Incorporating social factors to improve the Japanese forest zoning process

Public participation: a need of forest planning

“…This is the reason why those professionals in forestry need to communicate their ideas and actions, not only to other professionals, but also to a higher number of nonprofessionals (Tyrväinen et al 2006). Sugimura & Howard (2008) recommend the participation of stakeholders in the final phases of forest zoning.…”

“…It often shows a scale which stems from a unidirectional information flow until it completes the power of decision of the citizens in self-organization (Arnstein 1969, Pretty 1994, Elcome & Baines 1999, Germain et al 2001, Dovie 2003, Sugimura & Howard 2008, Stenseke 2009. Taking this into account, we propose the five levels below: 1.…”

“…It will also contribute to the increase in forest benefits, to the fair distribution of costs and profits and to the improvement of the social acceptance of sustainable forestry (Düzgün 2003). The use of social movements can cause a decrease of prejudices against the forest sector (Côté & Bouthillier 2002, Sugimura & Howard 2008. Hansmann et al (2006) state that participative processes with more widely-spread marketing campaigns may be a source of information for the Swiss population about the forest sector.…”

“…Hansmann et al (2006) state that participative processes with more widely-spread marketing campaigns may be a source of information for the Swiss population about the forest sector. Information can contribute to a certain improvement in the quality of decisions (Côté & Bouthillier 2002, Sugimura & Howard 2008. Additionally, there is an educational dimension as an advantage, which may bring long-term benefits (Buchy & Hoverman 2000) and, therefore, public participation can incorporate new data and generate knowledge (Brody & Cash 2004, Brody et al 2006.…”

“…Selman (2004) considers the collaboration of stakeholders as a key element in landscape management and planning. Undoubtedly, it offers the opportunity to participate in the forest planning process, which will make more people consider the importance of forests (Sugimura & Howard 2008). Among the reasons why industry is interested in public participation, we find good public relations, a good relationship with stakeholders and a decrease of criticism in the media (Brody & Cash 2004, Brody et al 2006).…”