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<p>The paper presents an application of structural analysis in search of key drivers and barriers of forest management in two Slovak regions: Podpoľanie and Kysuce. A comparison with factors identified in selected European regions is also presented. First, various relevant factors affecting forest management were selected for both regions. The selections draw on the pool of primary data (structured in-person interviews) and secondary data (qualitative analysis of national and European documents). Second, factors were grouped according to the STEEP categories (Society, Technology, Economy, Ecology, and Policy). Subsequently, factors were rigorously assessed by the regional stakeholders in participatory workshops, and their answers were analysed by structural analysis with the help of Parmenides EIDOS™ software. The results show that in both Slovak regions political, economic, and ecological factors dominated over social and technological factors. The comparison with selected European regions revealed that in the Slovak and other European regions, the Policy category dominated due to having the highest number of factors and their overall impact on forest management. In contrast, the least important societal domain was Technology in both the Slovak and other European regions. However, while stakeholders across the selected European regions perceived the Society domain as significant, stakeholders in both Slovak regions perceived the Economy and Ecology domains as more significant.</p>
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The paper presents an application of structural analysis in search of key drivers and barriers of forest management in two Slovak regions: Podpoľanie and Kysuce. A comparison with factors identified in selected European regions is also presented. First, various relevant factors affecting forest management were selected for both regions. The selections draw on the pool of primary data (structured in-person interviews) and secondary data (qualitative analysis of national and European documents). Second, factors were grouped according to the STEEP categories (Society, Technology, Economy, Ecology, and Policy). Subsequently, factors were rigorously assessed by the regional stakeholders in participatory workshops, and their answers were analysed by structural analysis with the help of Parmenides EIDOS™ software. The results show that in both Slovak regions political, economic, and ecological factors dominated over social and technological factors. The comparison with selected European regions revealed that in the Slovak and other European regions, the Policy category dominated due to having the highest number of factors and their overall impact on forest management. In contrast, the least important societal domain was Technology in both the Slovak and other European regions. However, while stakeholders across the selected European regions perceived the Society domain as significant, stakeholders in both Slovak regions perceived the Economy and Ecology domains as more significant.

Structural analysis of the drivers and barriers to forest management in the Slovak regions of Podpoľanie and Kysuce

Technical University in Zvolen, Faculty of Forestry, T. G. Masaryka 24, SK – 960 53 Zvolen,

Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Kamýcká 1176, CZ – 165 21 Praha 6 – Suchdol,

National Forest Centre - Institute for Forest Consulting and Education Zvolen, Sokolská 2, SK – 960 52 Zvolen,

Central European Forestry Journal

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The paper presents an application of structural analysis in search of key drivers and barriers of forest management in two Slovak regions: Podpoľanie and...

Structural analysis of the drivers and barriers to forest management in the Slovak regions of Podpoľanie and Kysuce

Published Online: Dec 08, 2016

Page range: 152 - 163

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/forj-2016-0019

Keywords
STEEP categories, regional stakeholders, participatory approach, forest management

© 2016 Rudolf Navrátil et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Structural analysis of the drivers and barriers to forest management in the Slovak regions of Podpoľanie and Kysuce

Published Online: Dec 08, 2016

Page range: 152 - 163

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/forj-2016-0019

KeywordsSTEEP categories, regional stakeholders, participatory approach, forest management

© 2016 Rudolf Navrátil et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
STEEP categories, regional stakeholders, participatory approach, forest management