economic truth about the forest and its proper use among forest owners, as economically effective wood production was emphasised in both of these discourses. The signs of marginalization were common in the discourses of the distant economist (3), the critical anti-economist (4), and the dutiful forest owner (5). Discourse 4 was characterised by an open critique of the hegemonic economic truth. Forest owners with primarily non-monetary objectives were placed in an unfavourable position in the order of the discourses. The results reflect a wider discursive environment where economic meanings and practices prevail as the most natural and proper ways of thinking and acting. Being a forest owner is easy in Finnish society if the hegemonic economic truth about the forest functions as a natural and unproblematic part of one's forest ownership. However, discourses 4 and 5 indicate that the prevailing discursive conditions make forest ownership unfulfilling for some owners. Openness to alternative ways to understand the forest and forest ownership should thus be enhanced in research, policy, practical forestry, and the media.

This paper evaluates the potentials of landscape and recreational values trading (LRVT), a system of payments for ecosystem services, as a vehicle to simultaneously preserve recreational environments for the nature-based tourism business and enhance welfare in rural communities. Ruka-Kuusamo in northeastern Finland serves as a case region for the ex ante evaluation. A novel evaluation framework of the study focuses on technical feasibility, institutional context, and potential surplus of LRVT to ecosystem service provision and social capital. The evaluation data from four years action research comprise surveys and group interviews with ecosystem service providers (forest owners) and buyers (tourism entrepreneurs and tourists), complemented with newspaper articles, forest data, and meeting minutes of local authorities. The results show tension between general acceptance and practical readiness to start LRVT. Several institutional challenges need to be solved before adopting LRVT in the region. Ambiguous understanding on the impacts of forest management to landscape and recreation value, deeply institutionalised norms among the forestry community, and hidden agendas may make it difficult to achieve considerable and sustainable improvements in the quality of ecosystem services. This paper concludes with discussing elements of LRVT that may be functional and provide positive returns to recreation values of the area and to social capital inside the community. Several years of research intervention and public discussion have now resettled the network of local actors to a promising position that shows capacity to co-create functional local forest governance, including possibly a publicly or privately organised LRVT system.

We still understand inadequately how ideological shared meanings affect private forest owners' ideas about forests and forest ownership. In this study, we examine how private forest owners adhere to different discourses of forests when producing meanings for forests and forest ownership. We especially concentrate on forest owners’ objectives as a part of these discourses. Our discourse analysis combines qualitative (content analysis) and quantitative (NMS ordination) methods and is based on in-depth interviews with 24 Finnish forest owners. We identified the discourse types of 1) the forester, 2) the economist, 3) the distant economist, 4) the critical anti-economist and 5) the dutiful forest owner in the analysis. The first main gradient separating the discourse types illustrated variation from uncertainty (distant economist, dutiful forest owner) to self-confidence in forest management (forester). The second main gradient ran from pure economic emphasis and non-criticalness (economist, distant economist) to an emphasis on non-monetary meanings and a critique of overriding economic orientation (critical anti-economist). Our findings support the view that the position in relation to the economic utilization of the forest is an essential dividing factor among forest owners. More importantly, our discourse analysis revealed some important aspects of forest owners' objectives: 1) forest owners’ general appreciations are often interpreted as actual objectives, resulting in an overly multi-objective impression of forest owners; and 2) careful consideration is always needed before emphasizing the complementarity of economic and non-monetary objectives. For some forest owners, a conflict between these two exists as long as economic objectives equal wood production. In conclusion, meanings for forests and forest ownership are produced and reproduced whenever we speak or write about forests. Policy-makers, scientists, planners and counsellors especially should be more aware of the ideological discourses as a part of their argumentation if we aim to guarantee pleasant and fulfilling forest ownership for every forest owner.

