Public perceptions of forestry in the European Union
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The report of the study Shaping forest communication in the European Union: public perceptions of forests and forestry was published in September 2009. To further investigate trends in public perception of forests and forestry, the purpose of the study is fivefold: (1) to provide the Commission with a thorough analysis of existing surveys about public perceptions on forests and forestry in the EU; (2) to find out the views of key stakeholders (forestry experts, government officials, NGOs, forest owners, etc.) with regard to public opinion on forests and forestry and gather inputs on how public understanding and communication on the role of forests and forestry may be improved; (3) to apply the knowledge obtained to design, execute, and analyse the results of a public survey in the EU-27 countries; (4) to formulate conclusions on how public awareness of the role of forests and forestry in addressing new challenges in European society may be improved; and (5) to design a questionnaire which may be included in Eurobarometer surveys on public opinion in the EU.
The report identified three key areas for improving future forest communication across Europe: (1) the need for a clear message presented in a neutral manner that allows the public to make appropriate distinctions depending on the relevant specific issues and challenges, including forest area, biodiversity and damage, for various spatial scales (i.e. local, European, global); (2) the need for stressing the important role of forests and wood in tackling climate change; (3) the need for addressing specific audiences (e.g. according to region, age, gender).
DG Agriculture commissioned the study which was carried out by a consortium including ECORYS Research and Consulting, BOKU (University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences), and ACNielsen.
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