Is forest regeneration good for biodiversity? Exploring the social dimensions of an apparently ecological debate

Sammanfattning

Forest regeneration is a major land-use change in European uplands, and whether or not this is a desirable change for biodiversity is disputed. While this debate seems to be largely situated in the field of natural sciences, this paper aims to also examine its social dimensions. To do so, we adopt a comparative discourse analysis with four cases of protected areas in France, Spain, and Scotland. We draw on a conceptual framework highlighting both the ecological and social factors underpinning the construction of environmental discourses. It notably emphasises the role of interests, ideas and institutions, and the power dynamics underpinning discourse-coalitions. We show how diverging discourses emerged, gained ground, coalesced and competed differently in different contexts, explaining the adoption of seemingly opposite discourses by protected area authorities. These findings reaffirm the need to conceive environmental governance as an on-going deliberative process in order to achieve environmental justice.

Nyckelord

Political ecology; Discourse analysis; Comparative study; Power; Rewilding

Publicerad i

Environmental Science and Policy
2021, volym: 120, sidor: 63-72

SLU författare

• Fischer, Anke

  • Institutionen för stad och land, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

Globala målen (SDG)

SDG15 Ekosystem och biologisk mångfald

UKÄ forskningsämne

Ekologi
Skogsvetenskap
Socialpsykologi

Publikationens identifierare

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2021.02.012

Permanent länk till denna sida (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/111332