This paper examines how gendered norms, informality, and structural inequalities govern women's agency in tree-based forest and agroforestry products (TFAPs) value chains in Kenya, focusing on tamarind (Tamarindus indica L.) and coconut (Cocos nucifera L.). It analyses how constraints affect women's access to resources, decision-making, and opportunities to develop their TFAPs businesses, as well as how women respond through individual and collective strategies. Using qualitative methods (semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, and participant observation) in Kilifi, Makueni, and Mombasa counties, the study finds that women play central roles across production, processing, and trade, but face persistent barriers related to insecure land and tree tenure, mobility restrictions, limited access to capital, and male-dominated governance. Women respond to these constraints through household negotiation, livelihood diversification, legal claims, and collective action. Integrating Feminist Economics, Feminist Political Ecology, and the Capabilities Approach, the study links everyday resilience strategies to capability expansion and inclusive value-chain governance.

Tree-based forest and agroforestry products (TFAPs) are essential for food security, climate resilience and rural livelihoods in Africa, yet knowledge regarding their consumption in rapidly growing urban centres remains limited. This study investigates the uses, practices, and perceptions of baobab, coconut, and tamarind products among households, restaurants, and traders in Mombasa, Kenya. Using a mixed-methods approach grounded in consumer theory, social practice theory, and the 5P marketing framework, the research identifies distinct roles for each species. Findings reveal that coconut serves as a culinary staple, tamarind as a versatile flavouring and beverage ingredient, and baobab primarily as a snack for children. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) identified four key components shaping consumer evaluations: Cultural and Environmental Identity, Health and Wellbeing, Family and Sensory Enjoyment, and Preparation Effort and Utility. While coconut and tamarind are deeply embedded in daily routines due to perceived health benefits and culinary versatility, baobab products consumption remains episodic. The study identifies opportunities to strengthen the value chain through improved quality management in packaging, hygiene, and ready-to-use products, better aligning with urban consumer needs while supporting small-scale branding and promotion.

Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) is a multipurpose tree that thrives in arid and semi-arid regions worldwide and supports rural livelihoods through its ecological, economic, and cultural importance. Beyond contributing to household subsistence and income generation, tamarind products are used in traditional medicine and culinary practices, and sold in local markets. However, its market potential for small-scale producers remains underexplored. This review synthesizes evidence from 32 empirical studies, limited to those published in English between 2000 and 2024, to examine how Indigenous, traditional, and local knowledge, together with value chain dynamics, shape market opportunities for producers. The findings describe how traditional knowledge underpins the widespread use, management, and conservation of tamarind. Nevertheless, market integration is constrained by low species regeneration rates, limited processing and value-addition capacity, weak market linkages, and producers’ limited access to the end market relative to downstream intermediaries. The reviewed studies suggest that realizing tamarind’s potential as a sustainable income-generating product requires interventions that build on Indigenous, traditional, and local knowledge while improving silvicultural practices, strengthening value addition, and expanding equitable market access. Coordinated efforts among policymakers, researchers, extension services, and producers are essential to ensure that increased market participation translates into sustainable socioeconomic benefits for rural communities while supporting long-term resource management.

The built environment is a major contributor to global emissions, making the transition to low-carbon construction materials critical for climate mitigation. Multi-storey wooden buildings (MSWBs) have emerged as a sustainable alternative due to their carbon storage capacity and lower embodied emissions compared to conventional multi-storey buildings. However, consumer acceptability for MSWBs remains uncertain. This study draws on cognitive-motivational consumer models, expectancy-value theory, and Signalling Theory to examine the effect of climate beliefs and concern, belief on climate impact of wood construction, and MSWB attitudes on the intention to live in MSWBs. The relationships are tested using structural equation modelling applying survey data from 7053 respondents across seven European countries. The study finds that stronger climate beliefs and concern enhance perceptions of wood’s climate benefits, which in turn influence both attitudes and housing intentions. However, attitudes toward multi-storey wooden buildings—particularly regarding comfort, health, and functionality—are stronger predictors of intention than beliefs alone, indicating a mediating role of attitudes. Cross-country differences highlight the role of cultural and regulatory contexts. The results suggest that policymakers and industry should emphasize and develop the climate benefits of MSWBs alongside improvements in perceived comfort and functionality. This study advances sustainable housing research by integrating environmental psychology and consumer behaviour perspectives.

