Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Avoiding Nightmare Forests : Insights From a Co-Creative Workshop

Nebasifu, Ayonghe ; Ekström, Hanna LU orcid ; Iliev, Bogomil ; Pihlainen, Sampo ; Linser, Stefanie ; Polo-Villanueva, Fredy D. ; Viljanen, Anne ; Charlier, Martin LU ; Rahman, Md Rayhanur and Niedzialkowski, Krzysztof , et al. (2025) In Futures and Foresight Science 7(2).
Abstract

Since the 1987 UN report “Our Common Future”, aimed at bridging divides among various stakeholders by advocating for “sustainable development”, renewed demands for environmentally adjusted measures have emerged, calling for a future that consolidates socially just, ecologically sound, and economically viable outcomes through sustainable forest management. For Nordic forests, this means policy measures focused on enhancing the forest-based bioeconomy, transitioning to a fossil-free society, adapting to climate change and combatting rapid biodiversity loss while securing continuous timber supply and valuable livelihoods. With expectations for Nordic forests to meet these demands, an impending challenge is how to bring about a desirable... (More)

Since the 1987 UN report “Our Common Future”, aimed at bridging divides among various stakeholders by advocating for “sustainable development”, renewed demands for environmentally adjusted measures have emerged, calling for a future that consolidates socially just, ecologically sound, and economically viable outcomes through sustainable forest management. For Nordic forests, this means policy measures focused on enhancing the forest-based bioeconomy, transitioning to a fossil-free society, adapting to climate change and combatting rapid biodiversity loss while securing continuous timber supply and valuable livelihoods. With expectations for Nordic forests to meet these demands, an impending challenge is how to bring about a desirable future while minimizing uncertainties. Given this urgency, we present a backcasting method applied to a co-creative workshop among research scholars to examine prospective scenarios for Nordic forests, ranging from nightmarish futures to risk-mitigation strategies. The workshop builds on an interdisciplinary research project to provide policy support for sustainable governance. We found that despite fears expressed about an adverse intensive forestry scenario, most participants identified multifunctionality and delivering multiple ecosystem services as critical to the future sustainability of Nordic forests. In addition, participants highlighted the coming need to incorporate hybrid forest management approaches for high-value biodiversity and to consider precautionary measures in forestry decisions. We conclude that approaching the future through a backcasting workshop promises to bring together a broad range of participants to create a common vision.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and , et al. (More)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and (Less)
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
backcasting, bioeconomy, futures and foresight, interdisciplinary co-creation, Nordic forests and sustainability, risk-mitigation
in
Futures and Foresight Science
volume
7
issue
2
article number
e70010
publisher
John Wiley & Sons Inc.
external identifiers
  • scopus:105004318464
DOI
10.1002/ffo2.70010
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © 2025 The Author(s). Futures & Foresight Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
id
27afbd5c-6406-45a5-bfd8-2c8fff208adc
date added to LUP
2025-05-14 07:48:31
date last changed
2025-05-16 12:22:57
@article{27afbd5c-6406-45a5-bfd8-2c8fff208adc,
  abstract     = {{<p>Since the 1987 UN report “Our Common Future”, aimed at bridging divides among various stakeholders by advocating for “sustainable development”, renewed demands for environmentally adjusted measures have emerged, calling for a future that consolidates socially just, ecologically sound, and economically viable outcomes through sustainable forest management. For Nordic forests, this means policy measures focused on enhancing the forest-based bioeconomy, transitioning to a fossil-free society, adapting to climate change and combatting rapid biodiversity loss while securing continuous timber supply and valuable livelihoods. With expectations for Nordic forests to meet these demands, an impending challenge is how to bring about a desirable future while minimizing uncertainties. Given this urgency, we present a backcasting method applied to a co-creative workshop among research scholars to examine prospective scenarios for Nordic forests, ranging from nightmarish futures to risk-mitigation strategies. The workshop builds on an interdisciplinary research project to provide policy support for sustainable governance. We found that despite fears expressed about an adverse intensive forestry scenario, most participants identified multifunctionality and delivering multiple ecosystem services as critical to the future sustainability of Nordic forests. In addition, participants highlighted the coming need to incorporate hybrid forest management approaches for high-value biodiversity and to consider precautionary measures in forestry decisions. We conclude that approaching the future through a backcasting workshop promises to bring together a broad range of participants to create a common vision.</p>}},
  author       = {{Nebasifu, Ayonghe and Ekström, Hanna and Iliev, Bogomil and Pihlainen, Sampo and Linser, Stefanie and Polo-Villanueva, Fredy D. and Viljanen, Anne and Charlier, Martin and Rahman, Md Rayhanur and Niedzialkowski, Krzysztof and Kuhlman, Juulia and Assmuth, Aino and Garfield, Derek and D'Amato, Dalia and Droste, Nils}},
  keywords     = {{backcasting; bioeconomy; futures and foresight; interdisciplinary co-creation; Nordic forests and sustainability; risk-mitigation}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2}},
  publisher    = {{John Wiley & Sons Inc.}},
  series       = {{Futures and Foresight Science}},
  title        = {{Avoiding Nightmare Forests : Insights From a Co-Creative Workshop}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ffo2.70010}},
  doi          = {{10.1002/ffo2.70010}},
  volume       = {{7}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}