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Research article2004Peer reviewedOpen access

Objectives and motivations of smallscale forest owners; Theoretical modelling and qualitative assessment

Hugosson M, Ingemarson F

Abstract

Forest management changes with societal change, and it has been debated if economic development in society places material objectives in a less preferable position: it is assumed this is also the case as regards forest management. The aims of this study were to propose a theoretical model for empirical studies of objectives and motivations within this field and to depict motivations and objectives of small-scale forest owners in Sweden. Comparative literature studies were undertaken and qualitative methodology was used for the empirical studies. Firstly, to depict general trends among forest owners, interviews with professional foresters were conducted. Secondly, forest owners throughout Sweden were interviewed to compare the results of the interviews with the professional foresters on the motivations and objectives of small-scale forest owners. Within the literature, there were no consistent views on the subjective grounds for owning and managing small-scale forest estates. The proposed theoretical model originated from the cultural concept. Sets of interpretive and normative qualities were seen as underlying people's actions, and such sets were related to basic values. The 'objectives' were clustered into groups creating four clusters i.e. 'motivations'. The four motivations depicted were: Conservation; Utilities; Amenities and Economic Efficiency. The empirical results highlighted that the objectives and motivations of forest-owners covered a broad field and a move towards conservation interests was indicated. The theoretical model presented here is suggested a suitable tool for both depicting the motivations and objectives of forest owners and for making future comparisons

Published in

Silva Fennica
2004, Volume: 38, number: 2, pages: 217-231
Publisher: FINNISH SOCIETY FOREST SCIENCEFINNISH FOREST RESEARCH

      SLU Authors

    • Hugosson, Mårten

      • Department of Forest Products, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

      • Ingemarson, Fredrik

        • Department of Forest Products, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

      UKÄ Subject classification

      Forest Science

      Publication identifier

      DOI: https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.430

      Permanent link to this page (URI)

      https://res.slu.se/id/publ/3239