Circular economy is pronounced in UN's Global Goals agenda 2030 as an alternative model for traditional linear production and consumption. Servitization refers to an increased resource efficiency and mitigation of climate effects by adding a service dimension through service-based offerings (e.g., leasing and rentals), which are key to circular economy. The construction sector has large climate impacts where renting can contribute towards a more efficient resource use in this sector. The aim of this study is to explain factors that influence business customer behavior related to equipment rental in the construction industry, using a qualitative case study design and a Social Practice Theory perspective. This study explores how equipment renting in the construction industry could be used to the corporate sustainability communication and strategy. Findings suggest that convenience, performance, and clear communication of values are key motivators for service offers.

African forests are critical for biodiversity, climate resilience, and livelihoods but face mounting pressures from deforestation, land-use change, and climate impacts. The AfricanYouth4Forests (AY4F) initiative, launched in 2024, mobilises youth as agents of sustainable forestry through participatory science, digital tools, and policy engagement. Workshops in Kenya and Cameroon brought together young leaders, scientists, and policymakers to co-create locally grounded solutions, such as mangrove restoration, bamboo enterprises, digital conservation, agroforestry, and other nature-based enterprises. The resulting AY4F Combined Youth Declaration from the two workshops emphasises leadership, innovation, equity, and green enterprises. AY4F demonstrates youth capacity to transform ecological knowledge into action for inclusive green economies.

This study examined public attitudes towards multi-storey wood buildings (MSWBs) in seven European countries. A questionnaire was distributed to online panellists in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Results from 7007 complete questionnaires indicate that respondents knew less about MSWBs in countries where brick, stone and concrete are the most commonly used house frame elements in construction (United Kingdom, Germany and Denmark) compared to countries with a stronger wood building tradition (Austria, Finland, Norway and Sweden). Respondents in Finland and Sweden had the most positive attitudes towards MSWB. The number of respondents, who considered a prospective apartment in an MSWB appealing, was approximately equal to the number that considered it an unappealing alternative. The factors most influencing the respondents' perception of MSWBs as a nice place to live were (i) vulnerability to fire, (ii) material solidity and durability, (iii) healthy indoor environment and (iv) vulnerability to moisture. The results from this study add new knowledge to the understanding of cross-country differences of preferences among the public for living in MSWBs. The results can be used to support the MSWB planning and marketing efforts in the countries involved.

Few studies have investigated the processes and strategic interactions among the Wooden Multistory Construction (WMC) industry actors, its customers, and local policymakers. Further insights into this field are needed for a sustainability transition in the construction sector. This study aims to explain WMC’s corporate sustainability strategies for co-creation with customers and municipalities. This was based on interviews with key informants in the sector and WMC actors using three case studies in Sweden. Our interviews focused on business processes, interactions with users and municipalities, sustainability, and innovation in the WMC market. The findings reflect the notion of a slow transition in the Swedish WMC market toward using more wood as a bearing structure, which is supported by the competitive advantages and climate performance of wood. The three case studies indicated that the corporate focus is currently placed on incremental improvements in operations, price competitiveness, and successful project management. However, in contexts where wood construction is seen as a unique advantage, collaborations between the construction industry and end users have developed and served as novel platforms for WMC market development. The study concludes that WMCl growth hinges on the industry’s housing offerings prioritizing quality, affordability, and swift construction.

Charcoal production in Africa has been seen by experts and authorities as a driver of forest degradation and deforestation; hence, governments are implementing measures to address this problem, including banning of charcoal production and trade. The effectiveness of these policies is uncertain, and stakeholders’ reactions to, and perceptions of, the regulations are unknown. This study analyzed impacts, perceptions, and feedback reactions among stakeholders after the charcoal ban was introduced in Kenya in February 2018. The conceptual framework refers to the theories on sustainability transitions, and data was collected through key informant interviews, focus group discussions (FGDs), individual interviews, workshops, and surveys among value chain actors, organizations, and government agencies in Kwale, Taita Taveta and Mombasa counties in Kenya. Several economic, behavioral, attitudinal, and institutional consequences of the ban were identified. The policy showed characteristics of a negative feedback loop, meaning the policy may not succeed in reaching its purpose because of adverse side effects. Possible “policy mix” approaches and advancement of alternative charcoal sources such as briquettes could in the long-term, promote sustainable development of the Kenyan charcoal sector hence supporting the policy implementation.

