Spirit in the Woods. The Grounding of Spiritual Values in Forest Management.

Summary

Spiritual values of forests (forest spirituality) are increasingly recognised in major global debates on forests. However, the significance of spiritual values in on-the-ground sustainable forest management in the Global North is still largely unknown. This thesis presents a conceptual framework with nine dimensions to investigate spirituality in forest management. With this framework, spiritual values are studied in forest management plans from British Columbia and the Netherlands, and in forest management practices in the Netherlands. The study reveals four themes in which forest spirituality is articulated in forest management: 1) spiritual experience and ritual practices in forests enhancing nature connectedness and human health; 2) ‘wise’ use of forests and trees underpinned by diverging ontologies; 3) local history related to identity and place attachment, and 4) ineffabale aspects of spirituality. Implications for policy and research are discussed and an ‘inspirational-experiential’ learning cycle is proposed to ground spirituality in transformative forest management.