General Public Acceptance of Forest Risk Management Strategies in Sweden: Comparing Three Approaches to Acceptability

What is it about?

Global change calls for more active approaches to forest risk management. Because the general public may be considered a stakeholder in relation to the forest, it is important to examine general public’s acceptance of the risk management strategies. By drawing on different theoretical approaches (threat and prevention, performance evaluations, and forest cognitions), the present study examines predictors of acceptability in the general public in three counties in Sweden (N = 1,026). The present study suggests that the general public is most likely to accept more moderate strategies but not the use of pesticides. In particular, forest cognitions for example what people value in the forest was found to be important for acceptability of risk management strategies.

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Why is it important?

When forest management is going through changes it is important to consider how the public is likely to respond to these changes. This study draws on different theoretical approaches to better understand the public's acceptability of forest risk management.