The wider use of wood as a load-bearing framing material can advance climate action by storing carbon in long-lived products. Substitution of traditional materials such as brick, concrete, and steel will be partly determined by dweller preferences. Unknown preferences allowed, we elicited stated choices for the following load-bearing materials in residential construction: (i) primarily wood and (ii) wood in combination with other materials, over the use of (iii) traditional (e.g., brick, concrete, steel). Stated choices with an opt-out option gathered from over 7,000 adults residing across seven European nations were modelled using a weighted multinomial logistic regression. Among our explanatory variables, past experience and knowledge dominated higher preferences toward wood over traditional materials. Negative attitudes related to wood harvesting had a strong inverse effect. Preferences show that primarily wood and wood in combination with other materials were perceived as two distinct load-bearing products. A concerted effort to better inform the public on the green credentials and performance features of wood might be necessary to increase its use in European residential load-bearing framing.

Timber supply is affected by natural disruptions such as storms, wildfires, and insect infestations, which modify timber properties and disturb the supply to forest industries. Climate change threatens to increase the prevalence of forest damage and supply chain disturbances. This review analyzed the research between 2000 and 2022 on the effects of forest damage on wood supply chains and management measures to handle such disruptions. The review identified 23 studies from North America, Europe, and Australia and analyzed them regarding damage type and impact, research approach, and key findings. The literature on the topic covers the leading causes of damage: fire, wind damage, and insect infestation. In some cases, climate change was identified as the underlying cause of the supply disruptions. Research approaches involved calculations of consequences, scenario modeling, optimizations, and qualitative studies. This review identifies the essential considerations for successfully handling supply chains after forest damage. Robust supply warrants a range of adaptations, including choices for forest establishment, forest management methods, and collaborative planning. In addition, future research themes based on findings in the retrieved papers are suggested.

Increased awareness of sustainable development in the construction industry and current housing shortages have contributed to market opportunities for wooden multi-storey construction (WMC) in the Nordic countries. However, the market development has been slow despite access to forest products and a political ambition to transform to a low carbon society. The aim of this study is to explain enabling factors for municipalities in Sweden to create institutional conditions that stimulate local market development of WMC. A comparative case study of municipal efforts to establish WMC norms has been conducted pointing to the importance of relationships, in so-called public private partnerships (PPP). These partnerships serve as long-lasting relations in which development processes can manage challenges relating to, for example, lack of professional experience in WMC and dated material understandings of wood as a construction material. In the Sustainable Development Goals, PPP represent enabling conditions for sustainable system transformations.

This study investigated people's requirements for multi-story housing attributes and preferences for apartments in wooden-structure versus steel/concrete-structure multi-story buildings. Data came from an online survey conducted in Finland and Sweden that screened for respondents who expressed a preference for living in an apartment, as compared with a low-rise dwelling. Responses were analyzed using exploratory factor and regression analyses. Swedish respondents assigned significantly higher requirements to factors related to environmental and social sustainability performance than Finnish respondents. Requirements in both countries were described across three factors: environmental and social sustainability, quality, and design. Factor scores differed between socioeconomic sub-groups, particularly regarding quality, between urban and non-urban respondents. Preferences to live in an apartment in a wooden building were positively associated with respondents' requirements for environmental and social sustainability, and negatively with requirements for quality-related attributes. Opposite relationships were found in the Swedish sample for apartments in non-wooden structure houses. Design requirements had no significant association with preferences for a specific material in load-bearing structures for multi-story buildings, in either country. The findings can contribute toward enhanced marketing efforts and customized value propositions to increase the social acceptability of multi-story wooden buildings and advance climate-related goals within the housing sector.

