Development and Current Situation of Forest Use by Camping Sites in Japan

After the Second World War, camping and camping sites in forests have developed and increased significantly from the 1980 s to 1990 s in Japan, relying on the laws and institutions established from the 1950 s to 1970 s across multiple administrative sectors, obtaining social approval as a legitimatized outdoor activity and forest use. Since the 2000s, the management of these camping sites has deteriorated mainly owing to economic recession, which caused the movement of camping site renewal by the private sector. This movement directed the diversification of forest use by camping sites in recent years. Camping facilities have been developed in many ways to meet the needs of campers, including organized group camps that promote education and experience in forests, solo camps, glamping, and workcations under the spread of the COVID-19 that demand relaxing or productive environment, and leisure camps that require enrichment of outdoor activities. As a result of this diversification, possibilities for effective utilization of forests and regional revitalization through the management of camping sites have been observed. Many camping sites have utilized forest lands, standing trees, and forest spaces to develop facilities and services, and there are cases where firewood production for campers has promoted the reorganization and development of local forestry and securing of personnel for forest management. In addition to securing local employment brought by reorganization, local revitalization in rural and mountainous areas has been promoted through the linkage of the needs of campers to positive economic effects, increase of the visitors who deeply connected to local people, and comprehensive and sustainable use of resources in local societies. © 2023 Nihon Ringakkai. All rights reserved.

Identification of long-standing and emerging agendas in international forest policy discourse

This study examined forest policy agendas developed in international policy-making process by analyzing international forest policy documents from 2001 to 2022 with power, perception, potency, and proximity. The forest policy agendas consistently addressed in the documents were agroforestry, biodiversity, climate change, certification, desertification, deforestation, forest landscape restoration, illegal logging and trade, non-timber forest products, sustainable forest management, traditional knowledge, governance, participation, partnerships, forest tenure, forest fire, forest disease, and community-based forest management. The emerging agendas since 2011 were ecosystem services, reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation plus (REDD+), resilience, urban forests, green economy/bioeconomy, and COVID-19. The changes in international forest policy discourse with long-standing and emerging agendas over time showed three characteristics: policy coherence by the power of international environmental conventions;expansion of forest policy targets and areas by perception and proximity of urban forests;and innovative approaches to resilience and bioeconomy by potency and perception. Therefore, this study offers new insights into the creation and transitions of forest policy agendas in the international forest policy discourse. © 2023

Visitor frequencies and attitudes towards urban forests and their management, before and during the COVID-19 lockdown. A mixed methods case study in Bonn, Germany

Urban forests play a crucial role for the wellbeing of city dwellers, and their importance for people has been emphasised during the COVID-19 pandemic. This exploratory study analyses the visit patterns and visitor attitudes and perceptions in a peri-urban forest nearby Bonn, Germany, as well as the impact of the lockdown. Methodically, we combined automated visitor counting with a total of 345 on-site interviews. Respondents were asked a variety of open-ended and closed questions on various aspects of forest management and recreation. The results show that shortly after the inception of the lockdown the number of forest visitors doubled and the visit pattern changed markedly. In contrast, people's associations with the forest remained rather stable. The forest visitors interviewed primarily associated the forest with tranquillity, recreation and fresh air, and they were generally positive about forest management. However, these expectations conflicted with the sense of crowdedness experienced during the lockdown, when novel forest uses and new motivations for visiting the forest arose, with an important focus on the forest as a place for social interaction. These were mainly a result of the lockdown restrictions, rather than COVID-19 itself, which left people with more time and flexibility, and less alternative activities. The results highlight the importance of forest management in catering to people's expectations and ultimately for the role that forests play for people's wellbeing. This was the case before the lockdown but arguably even more so during, in response to a variety of needs resulting from unprecedented circumstances. © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Fumbling out the effective pathways to apply the wildlife and forest analytic toolkit in the Mekong region: looking at data and analysis perspectives

