Integrating nature conservation measures in european forest management - An exploratory study of barriers and drivers in 9 european countries.

Integrative forest management approaches, aiming to combine the provision of multiple forest ecosystem services in the same forest area, are popular forest management concepts in Europe. Their understanding and application varies, however, across the continent. This paper looks at one dimension of integrative forest management approaches in particular - the integration of nature conservation measures into forest management; focusing on its understanding and application, as well as current and future social, technological, ecological, economic and political factors enabling or hampering this integration. Drawing on 42 qualitative in-depth interviews with national experts and forest practitioners, our study provides insights into the integration of nature conservation measures into forest management systems aimed at wood production and the provision of other forest ecosystem services under various conditions. Across the investigated countries, the main factors perceived to facilitate this integration are the personal motivations and knowledge of forest managers and their long-term economic thinking related to the resilience of the forest in the face of climate and societal change. In turn, the main factors perceived as hampering the integration are current wood-market demands, and a lack of (public) financial incentives. Public pressure is also perceived as an important influencing factor, which can both impede or support integration. Other ambiguous factors include societal knowledge and related knowledge gaps, relationships between local stakeholders, and the legal framework in which forest management operates. The study concludes with suggestions of how to enhance the uptake of the integration of nature conservation measures into forest management in Europe.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the use of and attitudes towards urban forests and green spaces: Exploring the instigators of change in Belgium.

The COVID-19 pandemic has strongly impacted our society, producing drastic changes in people's routines and daily mobility, and putting public spaces under a new light. This paper starts with the premise that the use of urban forests and green spaces - where and for who they were available and accessible - increased, when social restrictions were most stringent. It takes an explorative approach to examine changes in attitude towards urban forests and urban green spaces in terms of attraction (i.e., as the actual use behaviour), intended use (i.e., intention of going to green spaces), and civic engagement in relation to green spaces. In particular, it analyses the responses to a survey of 1987 respondents in Belgium and statistically examines the relationship between sociodemographic characteristics, urbanisation characteristics, actual and intended green space use, and changes in attitudes towards green spaces and civic engagement. The findings show that highly educated citizens experienced an increase in actual and intended use of green spaces during the pandemic, but that this increase differs among sociodemographic profiles such as impact of age or access to private green, and depends on their local built environment characteristics. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has strongly impacted citizens' attitudes, as well as (intended) behaviour and civil engagement with respect to the green spaces in their area.

COVID-19-induced visitor boom reveals the importance of forests as critical infrastructure.

During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, countries around the globe have implemented a certain degree of lockdown, restricting citizens' freedom of movement and freedom of assembly. This article aims to illustrate the impact that the measures against the spread of COVID-19 have on forest recreation, building on a study in an urban context around Bonn (Germany) that was conducted between April 2019 and February 2020. The quantitative and qualitative data on urban forest visits from that study were supplemented with new census data supported by selected expert interviews. We found that visitor numbers since the inception of COVID-19 measures in March 2020 have more than doubled. Visitor patterns have drastically shifted, from an even distribution throughout the day with small peaks before and after office hours to a culmination in the late afternoon. Lastly, the interviewed forestry professionals have noted that a new set of visitors, i.e. young people, families with children and non-locals, has arrived to the forest. This influx of more and novice visitors poses challenges for forest managers and urban forest policy. It is, however, also a unique opportunity for a substantial engagement of forestry with society at large, that has implications for forest policy, especially in urban areas, possibly beyond the COVID-19 pandemic era.