Public acceptance of plantation forestry: Implications for policy and practice in Australian rural landscape

• Published in: Land use policy 2014-05, Vol.38, p.346-354
• Main Author: Williams, Kathryn J.H.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acceptances; Afforestation; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Applied ecology; Australia; Benefits; Biological and medical sciences; Conservation, protection and management of environment and wildlife; Environment; Forestry; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Land utilization; Location; Plantations; Property; Public attitudes; Public policy; Public services; Social conflict; Social research; Social values; Survey research; Surveys; Water
• ISSN: 0264-8377; 1873-5754
• DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2013.11.023

•Plantations were seen to benefit owners more than community or environment.•Residents seek stronger social and environmental benefits from plantations.•Plantation scale, location, ownership and associated processing shape acceptance.•Aligning plantation policy and planning with public values may promote acceptance.•Policy to support different forms of plantations may enhance public acceptability. Plantations are expanding in many parts of the world, often accompanied by public debate. If policy makers and plantation managers seek to better align land use policy with social values and to reduce social conflict, they require a clear understanding of public expectations of land use, and the kinds of plantations that are socially acceptable. This paper presents results of a large postal survey (n=2167) conducted in two regions of southern Australia. Residents of Tasmania and southwest Western Australia reported their acceptance of a range of plantations characterised with regard to factors such as type of product, location and size of plantation and ownership. Participants also indicated their beliefs about the impacts of commercial eucalypt plantations. The results showed that participants generally prioritised public good outcomes over individual gains from rural land use, and tended to view plantations as providing more benefits for owners than positive outcomes for the environment or the broader community. Plantations were more acceptable when grown for timber rather than pulp, when planted in areas with good water availability and poorer soils, when planted on part of a property rather than a whole property, and when owned by an individual landholder rather than a plantation company. Results are interpreted to highlight the implications for plantation policy and management in the Australian context, and to illustrate how social research can inform these practices.