Forest certification is considered a viable market-based policy instrument to promote forest sustainability. It has an important role of play in meeting the objective of modern forestry development ...in China, which is to sustain ecological and environmental benefits of forests. To understand differences in attitudes, opinions, and interests in forest certification, this study segmented respondents of a landowner’s survey in Shandong, China based on their level of interest in participating in forest certification under different program requirements. Multivariate cluster analysis revealed three distinct groups: likely-, potential-, and unlikely-landowners. We further examined the heterogeneity of these groups in terms of their demographics, ownership characteristics, management objectives, and perceived benefits and challenges of adopting forest certification. The results suggested the necessity of differentiating landowners in formulating and designing specific motivation-based incentives and tailoring outreach efforts and communication strategies to improve their interests in forest certification. Findings will be useful and interesting to forest policymakers interested in promoting forest certification among landowners in China and other countries facing similar circumstances.
Most of the literature on the chronic wasting disease (CWD) has focused on the attitudes of deer hunters. Designing public policies to manage CWD requires an understanding of how other stakeholders ...(landowners, non-hunting public) perceive the risk and react. By surveying a sample of residents in Tennessee, this study compared the concerns, agency trust, and acceptability of management actions among resident groups segmented based on their proximity to CWD presence, hunter status, and land ownership status. Responses from seven CWD counties and four adjacent counties were generally similar, but notable differences were found between hunters and non-hunters and between landowners and non-landowners. Considering that the cooperation from all stakeholders will be critical for the success of a regional CWD management program, it may be important for wildlife agencies to recognize the heterogeneity in preferences and the sensitivity of proposed actions among stakeholders before implementation and enforcement.
Despite its widespread recognition as a successful model of participatory forest management, the community forestry program in Nepal is often criticized for its protection-oriented emphasis. ...Recognizing the need for more active timber management, the government of Nepal recently adopted a scientific forest management (SFM) policy in the lowland tropical region. In this study, strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat analytical hierarchical process criteria were employed to understand stakeholder perceptions concerning SFM implementation in Nepal. The overall perception was prioritized in the order of strengths (35%), threats (28%), opportunities (22%), and weaknesses (16%). The study results suggest that there is agreement among stakeholders regarding the need for active management of forests in the tropical lowland region. However, the perceptions of academic researchers and non-government organization professionals differed from those of the other stakeholders in that those two groups were more concerned about potential corruption and uncertainties surrounding policy and legal issues. The findings suggest that the long-term success of SFM may depend on the ability of the government to develop a mechanism that is transparent and capable of ensuring equitable benefit sharing among stakeholders. While the stakeholder perception analysis performed in this study was focused on SFM implementation in Nepal, the results could have implications for other countries that practice the participatory model of forest governance as well.
Since anglers and other non-consumptive visitors make a significant contribution to local economies, their satisfaction plays an important role in sustainable management of fisheries in rural areas. ...We administered a survey to understand whether, and to what extent, site-specific and demographic factors contribute to visitor satisfaction in a lake experiencing a water crisis. Survey data showed that compared to anglers, non-anglers were generally more satisfied with their overall trip experience. Moreover, results from an ordinal logit regression model suggested that anglers who feel a connection with the lake are likely to be more satisfied with their experience. Likewise, fishing quality played an important role in angling satisfaction. Managers may see visitors satisfied by focusing on maintaining a unique quality fishery, enhancing facilities, reducing the presence of litter, and addressing other environmental problems around the lake.
Nonresidential and mid- to high-rise multifamily residential structures in the United States currently use little wood per unit floor area installed, because earlier building codes lacked provisions ...for structural wood use in those types of buildings. However, revisions to the International Building Code allow for increased wood use in the form of mass timber, as structural and fire safety concerns have been addressed through new science-based design standards and through newly specified construction materials and measures. This study used multiple models to describe alternative futures for new construction, mass timber adoption rates, and the associated carbon benefits in higher than three-story buildings in the United States. The use of mass timber, in place of traditional constructions (i.e., structures dominated by concrete and steel), in projected new higher than three-story buildings was shown to provide combined carbon benefits (i.e., global warming mitigation benefits), including avoided embodied carbon emissions due to the substitution of non-wood alternatives and additional biogenic carbon storage in mass timber materials, of between 9.9 and 16.5 million t CO2e/yr spanning 50 years, 2020 to 2070. These carbon benefits equate to 12% to 20% of the total U.S. harvested wood products carbon storage for 2020. Future research is needed to understand how greater mass timber adoption leads to changes in forest product markets, land use, and total forest sector carbon.