Tutkimuksessa tarkasteltiin eri-ikäisrakenteisuutta tavoittelevien hakkuiden ja avohakkuiden vaikutuksia kansalaisten kokemaan metsien virkistyskäyttöarvoon (luonnon vetovoimaisuuteen) talousmänniköissä. Tarkastelussa olivat mukana tavanomaiset metsänuudistamismenetelmät (siemenpuu- ja avohakkuu) ja puuston eri-ikäisrakenteisuuteen tähtäävistä menetelmistä pienaukko- ja poimintahakkuu. Tutkimuksen kohteena olleet metsiköt oli käsitelty talvella 2011, ja ne kuvattiin kesällä 2017. Kansalaisten mielipide metsänäkymiä esittävistä panoraamakuvista kerättiin keväällä 2018 lähettämällä postikysely 1500:lle satunnaisesti valitulle Suomen kansalaiselle. Kyselyyn vasasi 396 henkilöä (vastausprosentti 26). Menetelmästä riippumatta metsän käsittely vähensi kohteen vetovoimaisuutta. Vetovoimaisuus oli pääsääntöisesti sitä alhaisempi, mitä vähemmän kohteelle jäi puustoa, ja mitä laajempi oli avoimeksi hakatun alueen koko. Pienaukko- ja poimintahakkuut säilyttivät vetovoimaisuutensa siemenpuu- ja avohakkuita paremmin. Asennoituminen metsätalouteen vaikutti metsänäkymien arvostukseen: mitä positiivisempi suhtautuminen, sitä vetovoimaisempina metsänäkymät koettiin käsittelystä riippumatta. Toisaalta asennoituminen metsätalouteen ei juurikaan vaikuttanut käsittelyjen keskinäiseen vetovoimaisuusjärjestykseen.

Compiling forest policy at national and sub-national levels is a participatory activity that aims to achieve balance between multiple forest-use alternatives. In Finland the effectiveness and acceptability of regional forest programmes has been doubted. The quest for collaboration among stakeholders towards consensus and commitment may be improved via the use of various group learning and multi-criteria decision-making methods. This study reports the phases, results and implications of an extensive action research project, applying soft systems methodology, which aims to enhance regional forest programmes by facilitating increased use of collaborative decision support methods. Stakeholder feedback from demonstration meetings suggested that discussing alternative futures and prioritizing action proposals in a multi-stakeholder group through a simple multi-attribute rating technique are the most promising immediate enhancements. An ex-post evaluation of the suggested “ideal process model” showed that the deliberative nature of regional forest programmes had strengthened and that strategic and regional choices had become more prevalent in Finnish processes. The evaluation further underlined the need for simple, easily adoptable qualitative methods, but results remained ambiguous regarding potentials of quantitative, aggregative methods. Methodological developments cannot alone unlock central problems of the programme process, namely weak political capital and propensity toward status-quo, but the programme organisation is to be redefined as well.

Nordic forests settings are characterised by private forest ownership and free access to forests, creating a specific societal context for harvesting non-timber forest products (NTFPs). The aim of this study is to define the set of criteria and indicators (CI it helps to perceive the sustainability gaps in operations of companies. Moreover, the set of C&I is a tool to promote discussions with stakeholders and test the sustainability of new business models for the developing branch of business. As a next step, the C&I defined needs to be further tested in different levels and with different NTFPs.

Programme-based Planning of Natural Resources (PBPNR) is an evolving planning frame for solving complex land use, environmental and forest management problems within hierarchically administrated funding and decision-making schemes. PBPNR acknowledges that an effective planning process requires the combined consideration of environmental, technological, economic and socio-political factors. To reach acceptability, commitment and operability, PBPNR processes need to foster collaboration and learning. For this study, an analysis of 43 collaborative planning methods was conducted to examine their potential to be applied within PBPNR. We present the approach of screening the applicability of methods for specific needs that may occur in PBPNR. The approach is based on a list of key criteria for the phases of a collaborative planning process: problem identification, problem modelling and problem solving. The features of each method were qualitatively assessed and peer-reviewed by a team of experts. Most of the methods are able to deal with qualitative data, support processes to increase transparency in planning and capture the preferences of the participating stakeholders. They also produce understandable results for the three phases. Contrarily, many methods do not offer features to handle uncertainty, nor do they satisfactorily stimulate creativity and innovation in the planning process. The results show that the overall applicability of the reviewed methods for the three planning phases varies according to a cluster analysis basing on the capabilities of the methods. Methods such as "Planning for Real", "Open Space" and "A'WOT" seem to be particularly promising for a broad range of planning situations.

