Paper short abstract:

Diverse, even contradictory forms of care are deeply rooted in the cultural epistemologies and ontologies of foresters. Their interpretations of care do not affect only to their professional attitudes, but also – via their behavior - on environments of all species, both humans and more-than-humans.

Paper long abstract:

Human care towards forests is most visible in various management and conservation actions. The diversity of caring attitudes and practices often cause conflicts in the society when people attach different cultural, ecological, economic and social meanings as well as sustainability aims to the forests. These meanings may relate very intimately to actors' key values and identities, producing severe socio-ecological struggles.

Professional foresters are often involved in these struggles. Within their traditionally hegemonic, masculine, rational and exploitative professional cultures, foresters are socialized to express their emotions primarily as economic care towards forests. Their explicitly expressed care is also very anthropocentric and utilitarian, mainly emphasizing care for future human generations.

However, care intertwines implicitly also with foresters’ personal being and doing in the forest as well as memories and even intergenerational family identities. Foresters themselves feel in many ways taken care by forest but these interdependencies are often so intimate and even unconscious and thus not legitimate within public professional discourses and practices.

In my presentation, I analyze the caring attitudes and practices of the forest professionals. My qualitative phenomenological analysis of 37 Finnish foresters reveals both the multidimensionality and contradictions of their care-related experiences and meaning making. It makes visible the role of historical and prevailing societal paradigms, policies and power producing and maintaining these more or less hegemonic professional interpretations of care. To enhance transitions towards more coexisting future it is vital to identify these deeply rooted personal and societal power structures towards forests.