The changing professional identity of foresters

Kentish, Barry; Fawns, Rod

doi:10.1080/00049158.1995.10674653

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 32 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Broader reflections on forestry higher education began to proliferate during the 1990s. For instance, Kentish and Fawns [13] noted that forestry was changing from a "strict professionalism to an extended professionalism" (p. 110). Sample et al [3] asked how well forestry higher education programs are preparing forestry professionals for the jobs for which they are being hired by employers.…”

Section: The Forestry Higher Education and Forestry Continuing Education Debatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Comparison of Forestry Continuing Education Academic Degree Programs

Jong

Huang

Zhuo³

et al. 2021

Forests

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Forestry professionals are expected to be well trained and skilled. This facilitates progress in multiple global efforts to ensure a synergistic contribution of forests and the forest sector to sustainability goals. In recent years, societal demands and expectations associated with forests and the forest sector have changed profoundly. Forests have traditionally been a key resource that contributes to people’s livelihoods; however, this has only been fully embraced among forest professionals within the past 30 years as one of the responsibilities of the sector’s role in society. Forests are the largest repository of carbon stocks and have been assigned a major role in global efforts related to climate change mitigation and adaptation. The changing role of the forest sector is resulting in changes in forestry higher education programs and curricula; however, these changes are occurring unevenly in different regions of the world. One major effort to ensure that forestry professionals have the requisite training and skills, and the ability to implement technical management, public administration, and knowledge creation, are post-graduate training and higher education programs for early career forestry professionals. These programs aim to update a professional’s knowledge and skills to adjust to the changing societal demands on forests, and to address deficiencies in professionals’ undergraduate education. This paper reviews and compares five programs that aim to update and improve knowledge and skills among forest professionals, with a special focus on the Asia Pacific region. After reviewing and comparing several programs, the paper reflects on trends and their possible implications.

show abstract

Section: The Forestry Higher Education and Forestry Continuing Education Debatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Comparison of Forestry Continuing Education Academic Degree Programs

Jong

Huang

Zhuo³

et al. 2021

Forests

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…1 Some observers have begun to recognize a discernible change in the identity of the Australian forestry profession in response to community pressure and changing public attitudes (see Kentish & Fawns, 1995). Concomitant to the widening rift between conservationists and foresters was a growing division within the scientific community, leading to what Paehlke (1989) has described as the emergence of an environmental counter-science. The schism within the scientific community involved CALM staff and independent scientists from research institutes and universities in Western Australia.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The use of science in environmental policy: a case study of the Regional Forest Agreement process in Western Australia

Brueckner

Horwitz

2005

Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper explores the notion of pluralism as it relates to the involvement of science in processes of environmental policy formulation. In particular, it focuses attention on the dominance of normal science within the Australian debate on commercial forest use, management, and conservation. It presents case study information from the Western Australian Regional Forest Agreement (RFA) process, a policy initiative designed to end a long-running conflict over public forestland. It then analyzes the use of science within this political process, along with the respective impacts of different voices within science on the RFA outcomes. The case study data highlight the vulnerability of reductionist science within complex political debates and support arguments for a widening of the scientific basis of policy processes to include alternative ways of understanding nature-society relations. The paper contends that such a broadening will make science not only more robust, but also more valuable as a problem-solving tool in future decision-making processes on land use, conservation, and broader sustainability questions. It also considers the obstacles facing pluralism.

show abstract