Purpose: This paper explores the concept of peer-to-peer learning (P2PL) in the context of North-European small-scale forest owners. The aim is to develop a framework for initiating new and evaluating already existing forest owners' P2PL communities.Design: Previous studies of peer-learning are used to determine and justify eight dimensions for forest owners' P2PL. To demonstrate and test the operability of the dimensions, two potential forest owners' peer-learning cases are described. The Finnish case focuses on forest owner clubs based on group interview data and the coordinator's interview, and in the Swedish case an ongoing study circle was observed and its participants interviewed.Findings: The eight P2PL dimensions defined are: initiation, reinforcement, content profile, participant profile, schedule, role of professionals, responsibility and role continuity. Of the described cases, Finnish forest owner clubs rely heavily on the expertise of the invited forest professionals, while owners the...

The aims of this study were two-fold: to provide decision aid for a practical bioeconomy research, development and innovation (RDI) and education challenge, and to elaborate hybrid strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats (SWOT) methodologies for providing tangible suggestions as to strategic choices to alleviate the challenge. Scientifically, the new methodology developed is the main result of the study, as it can be used for other strategy processes as well, while the case-wise strategic choices may not be generalized. A hybrid method was developed based on the combined use of SWOT that was enlarged by goals and actions, social choice theory and robust portfolio modelling (RPM). The method was applied to deriving joint strategic choices for developing forest bioeconomy education and RDI together by three universities in eastern Finland. A joint brainstorming process was organized in order to choose together the means to develop the co-operation efficiently and in a manner acceptable for all the universities. Voting methods and the core value calculation of RPM were used for prioritizing elements in normal SWOT, goals and actions. The most prioritized elements formed the basis for the co-operation development portfolio. The method development suggestions include, for example, a recommendation to prefer approval voting over cumulative voting in the workshop setting., final draft, peerReviewed

Urbanisation and related lifestyle changes, as well as the opportunities offered by new information and communication technology, are altering decision-making among family forest owners. Consequently, the approaches and tools of communicating with forest owners are under pressure towards becoming more customer-orientated. The present study looks at forestry advisory practices connected with forest management planning using the theory base and methods of activity theory and the active involvement of practical forestry professionals. Collaborative developmental meetings with a group of foresters were conducted in three organisations. A total of 22 sessions were held within separate developmental projects. Tacit knowledge and good communication practices were observed among the foresters involved in this. New flexible service models and improvements to current service chains were designed and experimented to support forest owners in their forest management activity. Analysis of experiences suggests ...

This paper examines the historical phases of Finnish forest planning from the 1960s to the present day in support of the rational future development of forest planning for family-owned forest holdings. The ‘historical types’ of work—craft work, mass production, process enhancement, and mass customization have been recognized in the Finnish planning discourse to date. Indications of mass customization are typical in the present developmental discussion of forest planning. There are some signals in the current planning debate that are calling for the next activity principle, co-configuration. A forthcoming type of forestry extension activity, labelled adaptive planning, is described in this paper to explicate the demands imposed by a future planning system. The present analysis informs also other contexts outside of Finland, where public and private institutions that support family forest owners face post-industrial challenges.

The paper analyses stakeholder involvement and public participation in preparing Regional Forest Programmes (RFP) in Finland. Such programmes establish the outlines for regional forest management, setting targets and action plans for industrial timber use, non-wood production, recreational activities, and nature conservation in each region. Our analysis suggests that the RFP process has brought together a significant cross-section of actors who meet on a regular basis. Hence, it has become an institutionalised cooperation between key stakeholder organisations. It has facilitated information exchange and learning about issues pertaining to forest management practices, timber markets, and protection of biodiversity. Engaging the general public in the RFP process has, however, been mostly ineffectual. The process has also fallen short of the expectations to reconcile different perspectives and produce jointly accepted strategies. The biggest challenges lie in finding approaches to address conflicts constructively and to draw up a RFP that will contribute to actual changes in forest management activities.

