Social values and public opinion in Irish forests

Ireland is a small island country on the fringe of Europe. In 1922, the newly independent Republic contained little forest and had little tradition of woodland use, while there was a strong policy movement towards self-sufficiency in timber. This resulted in the planting of non-forest land with exotic conifers managed solely for timber production. In the 1970s, the state forests were opened to the public and some were provided with signs and picnic tables. However, besides this, valuing of forest for non-timber functions has only recently been acknowledged in forest management. When asked, the public rank timber production as low priority as a use of forests, while recreation, nature conservation, and contribution to landscape are all ranked more highly. This contrast between values has made forest management a contentious issue and makes the recent drive towards public participation difficult.