Integrationsprojekte als Aufgabe urbaner Forstwirtschaft

Abstract

The integration of marginal groups represents an ongoing political discussion in Germany. Even in urban centers, where the population accumulates, the integration problems of different groups of society are evident. Because this integration has a continuing societal effect, it is necessary that different sectors (respectively institutions) contribute to the solution. The municipal forest administration should partake in this effort as well due to their obligation for social sustainability derived from forest functions. The previous definition of the forestry’s ‘social sustainability’ includes efforts such as forest employment and the contribution of forestry to the GDP (growth domestic product) and shows a lack of integrative aspects. This leads to the general question of this research project: Are the municipal urban forest administrations able to open up the social potential of the forest and make a contribution to the social integration? The research project is based on the ‘liberal model of the social integration’ theory (Fuchs, 1999), which is divided into three levels of the democratic system: Culture, structure, and process. The main interest of this research project has focused on the process level, which is characterized by actions that contribute to the solidarity and the tolerance of others, and therefore to the social integration. Furthermore the research project refers to the four types of social integration: Culturalization, placement, interactions and identification (Esser, 2001). The theory of the ‘cooperative acting of administrations’ is also added because of the assumption that municipal forest administrations are unable to realize and implement the social integration potential. Among the strategies of cooperation, the development of a product called ‘integration’ represents a viable possibility to use the social potential of forests. Forest administrations in urban areas could close the ‘gap of products’ (Mantau, 2001) by using and defining the forest functions. These theoretical foundations lead to a more specific research question: Are the municipal forest administrations able to take advantage of the social potential of forests by cooperating with other institutions or by developing a new product, thereby increasing their own expansion of services? To answer the research questions, expert-interviews were conducted in eight selected cities: Göttingen, Kassel, Freiburg i.Br., Frankfurt a.M., Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Berlin und Nürnberg. The selection of experts was based on the institutions which participate with integrative forest projects. A qualitative content analysis (Mayring, 1997) was applied to the collected data, and the program MAXQDA was used for data evaluation. The analysis of the data shows that forest administrations are quite able to make the social potential of forests accessible. A participation of municipal forest administrations with integrative projects for marginal groups can be proven. The contribution is reflected in the provision of areas for employment projects. Furthermore, it can be stated that the forest administrations are able to make the social potential of forests accessible only in cooperation with institutions of the social sector, e.g. employment companies dealing with long-term unemployed. Because of this cooperation, the forest administration is in the position to increase their expansion of services. The extended information and knowledge by these cooperations can contribute to the solution of social problems. A strategy of developing a product ‘integration’ by the forest administration cannot be proven and there is no access to financial resources by offering integration projects. Yet the municipal forest administration is characterized by a changing scope of duties but there is a need of increasing concentration towards the social potential of the forests.