Participation is seen as an important aspect of sustainable forest management (SFM). Especially important are the policy processes, where the effectiveness of the policy is determined by the commitment of the stakeholders to the selected policy. There are, however, different opinions as to what constitutes a successful participatory process. In this study, we analysed the stakeholder perspectives about proper participation process in Regional Forest Programme preparation in Finland using Q-methodology. We found four different perspectives: pragmatic consensus-seekers, reformers, expertise-oriented actors and participation sceptics. The pragmatists seek for consensus, but purely on traditional forestry issues. The reformers, on the other hand, wanted to introduce other aspects into the process and opposed the dominant position of the traditional forestry network in the RFP process. The expertise-oriented group was ready to discuss different aspects, but wanted to promote the power of experts. The sceptics wanted to allocate the minimum effort to participation. The results suggest that framing and organizing the process, reaching commitment, roles of different information, and the ways of taking into account the views of general public should be emphasized in future RFP's.

Family forest ownership today is shaped by multiple values that are entwined with varying lifestyles. The challenge for forestry extension services is to adapt reasonably to these cognitive, social and cultural patterns. Focusing on a decision support perspective, the present study adds to prior knowledge on family forest owners' wishes concerning forest planning. The aim is to identify forest owners' decision-making modes, and the connections between owner backgrounds and decision support anticipation. A psychological survey tool, measuring the degree of sharing of decision-making power and desire to learn, was constructed for data collection. Data were acquired through a postal survey in 2006 from 676 family forest owners in Finland. Multivariate analysis yielded three owner groups as fusions of decision-making modes serving the pre-hypothesis: trusting realizers (53%), active learners (27%) and independent managers (20%). The results suggest differently weighted decision support services (incl...

The internationally recognized need to adjust non-industrial private forest policies inspired this study, which seeks a deeper understanding of the communication around decision making among family forest owners. Elements of smooth communication constituted the theoretical basis. The data comprised transcripts of 30 semi-structured in-depth interviews with Finnish family forest owners. Narrative statements associated with information exchange and discussions between people were investigated with the aim of assessing instances and implications of personal relationships, advising services and mediated interaction in the social system of decision making. The analysis was conducted by combining theory- and data-driven approaches. The role of personal face-to-face communication with trusted advisors proved essential. However, some interviewees found internet services and online peer-to-peer communication tempting. The interviewed family forest owners are more or less self-directive in obtaining genera...

The primary basis of contemporary forest planning research, which assumes the forest owner to maximize his or her expected utility, has left aside cognitive and social patterns of reasoning in real decision-making situations. To add on to present knowledge, the decision aid needs were approached by assessing different ways of solving decision problems among non-industrial private forest (NIPF) owners in Finland. The study investigated how the diversifying goal structure of NIPF owners would be reflected in practical decision-making strategies. Semi-structured in-depth interviews and qualitative analysis were used to acquire a deeper understanding of NIPF owners’ decision making. Altogether, 30 purposively selected owners from southern Finland provided information to analyse the level of sharing decision power and eagerness to learn in decision making. Five decision-making modes were distinguished among the interviewees: (A) substantial trust in professionals, (B) desire to learn for self-reliance...

The present study looked into and described the objectives set by forest owners for their forest ownership and management as a hierarchical cognitive map. The foundation of cognitive mapping lies in cognitive psychology, which is a discipline examining how the human being receives, records and uses information. Cognitive mapping is a method enabling the researcher to clarify and save people's conceptions regarding their environment. These ideas are recorded in graphic form showing the concepts and their interconnections. In the case study, the individual cognitive maps were derived during the interviewing sessions applying conceptual content cognitive mapping approach. Maps were then coded qualitatively and finally the results from individual maps were aggregated using quantitative methods, including hierarchical clustering of objectives according to the proximity between them. Twenty-three forest owners from two different planning areas in Northern Ostrobothnia (coastal western Finland) were participated into the study. The results showed that the objectives forest owners include in their cognitive maps differ somewhat from those set out in Finnish questionnaire studies. For example, the study indicates–more strongly than the former questionnaires–that many forest owners feel that the role of “good tender of the forests” and the doing of the associated work are important. An important result is that in the interviewing context forest owners often used concepts different to those used by the dominant planning approach: owners' objective lists consisted of concepts that could be seen, from utilitarian perspective, both as objectives and means. Moreover, objectives representing different hierarchy levels overlap in the cognitive maps: forest owners include in the same cognitive map both the general objectives of forest ownership and detailed objectives related to care and use of forests. Due to these experiences it can be argued that the cognitive mapping as applied in this study, when developed further, is a promising means of merging qualitative and quantitative approaches in objective survey. It could also be used as a tool of qualitative objective analysis in forest planning.

