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PRESS RELEASE
04/19/2012
Trust in forest industry is recovering
The most significant result of the just published Metsä ja puu [Forest and timber] opinion poll is, that Finnish citizens’ trust in forest industry’s internatuional competitiveness has, after the collapse in the poll of 2009, recovered near the level of the poll in 2007.
The trust felt in different industry branches was measured by two statements. The first one was that the industry branch is the most important basis for and upholder of welfare, while the other one was that the industry branch copes well with the demands of international competition.
Trust in the forest industry as a generator of welfare has decreased steadily from the early 2000s, when some 93 percent definitely or much agreed with the statement. The decrease was, however, interrupted in the previous poll in 2009. At that time some 80 percent of the respondents thought that the forest industry was the most important basis for creating welfare in Finland, and the same share was also reached in this year’s poll.
A corresponding decrease has been seen in the numbers of respondents trusting in the metal and electronics and IT industries as well, while the share of the construction industry has remained the same during the last few years.
As to trust in the competitiveness of the forest industry, the collapse in the 2009 poll was massive. In 2007, some 76 percent of the respondents trusted in the forest industry’s international competitiveness, while in 2009 the figure was 61 percent. Now, however, it has returned to almost the 2007 level.
At the same time, the share of those trusting in the electronics and IT industry has clearly decreased, while the figures for the metal and construction industries have remained the same.
Trust in research is decreasing
The opinions concerning the trustworthiness of forest information sources are also changing. Forest researchers have fared the worst here.
While some 62 percent of the respondents thought that researchers are the most or the second most trustworthy source of information in forestry issues in 2007, this time the figure was 49 percent. The trustworthiness of forest professionals also decreased.
For all other sources of information, the figures remained almost the same, while the share of uncertain respondents increased clearly.
As regards information on biodiversity issues, the trust in researchers has decreased as well, though not all that much: from 60 percent in 2007 to 51 in this poll. The share of uncertain respondents has also increased as regards this question.
The respondents were also asked which environmental organisation is the most trustworthy in forestry issues. As before, the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation gained the largest share overall and in all subgroups, while the figures for the second most trustworthy one, WWF, have decreased significantly from 36 percent in 2007 to 24 in this poll.
The trustworthiness of Greenpeace and the Friends of the Earth were the lowest overall and in all subgroups as well.
The respondents were asked if they want to increase or decrease the use of forest chips in bioenergy production. The share of those who wanted to increase their use clearly decreased. The largest increase was in the share of those who considered that the current level of use is appropriate.
On the other hand, the share of those who consider the increasing use of forest chips to be an environmental risk decreased. The share of those thinking the opposite increased correspondingly.
Metsä ja puu opinion poll was commissioned by the Finnish Forest Association and carried out by the independent market research company Taloustutkimus. The poll was financed by the Finnish Forest Foundation.
Detailed results of the poll are described here.
Further information
- Mr. Juhani Karvonen, Executive Director, Finnish Forest Association, tel. +358 50 351 2410
- Mr. Hannes Mäntyranta, Communications Coordinator, Finnish Forest Association, tel. +358 50 351 2413
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