The Wildlife and Forest Analytic Toolkit, introduced by the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC), is designed to increase the effectiveness of measures combating wildlife and forest crimes (WAFCs). Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) countries have applied this toolkit as one of their priority actions after recognizing concerns about the biodiversity system and conservational zone through several illegal wildlife trade (IWT) activities. Although the toolkit has realized its fundamental objectives to readjust legal frameworks, enhance enforcement involvement, and improve their judicial and prosecutorial operations, the last components of data and analysis have not yet been implemented. This leads to slow updates of both trends and patterns concerning WAFCs that raise questions about the real levels of exploitation in the region. Using gray literature with published materials, combined with the IWT's database in the CITES system, this study examines why the data and analysis component of the Toolkit created obstacles in the GMS countries. Findings point to there being at least four main challenges to implementing data and analysis as the toolkit has recommended in the region: (1) availability and reliability of data;(2) data collection;(3) data resources (internal vs. external level);and (4) analytic research and its related monitors. Some practical recommendations call for further discussions. Meanwhile, updated information and specific data relating to zoonotic disease transmission are timely, considering the coronavirus pandemic.

Impact and Mitigation Measures of COVID-19 towards Food Security Through Participation in Forest Management by Community in Sook, Keningau District, Sabah

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted food security for the people due to the imposition of stringent measures to halt the spread of COVID-19 transmission. This study aimed to measure the community's perception of the level of COVID-19 impacts on their food security and to identify the community's participation in forest management around the Forest Management Unit (FMU) in Sook, Keningau District of Sabah, to improve their livelihood. A mixed-method approach was conducted where a total of 122 respondents were sampled using a questionnaire survey, focus group discussion with communities, and expert interviews to gather more valuable data. The result showed that the communities were primarily involved in forest management through employment, empowerment, capacity building, and decision-making, which could indirectly contribute to their food security. Meanwhile, the impacts of the COVID-19 transmission were found to moderately affect the people who live inside or adjacent to the forest. The impacts could be explained based on eight themes as the outcome of Principal Component Analysis (PCA): market access, food storage and safety, resource availability, adequate nutrition, food aid, affordability, continuous food supply, and food adaptation to shock. Communities were mainly involved in agricultural practices and could obtain resources from the forest to supplement their daily need. The communities raise a prominent issue regarding land tenure that needs to be resolved;thus, it is suggested that imperative action be considered to create a balance between conservation, economy, and social responsibilities. © 2022 by Forest and Society.

Leveraging federalism for flexible and robust management of social-ecological systems

Managing social-ecological systems (SES) requires balancing the need to tailor actions to local heterogeneity and the need to work over large areas to accommodate the extent of SES. This balance is particularly challenging for policy since the level of government where the policy is being developed determines the extent and resolution of action.We make the case for a new research agenda focused on ecological federalism that seeks to address this challenge by capitalizing on the flexibility afforded by a federalist system of governance. Ecological federalism synthesizes the environmental federalism literature from law and economics with relevant ecological and biological literature to address a fundamental question: What aspects of SES should be managed by federal governments and which should be allocated to decentralized state governments?This new research agenda considers the bio-geo-physical processes that characterize state-federal management tradeoffs for biodiversity conservation, resource management, infectious disease prevention, and invasive species control.Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Mass tree planting: prospects for a green legacy in Ethiopia

This study identifies the conditions under which the Green Legacy Initiative (GLI) and other high-profile tree-planting pledges and programmes in Ethiopia might work in the post COVID-19 recovery. The research looks at the political and governance context in which these campaigns and programmes are designed. It identifies the political forces, organisations, actors, and political economy dynamics involved. The analytical framework examines three arenas: the driving narratives, implementation, and outcomes. For comparative purposes, as well as the GLI, the study analyses the Sustainable Land Management Programme (SLMP) (funded largely by the World Bank) and the REDD+ Investment Programme (supported primarily by the government of Norway). The analysis was conducted through literature review, key informant interviews, and field study.

The economic value of the wildlife trade in Vietnam

This report reviews available data on the financial contributions of the wildlife trade at national, local and household levels, and discusses opportunities for and challenges to managing the trade in Vietnam. Wildlife farming generates significant earnings for many households in many provinces, and creates employment opportunities for the rural workforce. The fact that many households in many provinces depend on wildlife farming as their main source of income also creates major challenges for wildlife conservation and management. Diversifying and developing sustainable local livelihoods and economic growth are essential for local well-being and for effective wildlife conservation and management. Developing a holistic approach is essential for addressing illegal wildlife trading and ensuring sustainable legal wildlife farming. Although research and efforts to document and analyze the economic value of wildlife farming and trading have increased, available data are often outdated and based on small sample sizes from limited numbers of study sites. A well-functioning, transparent and accountable monitoring and evaluation system together with financial support for research on legal and illegal wildlife trading, especially in the context of COVID-19, are essential for effective wildlife conservation in Vietnam.

