ATREE Q-methodology statement sorts on forest clearances offsetting in the forest

In Novdember 2019 about 19 experts on forest surface protection and forest clearances were invited to a workshop in order to discuss policy design and implementation problems regarding the offsetting of forest clearances. In Switzerland such offsetting can be provided under certain circumstances by implementing forest nature conservation measures in the forest instead of providing in-kind compensation, i.e. reafforestation on agricultural land. The workshop included the sorting of 34 statements – that were elaborated beforehand, partially also with help of the participants – according to the "Q-methodology" survey technique (participants arrange given statements about a certain subject into boxes that are normally distributed over a "agree - do not agree" answer scale). The participants included representatives from cantonal and national forest administrations, nature conservation NGOs, forest NGOs, spatial planning NGOs, private counseling enterprises as well as national, cantonal and regional forest owner organizations. The data allows a factor analytical differentiation of actors into groups with distinct positions towards forest clearance compensation as well as a positioning of these groups relative to each statement.