Forests in the Czech public discourse

0501901 - SOÚ 2019 RIV CZ eng J - Journal Article
Stachová, Jana
Forests in the Czech public discourse.
Journal of Landscape Ecology. Roč. 11, č. 3 (2018), s. 33-44. ISSN 1803-2427
Grant - others:AV ČR(CZ) StrategieAV21/9
Program: StrategieAV
Institutional support: RVO:68378025
Keywords : forest functions * forest management * public opinion
OECD category: Sociology
http://mendelu.vedeckecasopisy.cz/publicFiles/002015.pdf

Forests are being increasingly studied within the framework of social sciences, especially in relation to environmental problems and global climate change. This article deals with the perception of Czech forests and their management at two basic levels: atthe level of sociological analysis of in-depth interviews with experts in the field of forestry and at the level of public opinion research. The main aim of this study was to describe the attitudes of professionals and the general public towards forests and forestry, especially with regard to climate change. Qualitative analysis of interviews with professionals discerned two main categories of opinion: ecological realism and social constructionism. The results of the study show that the Czech public, in agreement with ecological realists, considers it highly important to preserve and support the non-productive environmental functions of forests. The public also prefers close-to-nature forest management practices. Czech Republicis witnessing a fundamental shift in the mindset about forests. Although the public still expects forests to retain their production function, it perceives their environmental functions as increasingly important.


Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0293882