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Forest Landscape Restoration Decision-Making and Conflict Management: Applying Discourse-Based Approaches

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Forest Landscape Restoration

Part of the book series: World Forests ((WFSE,volume 15))

Abstract

Forest landscape restoration (FLR) aims to regain ecological integrity and enhance human well-being in deforested or degraded forest landscapes. Despite its positive connotations, successfully implementing significant FLR will often involve considerable conflict. The purpose of this chapter is to present fundamental principles for managing FLR conflicts. The chapter portrays FLR as a social and political process in which there is no “single” correct view of reality: “good forestry” or “bad forests” are value-laden social constructions that transcend objective facts. If not recognized, this alone can lead to misunderstanding and conflict. Social constructions often emerge and evolve through public discourse – the verbal communication, talk, or conversation among people. Accordingly the discourse-based approaches to conflict management can contribute meaningfully to FLR. Examining the various discourses within a conflict situation can improve mutual understanding, reveal salient aspects of the situation, and strengthen relationships as a foundation for problem-solving. Masters of FLR conflict management must be able to: (a) read the cultural-institutional context, (b) understand people, and (c) create an environment of constructive communication, fair power distribution, and strong incentives.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Whether conflict is likely to emerge depends on many factors, e.g.: interdependence, interests, stakes, history, quality of relationships, trust, culture, values, land tenure, property rights, perceptions, benefits, burdens, justice, jurisdiction, power, strategies. (c.f. Deutsch and Coleman 2000; Daniels and Walker 2001; Pruitt and Kim 2004).

  2. 2.

    Sayer (2005), Brown (2005), and Jones and Dudley (2005) are all chapters in: “Forest Restoration in Landscapes. Beyond Planting Trees” (Mansourian et al. 2005b). This is a state-of-the-art book on FLR in which many contributors from research and practice provide insight and identify future needs for this new and exciting field.

  3. 3.

    We distinguish between two kinds of communication and interaction among the parties: Dialogue implying that the parties exchange their respective views and interests – implying a good deal of listening and sincere effort to try to mutually understand and empathize with each other; and deliberation implying efforts to develop possible options for action, identify constructive ways to move forward, succeeded by careful consideration of options in consecutive steps towards making decisions. For a more developed discussion, see Daniels and Walker (2001).

  4. 4.

    In this volume, Xi et al. (2012) provides an example from ‘the wood-basket’ of the USA (the extensive pine plantations of SE US) where the southern pine beetle is spreading rapidly, causing massive economic loss and ecological destabilization. Löf et al. (2012) is another example that shows how poorly adapted tree species in combination with climate change and storms can cause ecologically unstable forests e.g., prone to wind-throw and other calamities (e.g., insects and root-rot).

  5. 5.

    This parallel illustrates well the potential for transfer of knowledge from one field of knowledge and experience to another – e.g., from coastal management to forestry, or from conflict management and policy formation to FLR.

  6. 6.

    Naturalness and authenticity are considered important measures of restoration success, as e.g., explained by Dudley (2005a): “Impacts on authenticity or naturalness: On an ecosystem scale, measuring impacts on overall naturalness of forests is easier than surveying biodiversity and acts as a partial surrogate: generally the greater the naturalness of a forest, the more of its original constituent species are likely to survive”. Worldwide forest authenticity is declining fast. In most West European countries, less than 1% of forests are classified by the United Nations as “undisturbed (UNECE and FAO 2000).” This partially explains the great interest for natural forest dynamics, ‘re-wilding’ in Europe and the force and enthusiasm by which re-establishment of (semi-)natural forests, non-intervention forests and strict forest reserves have taken place (e.g., Cost Action E4 and E33, Parviainen et al. 2000).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Forest and Landscape, University of Copenhagen, Rolighedsvej 23, 1958, Frederiksberg, Denmark

    Jens Emborg

  2. Communication Studies Program, Oregon State University, 104 Shepard Hall, Corvallis, OR, 97331-6199, USA

    Gregg Walker

  3. Department of Sociology, Social Work, and Anthropology and Department of Environment and Society, Utah State University, UMC 0730, Old Main Hill, Logan, UT, 84322, USA

    Steven Daniels

Authors
  1. Jens Emborg
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  2. Gregg Walker
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  3. Steven Daniels
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Correspondence to Jens Emborg .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Ctr. Forest Disturbance Science, US Forest Service, Green St. 320, Athens, 30602, Georgia, USA

    John Stanturf

  2. Center for Mined Land Rehabilitation, Queensland University, Brisbane, 4072, Queensland, Australia

    David Lamb

  3. , Danish Ctr Forest, Landscape Planning, University of Copenhagen, Vedelsgade 6, Vejle, 7100, Denmark

    Palle Madsen

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Emborg, J., Walker, G., Daniels, S. (2012). Forest Landscape Restoration Decision-Making and Conflict Management: Applying Discourse-Based Approaches. In: Stanturf, J., Lamb, D., Madsen, P. (eds) Forest Landscape Restoration. World Forests, vol 15. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5326-6_7

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