The future orientation of foresters: An exploratory research among Dutch foresters into the prerequisite for strategic planning in forestry

The importance of strategic planning as an instrument to cope with the uncertain future has been long recognized, especially in forestry which is characterized by its relationship with the distant future. Surprisingly, the question to what extent the future is indeed considered in forestry decision-making has received only limited attention. It is therefore the objective of this paper to explore empirically foresters' relation with time (called time perspectives), and more specifically their future orientation, as a basic prerequisite for strategic planning in forestry. In a case study approach, Dutch foresters were questioned with Cottle's Circles Test on the role of the future in their decision-making and the extent to which their planning is merely an extrapolation of past experiences and/or the perception of present conditions. The results indicate a strong future orientation of (Dutch) foresters in planning and decision-making. This allows for strategic planning in a truly entrepreneurial style with uncertainty being interpreted as a valuable resource. However, the results also show that this future orientation is constantly contested by the importance which foresters are assigning to the ‘past’ for learning.