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International Journal of Ecology
Volume 2011 (2011), Article ID 685708, 8 pages
doi:10.1155/2011/685708
Stakeholders' Perception as Support for Forest Landscape Planning
1Agricultural Research Council-Forest Monitoring and Planning Research Unit (CRA-MPF), P.za Nicolini 6, Villazzano, 38124 Trento, Italy
2Forest Ecology Laboratory, Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, University of Trento, Via Mesiano 77, Mesiano, 38050 Trento, Italy
3Agricultural Research Council-Appennine Forestry Research Unit (CRA-SFA), Via Bellini 8, 86170 Isernia, Italy
Received 7 July 2011; Revised 1 September 2011; Accepted 1 September 2011
Academic Editor: Pavlos Kassomenos
Copyright © 2011 Isabella De Meo et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Social sustainability is a key concept introduced in recent decades by international environmental and forestry policies. The paper illustrates the process of stakeholder consultation for the definition of the objectives of the forest landscape plan conducted in a district of the Italian Apennines. Special attention was given to the farmers group, by reason of the great importance of wood pasture in the management system of this area. The results show that the majority of the interviewees feel a strong bond with their territory and with the traditional activities still carried out there, such as forest grazing. However, there are internal differences within the group, mostly linked to age and territory of origin. The multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) supported the investigation of these differences and the analysis of the relationship between farmers and their territory. Information emerged from the interviews with farmers allowed a better understanding of the dynamics of the territory and was revealed to be useful for the development of the forest landscape plan.