LUCSUS Seminar: Continuous controversies? An analysis of the perceived limitations to the transition towards continuous cover forestry as an alternative forestry management model in Sweden

Sweden has the largest forest cover in the European Union and is a major global producer of wood, pulp and paper. For decades, Sweden’s forest industry has pursued intensive forest management through tree plantations and clear-cutting in order to maximize wood production. However, the Swedish forestry sector is increasingly under pressure to transition away from intensive clear-cut forest management, but other forest management models, for instance Continuous Cover Forestry, are still a niche in Sweden’s forest management and face barriers in their wider uptake. We use transition theory and the multi-level perspective framework to analyse the dynamics within the Swedish forestry sector, and investigate the barriers that actors practicing and promoting Continuous Cover Forestry in Sweden face while operating under a regime dominated by clear-cut forestry. We identify culture, forestry education, industrial networks and timber markets as domains where there is a mismatch between Continuous Cover Forestry and the current clear-cut forest management. Our analysis shows that the limited uptake of Continuous Cover Forestry in Sweden has explanations that go far beyond the lack of knowledge and ecological limitations that it is often associated with. Thus, we conclude that research and policy-making need to account for these diverse explanations and address the power and social dimensions associated with competing forest management models for building multi-functional forest ecosystems in the future.

The seminar is open for all researchers and students to attend. Due to the current situation with Covid-19 the seminar will take place on zoom.

To participate please register with Natalia Rubiano.
natalia [dot] rubiano_rivadeneira [at] LUCSUS [dot] lu [dot] se

Find more information about the LUCSUS seminars on LUCSUS webpage