Charcoal is used in Africa for household energy, and the sector involves different actors with specific business strategies. Based on theories on sustainable business models and livelihoods, charcoal traders in five cities in Niger were surveyed about supply chains and strategies. Most charcoal is imported from Nigeria, and smaller quantities come from Benin and Burkina Faso or domestically. Men dominate the trade. Customers value charcoal quality, tree species, packaging, and low prices. Three groups of traders and their business models were identified: small-scale retailers, large-scale retailers, and wholesalers. The charcoal trade is typically combined with trade in other products and is frequently conducted with family members or friends; laborers are employed for loading and unloading. The charcoal business provides a complementary income for the traders' livelihoods. Most respondents believed that trade would increase in the future; wholesalers expected promising future business opportunities. This study concludes that improvements should focus on quality, better marketing skills, and more sustainable charcoal sourcing. Charcoal use in the Sahel region of Africa should also be studied further to enable the development of effective policies in the West African bioenergy sector. The cross-border charcoal trade creates a need for coordinated policies for a sustainable charcoal sector in the Sahel region.

Forest industries manage their wood supply chains for sustainability, efficiency, and value creation. Roundwood measuring is a crucial part of wood procurement to achieve the best total value and sharing of benefits between business partners in the supply chain. Industrial measurement is the dominant measuring technique used in Sweden, but the use of harvester measurement has gained increasing interest over the last decade. In this study, we analyzed how harvester measurement affects the wood procurement process regarding operations, supplier relationships, and total costs. The data was gathered through interviews with the analysis being supported by theoretical frameworks of lean thinking, supplier relationship management, and total cost of ownership. Harvester measurement has the potential to increase incentives for the purchaser to preserve the value created and improve control of the supply chain, thus leading to more efficient resource use. It also improves supplier relationships due to a simpler price list, which ultimately increases transparency. Lastly, forest industries may increase their profitability levels and competitiveness due to increased supply chain surplus and reduced total costs. Further research on quantitative measures is required to assess the significance of these effects, as well as the entire sustainability impact on the wood supply chain.

People have different beliefs about the environmental impact of forest products. This quantitative web-survey study investigated public beliefs in Finland and Sweden about the environmental and climate impacts of using wood as a construction material for multi-story buildings. It was conducted with consumer panels reflecting the average populations of the two countries. The study analyzed factors affecting beliefs that multi-story Wood Buildings: (1) contribute to mitigating global warming, and (2) adversely impact biodiversity and the climate. It used consumer panel and multivariate statistics. Favorable climate-related beliefs were associated with Finnish nationality, male gender, age, children in household, university degree, and beliefs that climate change is induced by humans and causes weather disasters. Beliefs that wood buildings drive global warming and harm biodiversity were associated with non-rural residence, female gender, young age, children in household, low income, and beliefs that climate change causes weather disasters. No associations were recorded for current residence types. These findings highlight the importance of the wood construction industry to improve, document, and communicate to the public its impact on climate and biodiversity. They also indicate how market information can be formulated and targeted to communicate an accurate environmental image of wood construction.

Climate change sets high pressures on the construction industry to decrease greenhouse gas emissions. Due to the carbon storage properties and potential to use renewable resources efficiently, wooden multi-storey construction (WMC) is an interesting alternative for the construction industry to enhance sustainable development combined with the aesthetic and well-being benefits of wood perceived among many consumers. For forest industry firms, industrial wood construction is a possibility to seek for business opportunities and bring socio-economic benefits for local economies. Despite positive drivers, WMC still remains a niche even in the forest-rich countries.The purpose of our study is to add understanding on the WMC market development by conducting a systematic literature analysis on international peer-reviewed studies from the past 20 years. Our special focus is on the role of WMC in the housing markets studied from the perspectives of the demand, supply and local governance factors. As specific aims, we 1) synthesize the key barriers and enabling factors for the WMC market growth; 2) identify the actors addressed in the existing studies connected to the WMC market development, and 3) summarize research methods and analytical approaches used in the previous studies. As a systematic method to make literature searches in Web of Science and Scopus for years 2000–2020, we employed PRISMA guidelines. By using pre-determined keywords, our searches resulted in a sample of 696 articles, of which 42 full articles were after selection procedure included in-depth content analysis. Our results showed cost-efficiency gains from industrialized prefabrication and perceived sustainability benefits by consumers and architects enabled a WMC market diffusion. The lack of experiences on the WMC, and path dependencies to use concrete and steel continue to be key barriers for increased WMC. Although our research scope was the global WMC market development, most of the literature concerned the Nordic region. The key actors covered in the literature were businesses (e.g., contractors, manufacturers and architects) involved in the wood construction value-chains, while residents and actors in the local governance were seldomly addressed. Currently, case studies, the use of qualitative data sets and focus on the Nordic region dominate the literature. This hinders the generalizability of findings in different regional contexts. In the future, more research is needed on how sustainability-driven wood construction value-chains are successfully shaping up in different geographical regions, and how they could challenge the dominant concrete-based construction regime.

