Sabina Bergstén is a PhD candidate in Human Geography at the Department of Geography and Economic History at Umeå University. Her research is about people's social, emotional and place-related relations to forest and private forest properties. The focus is on how these relations shape people's views on forests, ownership and planning, and how they are influenced by geographical distances. These studies are based on qualitative interviews with private forest owners in the north and south of Sweden, and group discussions with villagers in the case study area, Vilhelmina municipality.
Climate change carries with it new risks and challenges, for both forestry and the individual forest owner. Previous studies have shown, however, that there are difficulties within forestry in adapting forest management to new conditions. This study discusses how some forest owners express preferences that are not in line with today’s general forestry, and thereby…
An overarching plan that includes forest and municipal planning as well as other land-use interests is motivated, not least with thought to the possibility to understand and handle conflicts concerning the forest landscape. Municipalities establish a municipal development plan accounting for how the land within the municipality will be used, as well as plans for…