A Comparative Analysis Of Forest Values Of Aboriginal And Non-Aboriginal People In Ontario

The variety of values and symbolic functions ascribed to the forests are as diverse and numerous as communities and their cultures.The value of forests for people is a classic as well as contemporary topic of debate.Its economic(traditional production)value has been widely accepted as fundamental for hundreds of years;at first the value of forests for timber was recognized,and later pulpwood and pulp became significant products.However,over time the extreme exploitation of the forest resource made people aware of the non-economic value of the forest.People realized the importance of the environmental and ecological value of the forest after noticing the worsening environment around them.They also recognized the recreational function of the forest as well-suited for leisure activities.The over-exploitation thoroughly damaged the environment,and people lost a place of relaxation and beauty.The economic value of forests has long been acknowledged,while the environmental values are increasingly attracting more attention;people with different backgrounds may value forests in different ways,and their attitudes and behaviours toward forests,which are causally related to environmental issues,are based on their forest values.Therefore,it is important to learn how people value the economic and non-economic values of forests,and to identify the exact factors affecting the ways that people value forests.Forest values have five attributes: economic,cultural,ecological,aesthetic,and health-related.Secondary data on 412 residents,including Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people,in six communities located in central Northeastern Ontario,were analyzed to determine the factors affecting people's forest values.Specifically,this study hypothesized that people would value forests' functions diversely,based on their personal characteristics.One novel point in this study is the assumption of differences between the value of forests to family and to community.Results of paired sample T-tests and multiple regression revealed four points.First,people have significantly different forest values(economic and cultural)for family and community: specifically they gave a higher level of importance to forest value for community than for family.However,the remaining forest values(ecological,aesthetic and health-related)are statistically the same for both family and community.Secondly,Aboriginal people were also found to give a higher priority to all forest values other than economic value.People's attitudes towards forest recreational functions were always observed to be significantly positively related to all forest values.Furthermore,objective personal facts(like the frequency of participating in outdoor activities and being a member of a forest organization)strongly affected forest values for family,while the degree of people's reliance on their community,and their understanding of the urgency of environmental protection,positively affected their evaluation of ecological,aesthetic,and health-related values of forests.