Stakeholders’ objectives regarding regional forest policy were evaluated for the area covered by four northernmost Forestry Centres in Finland. The data were collected through a postal questionnaire with 431 respondents, and the judges were asked to assess the importance of the objectives of the regional forest policy on a ratio scale. The data were analysed applying statistical techniques developed for preference elicitation in forestry-related decision making. The results showed that the stakeholder group is the most important characteristic describing the objectives of regional forest policy. Regional characteristics in the form of different Forestry Centres had only a minor impact on assessments. Among other things, the analysis indicates that the objectives in utilizing forests more effectively without increasing cuttings are supported throughout the stakeholder groups. A comparison of the results with the corresponding Regional Forest Programmes indicates that some stakeholders have objectives that ...

This study is a network analysis of the regional network of forest-related organizations in northern Finland. The study shows the position of the organizations in the network by grouping the organizations into clusters in terms of co-operation and mutual appreciation. The results are based on a questionnaire mailed to 1400 representatives of the main forestry organizations. Freeman's centrality degree measures, multidimensional scaling, factor analysis and hierarchical clustering were used to synthesize three main subgroups, named the Private-forestry-orientated group, the Environment- and nature-orientated group and the Background group. The results were quite predictable. It was a surprise to note how consistently the respondents answered the questions concerning mutual co-operation and appreciation. The attitudes, on the one hand, towards economical forestry and, on the other hand, towards environmental aims, defined the enduring tendency in the responses.

Seloste artikkelista: Hokajarvi, R., Hujala, T., Leskinen, L.A. & Tikkanen, J. 2009. Effectiveness of sermon policy instruments: Forest management planning practices applying the Activity Theory approach. Silva Fennica 43 (5) : 889–906.

Tutkimuksessa tunnistettiin ja arvotettiin alueellisten metsäohjelmien ja niiden laadintaprosessien kehittämiskohteita. Lisäksi tutkimuksessa kehitettiin menetelmä, jolla lisätään kiinnostusta toimintaympäristön tarkastelussa käytettyä SWOT-analyysiä kohtaan ja jolla parannetaan analyysin tulosten hyödyntämismahdollisuuksia. Lähtökohtana kehittämiskohteiden tunnistamisessa toimi metsäkeskuksissa metsäohjelmien parissa työskentelevien henkilöiden toteuttama toimintaympäristön tarkastelu. Hankkeeseen osallistuneet tutkijat määrittivät tämän tarkastelun tuloksista 16 kehittämiskohdetta, joista puolet liittyi ohjelmien laadinnan ja niiden käytännön toteuttamisen kehittämiseen ja puolet ohjelmien kehittämiseen toimintaympäristön ja sidosryhmien näkökulmista. Tämän jälkeen metsäkeskuksissa metsäohjelmien parissa työskentelevien henkilöiden tehtäväksi annettiin johdettujen kehittämiskohteiden arvottaminen kolmessa erilaisessa metsäalan toimintaympäristön kehittymistä kuvaavassa skenaariossa. Tärkeimpiä kehittämiskohteita olivat metsäkeskusten resurssien lisääminen, metsäohjelmien laatimisen ja toteuttamisen parempi vastuuttaminen, metsäsektorin organisaatioiden verkostoitumisen parantaminen sekä metsäohjelmien ja muiden politiikkaprosessien kytkentöjen parantaminen. Eri kehittämiskohteiden tärkeydet vaihtelivat varsin loogisesti eri skenaarioissa. SWOT-analyysin käytön mielekkyyttä tulevien ohjelmien laatimisprosesseissa voitaisiin lisätä tässä tutkimuksessa esitetyllä tavalla, jolloin olisi mahdollista toteuttaa kehittämiskohteiden, aitojen strategiavaihtoehtojen tai konkreettisten toimenpide-ehdotusten arvottamista toimintaympäristön näkökulmasta. Skenaariotekniikan käyttö olisi myös hyödyllistä, mutta se edellyttää konkreettisten ja laatimisaluetta koskevien skenaarioiden laatimista. Vaikka vastaajat olivat asiantuntijoita, voi pieni määrä saatuja vastauksia rajoittaa tulosten yleistettävyyttä. Toisaalta se voi myös viitata siihen, että ehdotettua menetelmää olisi vielä yksinkertaistettava sen käytettävyyden parantamiseksi.

