Is There a Scope for Social Innovation in Ukrainian Forestry?

Maria Nijnik, Tatiana Kluvánková, Albert Nijnik, Serhiy Kopiy, Mariana Melnykovych, Simo Sarkki, Carla Barlagne, Stanislava Brnkaláková, Leonid Kopiy, Igor Fizyk and David Miller
Additional contact information
Maria Nijnik: The James Hutton Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen AB15 8QH, UK
Tatiana Kluvánková: SlovakGlobe: Slovak Academy of Sciences and Slovak University of Technology, 81243 Bratislava, Slovakia
Albert Nijnik: Environmental Network Ltd., Aboyne AB34, UK
Serhiy Kopiy: Ukrainian National Forestry University, Gen. Chuprynky Str., 103, 79057 Lviv, Ukraine
Mariana Melnykovych: Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, WSL, Zürcherstrasse 111, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
Simo Sarkki: Cultural Anthropology, University of Oulu, Pentti Kaiteran katu 1, FI-90014 Linnanmaa, Finland
Carla Barlagne: The James Hutton Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen AB15 8QH, UK
Stanislava Brnkaláková: SlovakGlobe: Slovak Academy of Sciences and Slovak University of Technology, 81243 Bratislava, Slovakia
Leonid Kopiy: Ukrainian National Forestry University, Gen. Chuprynky Str., 103, 79057 Lviv, Ukraine
Igor Fizyk: Ukrainian National Forestry University, Gen. Chuprynky Str., 103, 79057 Lviv, Ukraine
David Miller: The James Hutton Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen AB15 8QH, UK

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 22, 1-19

Abstract: Social innovation is recognised for its potential to turn societal challenges into opportunities and develop sustainable solutions for people and nature. We identify and examine challenges that Ukrainian forestry is facing and apply an “action arena” conceptual approach to explore whether and how social innovation can enhance the sustainable development of forestry. We develop a framework to analyse the reconfiguration of social practices by using research methods that focus on the use of documentation of the institutional contexts and interviewing forest policy experts, as well as stakeholder evaluation of the challenges and ways forward for Ukrainian forestry. We apply the Q-method to identify stakeholder attitudes and examine the role of people in the reconfiguring of social practices and promoting sustainable development of the forest sector. Implications for changing the rules of the game and institutional perspectives on forestry are identified, with examples of social innovation initiatives presented. Results show that to emerge, develop, and be transformative, social innovation must have supporting institutional conditions to create new norms, rules, and social practices. Relevant stakeholders need to envision alternative futures, reshape places, and become more actively engaged in decision-making processes. We identify the key directions for changing the rules of the game and the opportunities that social innovation has to offer.

Keywords: sustainability; institutions; forest governance; stakeholder engagement; social practices; attitudes; perceptions; reconfiguration; transformation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/22/9674/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/22/9674/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:22:p:9674-:d:447938

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().