Delivering forestry courses online: experiences, lessons learned, and future of forestry online education in the Asia Pacific.

Innovation in forestry education is needed to address changing contexts of the positionality of forests. This is particularly significant in the Asia-Pacific region, where deforestation and degradation are high. However, the accessibility of high-quality forestry education to address changing regional and global contexts is lacking. A series of innovative sustainable forest management (SFM) open education resource (OER) courses were developed and implemented to improve the accessibility of SFM education to enhance teaching quality, curriculum, and research capacity of universities in the Asia-Pacific Region. To evaluate the SFM-OER program in terms of student experiences, this study investigated student achievement, perceived success of the pedagogical approach and instructional design, and perceived effectiveness of the learning activities in promoting active and transformative learning through the assessment of a 1,191-course feedback survey between 2018 and 2020, including the global pandemic. This study revealed that the program attracted diverse student demographics, including a higher proportion of female students majoring in forestry, ecology, and other environmental studies. Their primary motivation to participate in the courses was to gain international experience, followed by the flexibility of online learning, mandatory course requirements, and earning course credits. Students were satisfied with the Canvas learning management system. Most students spent less than 5 to 10 h of their weekly time in the course and agreed or strongly agreed that the workloads were manageable. Students reflected positively on various learning activities and assignments, such as watching lecture videos, taking quizzes, reading and summarizing, having discussions, and peer review writing. However, they did not clearly prefer specific learning activities, signifying the importance of using diverse learning activities to satisfy diverse individual learning styles in online settings. This analysis contributes to the further development of student-centered pedagogical development for online learning and provides insight into the ways forward for online higher forestry education, while repurposing existing OER courses in a post-Covid-19 era.

Business Outlook of Private Urban Forestry in the Northeast-Midwest Region of the United States

Background: Urban forestry is a crucial sector of the green industry and increasingly a tool used to address ecological and sociopolitical challenges in urban landscapes. Along with a number of public agencies and nonprofit organizations, various private industry types are directly involved in the development and management of urban trees and landscapes. The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the outlook of private green industry businesses on their urban forestry activities in the Northeast-Midwest region of the United States. Methods: Based on a survey of private businesses involved in the green industry in late 2020, we developed an empirical model by incorporating industry types, business metrics, and issues related to urban forestry perceived by private businesses. Results: Results from an ordered logistic regression model suggest that nursery and florist’s supplies merchant wholesaler businesses are less likely than other businesses to have a positive outlook on urban forestry activities. We found that survey respondents who reported a higher percentage of urban forestry employees had a higher likelihood of a positive outlook of their business. Conclusion: Many respondents referenced how COVID-19 has been an overall deterrent to economic growth, implying that the state of their business depends on the recovery of the economy. The findings provide useful policy and management insights on how private businesses perceive the future outlook of urban forestry. These study results benefit the private sector and public agencies involved in urban forestry for better planning and programming in the Northeast-Midwest region of the United States. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Arboriculture & Urban Forestry is the property of International Society of Arboriculture and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Disturb forests, trigger new pandemics — study

“Halting and reversing forest loss is increasingly recognised as a means to mitigate the effects of climate change and address biodiversity collapses” Johan Oldekop, University of Manchester FAO’s State of the World’s Forests Report 2020 says that the majority of new infectious diseases are zoonotic and their emergence may be linked to changes in forest areas, as well as the expansion of human populations into forest areas. According to the study, the unprecedented exodus of forest communities to urban areas is shaping the future of forests. According to the study, during 2001—2015, 27 per cent of forest disturbance was attributed to commodity-driven deforestation.