Yksi suomalaisen metsäpolitiikan keskeisistä tavoitteista on metsäalan yhteiskunnallisen hyväksyttävyyden lisääminen. Tästä lähtökohdasta kaikille alueellisten metsäneuvostojen jäsenille lähetettiin kysely, jonka tavoitteena oli selvittää, miten eri sidosryhmät ovat kokeneet osallistumisen alueellisen metsäohjelman (AMO) laadintaan. Tutkimuksen avulla haluttiin löytää osallistumisen onnistumisia ja ongelmia, selvittää tasapuolisuuden toteutumista metsäneuvostoissa, niiden jäsenten käsityksiä ohjelmatyön vaikuttavuudesta ja heidän sitoutumistaan ohjelman tavoitteisiin.

Alueelliset metsäohjelmat ovat kullekin metsäkeskusalueelle laadittavia strategia ohjelmia, joiden tarkoitus on kehittää metsien hoitoa ja käyttöä maakunnassa. Nykyään eri intressiryhmistä koostuvalla alueellisella metsäneuvostolla on merkittävä rooli ohjelmien laadinnassa ja seurannassa. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli selvittää metsäneuvoston jäsenten mielipiteitä hyvästä osallistamisprosessista. Aineisto kerättiin ja analysoitiin Q-menetelmällä, jonka tavoitteena on löytää tutkittavasta aiheesta erilaisia näkökulmia. Vastaajat olivat kolmen alueellisen metsä neuvoston (Keski-Suomi, Lounais-Suomi ja Pohjois-Pohjanmaa) jäseniä. Yhteensä 50 vastaukseen pohjautuneen monimuuttuja-analyysin avulla vastaajat jaettiin neljään ryhmään: käytännöllisiin konsensuksen hakijoihin, uudistajiin, asiantuntemussuuntautuneisiin sekä osallistumisskeptisiin. Kaikki ryhmät pitivät intressiryhmien yhteistyön parantamista ja eri tahojen asiantuntemuksen tuomista prosessiin tärkeinä asioina, mutta päätösvallan tasapuolinen jako ja ohjelmassa käsiteltävät teemat jakoivat ryhmien mielipiteitä. Seuraavia ohjelmia tarkistettaessa kannattaa keskittyä kaikkien tärkeänä pitämiin asioihin. Prosessiin liittyvät erimielisyydet taas kannattaa nostaa keskusteluun ohjelmatyötä käynnistettäessä ja sopia kutakin prosessia varten mahdollisimman selkeät yhteistyön pelisäännöt.

Hokajarvi, R., Hujala, T., Leskinen, L.A. & Tikkanen, J. 2009. Effectiveness of sermon policy instruments: forest management planning practices applying the activity theory approach. Silva Fennica 43(5): 889–906. Recent and ongoing societal changes have brought about a need to foster multiple-use forestry and to strengthen customer orientation in family forestry outreach. The study assesses how forest management planning in family forest holdings could be developed to tackle these challenges. The approach introduces a new way of evaluating the effectiveness of information- and communication-based policy instruments. Here, the cultural-historical activity theory is applied in studying the interwoven practices of present-day planning and the associated advisory services targeted at landowners. The data, comprising semi-structured in-depth interviews with 19 professional planners, were qualitatively examined, and a forest management planning activity model was constructed with the emphasis placed on the inherent contradictions of planning work. As the main contradiction, the forest and the forest owner compete as objects. The aims of making the forest productive and advising the landowners towards an increased activeness motivate forest management planning but the planners feel that they lack the opportunity to respond to the needs of the landowner. A wood-productionemphasizing interpretation of the benefits to the national economy frustrates the policy goal of genuinely promoting the goals of multiple-use forestry. The conclusion drawn is that the actors engaged in forest management planning can reveal the needs for change by discussing their opinions and practical innovations. This can be done with the aid of facilitation by e.g. researchers oriented to developmental work study.

