Browsing by Author "Halvari, Laura"

Tiivistelmä/Referat – Abstract Various and often partially conflicting usage pressures, values, expectations, and hopes are directed towards Finnish forests. Different stakeholders and actors usually have different views on the multiple uses of forests, and they typically prioritize forests in different ways, such as biodiversity, aesthetics, or economic perspectives. The values of forest professionals and other forest users regarding forest management influence forest management decisions. This master's thesis examined the values and psychological, social, and political aspects related to forest management. The aim was to identify the core values of forest management and the similarities in values between forest professionals and non-forest professionals. The purpose was to classify the responses to a survey conducted in the Forest Happiness project in 2023 using qualitative content analysis. The survey was answered by 973 individuals, of which 923 responses were used as the study's data. The survey topic was the happiness produced by the forest. Qualitative content analysis utilized values according to Kellert's biophilia typology. NMDS analysis was used for statistical research. Clustering was also employed to reveal potentially latent characteristics in the data. There seems to be little difference in the values related to forest use between forest professionals and other citizens. Values were more influenced by social background than forest professionalism. According to the study, the most important values of forest use for both forest professionals and other citizens were dominionistic, utilitarian, moralistic, naturalistic, aesthetic, humanistic, and scientific values. Clustering produced two clusters, Utilitarians and Moralists. Utilitarians included respondents whose forest usage values were more related to anthropocentric actions, whereas Moralists included respondents whose forest usage values were related to ecocentric actions. The study revealed both positive and negative attitudes towards forest use. Attitudes towards forestry measures were almost evenly split between positive and negative opinions. The concept of forest professionalism was found to be fluid, and professionalism was classified into three groups: traditional forest professionals, professions related to forests, and professions unrelated to forests. Forest discourse was perceived as polarized, as reflected in the extremes of responses. Both right-wing and left-wing forest policies were highlighted in the responses. The values related to forest use and forest professionalism are multidimensional and evolving concepts. Values play an important role in planning forest use to avoid conflicts between different stakeholders.