Department of Agriculture and Forest Engineering (EAGROF), University of Lleida, Lleida, Spain.
Centre d'étude de la forêt (CEF), Département des Sciences Biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada.
PLoS One. 2018 Jun 13;13(6):e0197689. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0197689. eCollection 2018.
Assessing the perception of key stakeholders within the forest sector is critical to evaluating their readiness to engage in adapting to climate change. Here, we report the results of the most comprehensive survey carried out in the Canadian forestry sector to date regarding perceptions of climate change. A total of 1158 individuals, representing a wide range of stakeholders across the five most important forestry provinces in Canada, were asked about climate change, its impact on forest ecosystems, and the suitability of current forest management for addressing future impacts. Overall, we found that respondents were more concerned about climate change than the general population. More than 90% of respondents agreed with the anthropogenic origins of climate change, and > 50% considered it a direct threat to their welfare. Political view was the main driver of general beliefs about the causes of climate change and its future consequences, while the province of origin proved to be the best predictor of perceived current impacts on forest ecosystems and its associated risks; and type of stakeholder was the main driver of perceived need for adaptation. Industrial stakeholders were the most skeptical about the anthropogenic cause(s) of climate change (18% disagreed with this statement, compared to an average of 8% in the other stakeholders), its impacts on forest ecosystems (28% for industry vs. 10% for other respondents), and the need for new management practices (18% vs. 7%). Although the degree of awareness and the willingness to implement adaptive practices were high even for the most skeptical groups, our study identified priority sectors or areas for action when designing awareness campaigns. We suggest that the design of a strategic framework for implementing climate adaptation within the Canadian forest sector should focus on the relationship between climate change and changes in disturbance regimes, and above all on the economic consequences of these changes, but it should also take into account the positions shown by each of the actors in each province.
评估森林部门关键利益相关者的看法对于评估他们参与适应气候变化的准备情况至关重要。在这里，我们报告了迄今为止在加拿大林业部门进行的最全面的调查结果，该调查涉及对气候变化的看法。共有 1158 人代表加拿大五个最重要的林业省份的广泛利益相关者，被问及气候变化、其对森林生态系统的影响以及当前森林管理是否适合应对未来影响。总体而言，我们发现受访者比普通民众更关注气候变化。超过 90%的受访者同意气候变化的人为起源，超过 50%的人认为气候变化直接威胁到他们的福利。政治观点是对气候变化原因及其未来后果的普遍看法的主要驱动因素，而原籍省份则被证明是对森林生态系统当前影响及其相关风险的最佳预测因素；利益相关者的类型是适应需求的主要驱动因素。工业利益相关者对气候变化的人为原因（18%不同意这一说法，而其他利益相关者的平均比例为 8%）、其对森林生态系统的影响（28%的工业利益相关者对 10%的其他受访者）以及新管理实践的必要性（18%对 7%）持最怀疑态度。尽管即使对于最怀疑的群体，意识程度和实施适应实践的意愿都很高，但我们的研究确定了在设计宣传活动时需要采取行动的优先部门或领域。我们建议，在制定加拿大森林部门实施气候适应战略框架时，应重点关注气候变化与干扰制度变化之间的关系，尤其是这些变化的经济后果，但也应考虑到每个省份每个行为者的立场。