Artikkelissa tarkastellaan, miten metsäkeskukset vuoden 2004 alussa ohjeistivat metsäsuunnittelijoiden yhteistyötä metsänomistajien ja muiden yhteistyötahojen kanssa. Tutkimusaineisto koostui metsäkeskusten kirjallisista metsäsuunnittelua koskevista ohjeista, jotka analysoitiin laadullisella sisällönanalyysilla. Tulokset koskevat 11 metsäkeskusta. Yhteistyötä koskevia kirjallisia ohjeita oli kaikissa metsäkeskuksissa, mutta ohjeiden määrä, aiheet ja sisältö vaihtelivat. Kattavimmin oli ohjeistettu tilakohtaisten metsäsuunnitelmien markkinointiin tähtäävä yhteistyö. Metsänomistajien mahdollisuus osallistua maastotyöhön ja heidän neuvonta oli mainittu kaikkien tarkasteltujen metsäkeskusten ohjeissa. Vain muutaman metsäkeskuksen ohjeista löytyi yksityiskohtaisia ohjeita metsänomistajan tavoitteiden selvittämiseen, vaikka monitavoitteisuus on ollut korostuneesti esillä. Näissäkin tapauksissa suunnittelijoita ohjattiin selvittämään tavoitteet lähinnä kuvailevasti. Sidosryhmien kanssa tehtävää yhteistyötä oli ohjeistettu selvästi metsänomistajayhteistyötä vähemmän. Ohjeet koskivat lähinnä tilakohtaisten metsäsuunnitelmien markkinointia, sertifioinnin mukaisten tietojen hankkimista ja suunnittelun tuloksista tiedottamista. Metsänhoitoyhdistys mainittiin ohjeissa selvästi muita yhteistyötahoja useammin, ja tietojen luovutuksessa sillä oli erityisasema.

Co-operation in forest planning processes for non-industrial private forestry The study includes seven articles. The aim is to describe the regional co-operation network and co-operation practices with stakeholders and forest owners in forest planning processes. The study focuses on the regional forestry programme process and regional forest management planning, which also produces the majority of holding-level forest management plans in Finland. The research methods applied include quantitative survey, formal network analysis, qualitative content analysis, and cognitive mapping. Quantitative results were synthesised using multi dimensional scaling, principal component and clustering analysis. Advocacy orientation was found to be a distinctive feature of the forestry network of Finland’s northern Forest Centres. Theese non-industrial-private-forestry-oriented organizations played the foremost role in the network, and they shared the same opinions about forestry. Environmental organizations, on the other hand, were not involved in the regional forestry programme process in the way they wanted to be involved. This was the case despite a lot effort having been put into the participative policy process as part of the regional forestry programme. The planners taking part in regional forest planning mainly followed the information exchange and marketing oriented co-operation, while having regular contacts almost only with local forest management associations and forest-industry companies. When management plans were constructed for non-industrial private forest owners, the degree of interaction between forest owners and planners varied a lot depending on the forest owners’ interests and the practical constraints that the planners had in implementing interaction. Three types of forest owners were found according to their interaction with the forest planner: multi-objective-learners, multi-objective influential, and economically oriented trusters. The results call for a problem analysis phase to be developed at the beginning of the planning process for adapting the planning process for the owner-specific startingpoints. Some suggestions for developing forest management planning are also presented. The regional forest programme process could follow the principles of collaborative and open participation. In future, more attention should be put on the timing, legitimisation, representativeness, and decision-making procedures of the processes. The co-operation procedures applied in regional forest management planning could focus on information guidance, be situation dependent, and be agreed upon with forest owners. Thus, the main development needs involve dealing with clarification of the roles of society-driven regional data collection and estate specific management planning, and consciousness about optional co-operation needs and procedures.