Environmental benefits have become priority objectives for the management of forests, including for private forest owners in many countries. Understanding and promoting environmental-friendly private forest management requires a measure of environmental concern of forest owners and knowledge of factors that influence it. Such a measure allows to explore underlying motivations of forest owners to include environmental aspects in their forest management. This in turn helps in developing and implementing effective pro-environmental forestry policies. In this paper, we assess environmental concern in forest management of 226 non-industrial private forest (NIPF) owners in Sweden. In particular, we sought to achieve a two-fold objective: a) to quantitatively explore the content and dimensionality of the environmental concern construct of forestry owners and b) to identify the association between environmental concern of forest owners and their personal values and personality traits. A principal factor analysis resulted in a two-dimensional environmental concern construct encompassing: environmental strategy and environmental orientation. Hierarchical seemingly unrelated regressions (SUREG) showed that personal values and personality traits help to explain environmental concern in forest management of NIPF owners. A better understanding of environmental concern of forest owners and its relation with individuals' attributes will help in better designing, framing and targeting of tailor-made interventions to promote environmental considerations in forest management.

Climate change places great pressure on the construction sector to decrease its greenhouse gas emissions and to create solutions that perform well in changing weather conditions. Our study explores citizen perceptions on wood usage as a building material under expected mitigation and adaptation measures aimed at a changing climate and extreme weather events. The data are founded on an internet-based survey material collected from a consumer panel from Finland and Sweden during May–June 2021, with a total of 2015 responses. By employing exploratory factor analysis, we identified similar belief structures for the two countries, consisting of both positive and negative views on wood construction. In linear regression models for predicting these beliefs, the perceived seriousness of climate change was found to increase positive views on wood construction but was insignificant for negative views. Both in Finland and Sweden, higher familiarity with wooden multistory construction was found to connect with more positive views on the potential of wood in building, e.g., due to carbon storage and material properties. Our findings underline the potential of wood material use as one avenue of climate change adaptation in the built environment. Future research should study how citizens’ concerns for extreme weather events affect their future material preferences in their everyday living environments, also beyond the Nordic region.

So far, consumer housing values have not been addressed as factors affecting the market diffusion potential of multi-storey wood building (MSWB). To fill the void, this study addresses different types of consumer housing values in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden (i.e., Nordic region), and whether they affect the likelihood of prejudices against building with wood in the housing markets. The data collected in 2018 from 2191 consumers in the Nordic region were analyzed with exploratory factor analysis and logistic binary regression analysis. According to the results, consumers’ perceptions on ecological sustainability, material usage and urban lifestyle were similar in all countries, while country-specific differences were detected for perceptions on aesthetics and natural milieus. In all countries, appreciating urban lifestyle and living in attractive neighborhoods with good reputation increased the likelihood of prejudices against wood building, while appreciation of aesthetics and natural milieus decreased the likelihood of prejudices. In strengthening the demand for MSWB and sustainable urbanization through actions in businesses (e.g., branding) and via public policy support (e.g., land zoning), few messages derive from the results. In all, abreast with the already existing knowledge on the supply side factors (e.g., wood building innovations), more customized information is needed on the consumer-driven issues affecting the demand potential of MSWB in the housing markets. This would enable, e.g., both enhancing the supply of wooden homes for consumers appreciating urban lifestyle and neighborhoods and fortifying positive image of wood among consumers especially appreciating good architecture and pleasant environmental milieus.