Ellen about difficulties for applying Close to Nature forestry for Swedish forest owners
There are many reason for our organisation to take active part in the SMURF-project. When Ellen, our chairman was interviewed by EU-forest strategy staff in Bryssel she answered in terms like this:
- In your experience, what are challenges for forest owners to apply CNF?
It can be difficult to talk about a specific forestry method without it sounding like criticism of other methods. Change is hard for many people, and forest owners often feel vulnerable when asked to try something new. They don’t want to be judged for mistakes they’ve made in the past or the way they have managed their forests so far.
Even though the goal is to help more forest owners move toward methods like Close-to-Nature Forestry (CNF), we need to be supportive, understanding, and kind. Many forest owners already see the effects of climate change and less stable forest ecosystems when they spend time in their forests. They want to make changes, but these changes need to fit with their own situation, knowledge, and resources.
From my experience, most forest owners want to do the right thing. But many follow what they’ve been taught or what they believe is the “right” way, even if it doesn’t always match what they feel is best. I have spoken with many forest owners who feel unsure about continuing traditional methods but don’t know how to start doing things differently.
This is one of the biggest challenges for applying CNF. It can be very hard for forest owners to change methods that their families have used for generations and that were seen as the best way to manage forests. It is even harder when these traditional methods are being criticized in the public debate.
That is why I believe it is important to start by talking about forest owners’ motivations, values, and visions before discussing methods. The method is not the goal itself – it is just a tool to help achieve the owner’s goals for their forest.
Many small forest owners feel pressure to follow the “standard way” of managing forests without first asking themselves important questions like:
- What do I want for my forest?
- What kind of land do I have?
- What can I do based on my situation?
Without these reflections, they often choose a method too quickly and believe it cannot be changed later. This can make it harder to try new approaches like CNF.
To support CNF, we need to help forest owners think in new ways about how they manage their forests. They need to ask themselves:
- Why do I manage my forest the way I do?
- How can I manage it in a way that fits my values?
- What do I want my forest to become in the future?
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