Forest certification is considered a viable market-based strategy for promoting sustainable forest management by providing landowners with financial incentives and social recognition for responsible ...forest practices. In China, it is an issue of international as well as domestic concern, especially considering the magnitude of country’s wood exports. To examine landowners’ perceived barriers to and interests in forest certification in China, we conducted a landowner survey in Shandong province in 2016 and analyzed whether and how landowners’ ownership motivations, management objectives, sociodemographics, and perceptions about benefits and drawbacks associated with certification schemes influenced their willingness to participate in certification programs. Results indicate that the majority of landowners in Shandong province are not currently familiar with forest certification programs but are willing to consider participating when provided with pertinent information. There may be a potential market for certification programs in China with appropriate outreach and extension. In addition, landowners’ willingness to participate in certification programs is significantly affected by the expected benefits and limitations associated with certification schemes, landownership motivation, management objectives, and characteristics of the forestland and households. Findings will be useful to institutions and policy makers interested in understanding and promoting the market for forest certification in China and other developing countries with similar circumstances.
With growing public interest in ecosystem restoration, wildlife agencies in the U.S. and around the world have adopted wildlife reintroduction program as a conservation strategy. In addition to their ...ecological benefits, stakeholders are often interested in economic benefits of wildlife reintroduction such as hunting opportunities once a viable population is established. Even though the trip-based travel cost models are widely used in economic valuation of hunting access, such models are not applicable in valuation of sites of recent restoration, where hunting opportunities are limited. With the case of recently completed elk restoration in Tennessee, USA, this study characterizes the economic benefit of hunting opportunity resulting from reintroduction. In doing so, it also presents a procedure to estimate the economic benefit of current use and unmet demand associated with hunting opportunities generated from a wildlife reintroduction program. The annual net economic benefit associated with current use and value of unmet demand is found to be over $2 million. The study also demonstrates the viability of permit-based models in producing reliable estimates of economic benefit of recreation access where demand is lottery-rationed or trip profile data is unavailable.
•Stakeholders are interested in hunting benefits of wildlife restoration programs.•Trip based travel cost model is not applicable in sites of lottery-rationed recreation.•A permit-based zonal travel cost model was estimated for hunting access to NCWMA.•We show the viability of permit-based models in producing reliable value estimates.•Results illustrate the net benefit of hunting opportunity attributable to elk restoration.
The recent decline in wild populations of amphibians worldwide coincides with the period of rapid growth in the global trade of wildlife. The potential for pathogen transmission within and beyond the ...pet amphibian trade network makes it important to explore the attitudes and behavior of businesses involved in the industry. We surveyed US businesses involved in the pet amphibian trade industry to characterize their attitudes and behaviors and identify business characteristics that could influence percieved risk of pathogen transmission in trade. We found that amphibian businesses acquire their animals from a variety of sources (e.g., importers, wholesalers, retailers, breeders, hobbyists, wild), are aware of the threat of emerging pathogens, and are concerned about the potential spillover of pathogens from captive to wild populations. Attitudes and behaviors of businesses toward pathogens varied among business types (e.g., size of business, the share of amphibian sales, mode of business operation). Moreover, businesses expressed a strong interest in acquiring amphibians that are free of pathogens and indicated a willingness to pay a price premium to acquire certified disease‐free animals. Our results indicate that the US pet amphibian trade industry is willing to participate in healthy (clean) trade practices and increasing product prices may be one option to compensate for expenses. A government program to support pathogen‐free certification would likely facilitate implementation.
Woody biomass has been identified as a source of dispatchable, renewable energy. Private lands supply the majority of the wood-based pellets that is produced in the southeastern United States (SE US) ...and shipped to countries in the European Union (EU) for energy generation. To assess the perspectives of potential suppliers of woody biomass in the SE US, nonindustrial private forest landowners were surveyed in the fuelsheds of the two primary ports for wood pellets exported to the EU. The survey assessed owners' characteristics, attitudes, and future management plans. Survey results were examined to explore the relationships among these factors and owners' intentions for providing material for wood-based energy. The results indicate that forest landowners have multiple reasons for maintaining their forest land, with more than 40% of the owners ranking timber production as a very important reason. Furthermore, the majority of landowners would be willing to provide woody biomass for producing bioenergy. Among factors that would enhance landowners' willingness to provide woody biomass for energy, technical assistance to improve stand productivity and future value was the most popular option, followed by reducing fire and disease risk, long-term markets, and high prices. Landowner willingness to provide woody material for bioenergy also varied depending on demographics including age and gender, property characteristics including holding size and distance to residence, and perceptions regarding the impact on forest value of wood pellet demand and the viability of bioenergy as an alternative to fossil energy.
•Forest owners in the southeast US are willing to provide woody biomass for energy.•Forest area and attitudes towards bioenergy positively relate to harvest interest.•Owners express diverse reasons for retaining land in forests.•Older landowners are less likely to be interested in supplying woody biomass.
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