Estimation of willingness to pay for public benefit evaluation of forest roads in recreational forests

The purpose of this research is to analyze recreational forest visitors' behavior and to estimate public benefit from forest roads, which play various and positive roles, such as open green space, timber production, forest management, and forest fire prevention. A DBCV (double bounded contingent valuation) onsite survey was conducted nationwide from July 20th~August 7th in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis result of 500 respondents proves that the improvement of accessibility for forest users and the provision of recreation opportunities and recreational facilities through forest road development (both in quality and quantity) substantially affects forest users' economic welfare in recreational forests (RF). Also, the survey result shows 4.6 visits within 3 years for forest scenery and refreshment with family. About 60% of the respondents recognize the importance of forest roads within recreational forests and about 80% represent a positive response to the contribution of recreational forest roads. The WTP (willingness to pay) of the respondents through the logit model applied is estimated at KRW 1,803.04 per person/visit for a year and the result of benefit expansion based on the WTP estimation is calculated to be KRW 43.24 billion. Hence, the result shows that increasing forest road quality and quantity within the RF contributes to forest users' economic welfare in terms of forest recreational satisfaction. It will be the fundamental data on economic analysis related to forest-road construction plans and forest policies reflecting the increasing demand of consumers based on their preference.

Paradigm Shift in Medical Research

20th century advancements have achieved a doubling of the human life-span, yet today's world is far from well. Many under-resourced countries where the burden of disease is greatest have yet to benefit from past advances, and in the R&D World, much capacity-building is still required to address the 10/90 gap. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted acutely these pre-COVID inequities and the fragility of human health in the interplay of global ecosystems. The concept of a "doughnut" world, adapted from "doughnut economics" (Kate Raworth, 2017) illustrates this well. The doughnut's outer circle borders the health of our planet: climate change, one health, planetary health, ocean and forest management which breach this outer circle, have serious deleterious impact on societal health and disease (e.g. emerging infections, cancer, heart disease, diabetes and other non-communicable diseases). The individual's health is bordered by the doughnut's inner circle: tackling its breaches require focused individualized healthcare and research (e.g. drug discovery, precision medicine, unravelling disease pathways and efficient diagnostics). People live between the circles, their ability to thrive conceptualized by WHO's Social Determinants of Health. The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) resonate with this concept, but have been severely setback by the pandemic and escalating European war. The UN Research Roadmap for COVID-19 Recovery points clearly that business as usual (status quo) means a spiral downwards towards a worsening world. Transformative changes to build research systems that sustain our "doughnut" world, address inequities and build smart alliances are crucial for the health and survival of humanity.

Virtual look at colleagues planting Douglas fir on several estates

In the spring of 2020, Borgman Beheer Advies organized the planting of Douglas fir plug plants on several estates. Den Treek-Henschoten (near Leusden) and Quadenoord in Renkum took part and planted approximately 7,500 Douglas firs together. Another part of the planting was organized to offset the consultancy's own CO2 emissions. Between all the larger and smaller fellings, including in the context of drought and beetles, this gives a positive spin to forest management. In the absence of the opportunity to view the plantings in the forest with colleagues due to the corona virus, we are happy to share this project through this article.

Estimating Preferences for Wood Furniture in Terms of Sustainable Forest Management

The world’s forest area decreased to three point nine billion hectares in 2015, a net annual loss of 3.3 million hectares, and large-scale deforestation is occurring in the tropics. Furthermore, greenhouse gas emissions are increasing as forests are converted to other uses such as agricultural land. Against this backdrop, sustainable forest management is becoming increasingly important. This study attempts to quantify people’s general awareness and values concerning for on-line shopping habits (in this study, for wooden furniture) in terms of sustainable forest management in Japan by estimating the acceptable price premium or willingness of consumers to pay for wood-related products made using wood produced under sustainable forest management as the raw material. The study proceeds to quantify the awareness and values of consumers concerning sustainable forest management and conservation of forest environments. Consumers were found to have a certain willingness to pay for wooden furniture made from wood produced through sustainable forest management. As a consequence of this analysis, it was revealed that consumers place a high value on sustainable forest management and environmental conservation, and that they are willing to act on these values when purchasing wood-related products.

