Community attitudes towards plantation forestry

Background

Media reports and past research have made it clear that many people have strong views on plantation forestry, both for and against. Little is known about the factors that shape these views on plantations, so this project aims to provide a more detailed understanding of public attitudes. Views on plantations may be influenced by characteristics of plantations – for example, are plantations more acceptable in some locations than others? Or by characteristics of people – for example, are urban people more positive about plantations than rural people? It is also possible that views on plantations may change over time – for example, do plantations become more acceptable to neighbours over time? A series of studies will provide insight to these kinds of issues.

Project overview

Three major studies are being completed within this area.

Describing and explaining community views on plantation forestry uses surveys to describe and explain community views on plantations in Tasmania and Western Australia.
Making sense of plantations and communities considers how people working within the forest industry engage with social research to understand the ‘social side’ of forestry.
Ideas of rurality and acceptability of plantation forestry investigates the ways people value rural landscapes and how this relates to acceptability of commercial forest plantations n rural landscapes.

Describing and explaining community views on plantation forestry

This project seeks to understand and explain what makes
plantations acceptable or unacceptable in rural landscapes.

Study results are now available here.

Making sense of plantations and communities

PhD researcher: Caroline (Caj) Dunn

Caroline Dunn’s doctoral research considers how people working within the forest industry engage with social research to understand the ‘social side’ of forestry. The CRC Forestry ‘Communities’ project provides a case study for the project, providing a unique opportunity to observe how the project researchers work together with industry partners in developing social research goals and learning from research outcomes.

Based on two and a half years of participatory research, interviews and document analysis, the project describes how industry partners and researcher makes sense of the research and what it means for the forest industry. The project describes action taken to help build skills and capacity within the case study research program. This includes the skills of researchers to develop industry relevant research, and the capacity of industry partners to understand and make practical use of research findings.

The research develops a framework for thinking about how social research can and might make a difference in Australian forestry, and in other areas where researchers are working with industry in areas of changing land use.

To view Caroline's profile, click here

Understanding the connection between the visual aesthetics of rural landscapes and the social acceptability of timber plantations

PhD researcher: Nerida Anderson

Nerida Anderson’s doctoral research investigates issues relating to the social acceptability of commercial forest plantations. In particular, her work looks at the way people value rural landscapes, and the way in which people respond to commercial forest plantations within these landscapes. The research contributes to understanding the factors influencing judgements of acceptability, and so provides guidance for the design and management of future commercial forest plantations. The project commenced in 2009.

To view Nerida's profile, click here