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IUFRO Spotlight #88 - Using a social science lens on the forest bioeconomy
A recent special section in Ambio: A Journal of Environment and Society pulls together studies that look at how perceptions of the forest-based bioeconomy differ across countries and social groups.
The special section is entitled "Social dimensions of a forest-based bioeconomy: A summary and synthesis". "We wanted to better understand the different perspectives and perceptions of the bioeconomy among forest sector stakeholders, future professionals and urban citizens," said Dr. Lea Ranacher, an editor of the special section. Dr. Ranacher teaches at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna and is also a senior researcher for market analysis and innovation research at Wood K plus in Austria.
Dr. Ida Wallin, another of the editors added: "Social scientific research on bioeconomy is still rare and we wanted to address this research gap." "Studying the social dimensions of bioeconomy in Europe produces more comprehensive and critical perspectives on the forest-based bioeconomy," Dr. Wallin, a post-doctoral researcher at the Chair for Forest and Environmental Policy at the University of Freiburg, Germany, and IUFRO officeholder, explained.
The special section is the result of research done within the PerForm project (2018-2020). PerForm was conducted in collaboration with IUFRO's 9.05.01 unit which focuses on bioeconomy policy research and is coordinated by Dr. Helga Pülzl of Vienna's University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences. The Ambio special section contains the main scientific results from the PerForm project as well as findings from other research groups on the topic of the social dimensions of forest-based bioeconomy.