How can the social values of forests contribute to sustainable rural development?

The project's overall aim is to analyze the social values of forests based on private forest owners’ experiences, priorities and needs. The objectives are more precise to identify the perceived need for collaboration and dialogue on social values of forests, and what role and responsibilities the forest owners consider themselves to have in this process, but also explore the perceived potential to create new products based on social values, and whether forest owners relate these values to sustainable rural development. Furthermore, we will examine whether these perceptions differ depending on whether the forest owner is situated in a rural or urban context. Qualitative interviews with private forest owners around Sweden constitute the study's primary empirical material.