Multi-Dimensional Evaluation Framework for the Sustainable Development of Forest Health Bases and Site Selection for Application in China

In the context of global aging, people’s awareness of health is deepening, and the rapid economic development has drawn widespread attention to the health tourism industry. As a way of experiencing health, forest health tourism is becoming increasingly favored, and the site selection and construction of forest health bases (FHBs) have also developed accordingly. To ensure sustainability in the process of the site selection and construction of FHBs, the suitability of regional development and the relative coordination of the market, environment, and resource levels should be considered. Although there have been numerous studies on sustainable forestry management, a comprehensive sustainability assessment framework based on development suitability and coordination in three dimensions is needed to guide the site selection and the construction of FHBs. The following tasks were carried out in this study: (1) based on market sustainability goals, environmental optimization goals, and ecological resource sustainability goals, a comprehensive sustainability evaluation framework for development suitability indicators and coordination indicators in three dimensions was established;(2) via the use of this framework, the construction potential of FHBs in 41,636 towns in China was evaluated;the evaluation results show that the towns in Anhui, Jiangxi, Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Zhejiang, Hunan, Hubei, Guizhou, and other provinces of China generally have superior conditions for the development of FHBs;(3) a multi-dimensional comprehensive analysis of FHB site selection sustainability based on development suitability and coordination was carried out for four batches of approved pilots. The comprehensive analysis results demonstrate the worsening evaluation results of the four batches. The proposed framework can provide a reference for FHB development policies for countries worldwide.

Bringing the Forest Home: Lessons Learned during the COVID-19 Pandemic about E-Planning in Community Forestry Contexts

This paper examines “e-planning,” or the use of computer-based systems to conduct planning and decision-making, in the context of community forest management. E-planning is growing in the field of environmental planning, as it promises greater equity in terms of public participation. However, a lack of scholarly work exists on the applicability for forest planning. During the COVID-19 pandemic, county foresters and other natural resource professionals in Vermont turned to e-planning when safety restrictions limited their ability to engage in face-to-face efforts. This provided an opportunity to collect empirical data about the potential for e-planning to support the public engagement process in the context of forest planning. We provide an overview of e-planning theory and examine data from Vermont to explore the promise of e-planning for forest management. We make recommendations about the applicability of e-planning in the context of forest planning, and highlight areas for future research to investigate.

Impacts of COVID-19 on wood value chains and forest sector response: results from a global survey 2020

This policy brief summarizes the findings from a global survey on the impacts of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak on wood value chains and recovery measures from the forest sector. The survey received responses from 237 stakeholders registered in the Sustainable Wood for a Sustainable World (SW4SW) network,' representing all segments of wood value chains. The survey was administered for two weeks (3-15 June 2020) and the results presented here cover impacts during the reference period of February to June 2020. Based on the survey results, initial policy recommendations are formulated for current challenges and future perspectives involving wood value chains in the post-COVID-19 environment.

Public perception of the wood products industry in Malaysia and its implication on the future workforce

Despite contributing almost RM 20 billion (USD 4.9 billion) in exports earnings annually, the public perception of the wood products industry in Malaysia remains unknown. Therefore, this study attempted to assess public perceptions about the industry in Malaysia among the public, including teenagers, based on 3,010 reliably answered questionnaire-surveys. Generally, the public perceived the wood products industry to be a low-wage economy, labor-intensive, predominated by foreign contract workers, and unsustainable in the long-term. In essence, the public appear to have stronger negative images of the industry compared to the positive images. The main drivers for such negative perceptions, identified through the factor analysis, were the prevailing business environment in the industry and its workforce characteristics. Consequently, teenagers and school-leavers tend to be less interested in pursuing a career in the industry, let alone pursuing further studies in the wood-related fields. The main reasons cited for this were the limited career growth opportunity due to the predomination of family-controlled small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the industry and the discouragements from family members and friends. The provision of reliable, timely, and transparent information is important to boost the public’s awareness and build positive beliefs and perception of the wood industry.

An Assessment of Environmental Knowledge in a Highly Biodiverse Mountainous Region of Mexico

The environmental knowledge of inhabitants residing in a highly biodiverse mountainous region of western Mexico with an important economic forestry sector was investigated. Indices of environmental knowledge, by average and through a factor analysis, were developed and characterized using survey data collected in 2018 and 2021. These indices showed high levels of correlation, and followed similar patterns of distributions. Ordinary least squares and quantile regressions were used to examine social, economic, demographic, and perceptions as determinant factors of the generated indices. Age and education were repeatedly found as important factors influencing environmental knowledge, while income and gender were consistently not significant factors. Furthermore, environmental knowledge was related to quality of life. The index developed by factor analysis generated more significantly stable parameter results across percentiles of environmental knowledge. The indices were recommended for monitoring environmental knowledge in long term studies.