Community forestry in the Czech Republic – A historical throwback or a step forward?

Abstract

The rising level of complexity and uncertainty in environmental governance highlights the interplay between governmental and non-governmental actors producing various forms of sustainable forest management, including community-based forestry, in which the relevance of small-scale private forest owners follows. In urban peripheries, community forestry principles shape small-scale private forest owners' activities. On an analytical level of small-scale private forest owners in Mladá Boleslav urban area, this paper uses the assumptions of the pluralist theory of democracy and resource mobilization theory in the context of community-based forestry to investigate the perceptions of the mobilization of material, human, and socio-organizational resources. It is in line with the policy objectives in the State Conception of Forest Policy 2035 issued by the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic. Its methodology is based on qualitative semi-structured interviews to gain in-depth results. The results showed that most small-scale private forest owners in urban areas perceived resource mobilization as a potentially beneficial mechanism for reaching a consensus and collective action. However, a functioning model for forest communities in urban areas is missing in the Czech Republic. This situation stems from the historical experience with socialism and the country's short tradition with a market economy. It implies historical prejudices and anthropocentric values among small-scale private forest owners. Lacking confidence in public policy processes and placing emphasis on interpersonal trust were also noticed during the research. The results open future avenues for discussion about the pathways for implementing community-based forestry models in urban areas in the Czech Republic.