Societal Impact Statement Plants provide us with the building blocks of life—oxygen, food, fuel, clean air, and water and a stable environment. And yet, in the modern world, they are under ever‐increasing threat from introduced pests and diseases. Such epidemics can have devastating impacts on human health, biodiversity, and food security, as well as contributing to environmental change. The Chief Plant Health Officer at Defra has a key role in the development of policy to protect the UK’s plants from biosecurity risks, and we explore the different approaches being taken to manage these risks and protect the UK’s plants for the future. Summary Plants have an essential role in addressing the great social and environmental challenges of our time. However, the risk from invasive plant pests and pathogens is also significant and constantly growing as a result of increasing globalization and environmental change. The UK’s plant health regime aims to manage that risk to protect the enormous value of plants and trees; from the value of crops and forestry products, to ecosystem services and societal benefits. We discuss the role of the Chief Plant Health Officer at Defra in advising Ministers on plant health policy, including through dialogue with stakeholders and the research community. Case studies demonstrate how plant health threats can put at risk human physical and mental health, the economic benefits of healthy plants, and food security. We discuss the UK’s risk‐based approach to protecting the UK’s plant resource, and the approaches being taken to manage different kinds of risks, including import controls, management of threats once established, breeding resistant varieties, utilizing citizen science, and awareness raising.

Recent UK government policy design has drawn heavily on insights from behavioural sciences, however, engagement with these ideas in the forestry sector has been limited. This article critically reflects on the interface between forest policy and 'behaviour'. After considering what the term 'behaviour' may mean in the forestry context, we draw on a literature review to develop four key principles that can be used to guide forestry interventions seeking behavioural change. These recommend that interventions: (1) are grounded on an understanding of individual's and groups' values and motivations, (2) seek to affect the wider social and physical context of its target groups, (3) adopt a multifaceted approach at various scales and (4) facilitate active involvement by participants in project design and implementation. These principles are then applied to the analysis of four UK forestry case studies. We conclude that forestry interventions have affected behaviours but without explicitly linking them to 'behavioural' discourses. Furthermore, robust monitoring and evaluation to track behaviour change is currently lacking. We argue that the principles we have developed can be used in forest programme design to ensure that participatory processes, monitoring and evaluation criteria and adequate periods for reflection are built into interventions.

Well-being is a positive physical, mental and social state and has increasingly become an area of interest to researchers and policy-makers internationally. This paper presents results from research that analyses the well-being benefits gained by different sections of society through viewing, engaging with, and accessing woodlands and forests in Britain. We draw on 31 studies undertaken since 2001 and present a meta-analysis of quantitative data and a meta-synthesis of qualitative data to explore the range of benefits and associated activities in woodlands, and their social distribution. We also present a state-of-the-art typology of well-being benefits for woodlands in Britain. The findings illustrate the wide range of well-being benefits gained by different social groups through various forms of engagement with and activities undertaken in woodlands. We illustrate the wide range of meanings and values attached to trees and woodlands across different social groups. The evidence also illustrates how carefully designed and targeted interventions can be particularly effective in enabling and encouraging people to visit woodland sites, to participate or get involved in new activities and, therefore, to realise a range of well-being benefits.

In Britain over recent years there have been a number of significant flood events notably in 2007, 2012 and 2013/14. These affected hundreds of thousands of people (The Pitt Review, 2008, Met Office, 2012). In the 2007 floods thirteen people lost their lives (The Pitt Review, 2008). From December 2013 to March 2014 Britain faced further extreme weather with a succession of storms that brought widespread disruption to transport, communications and other important infrastructure (Met Office, 2014). Increasingly, flooding, along with other major events such as fire and climate change, are being considered within the wider context of community resilience. A Strategic National Framework on Community Resilience (Cabinet Office, p4 2011) was produced in 2011. Community Resilience is defined as:

In this paper we engage with debates concerning people and their contact with the natural environment as part of everyday life drawing on Irwin's ideas of co-construction and Gibson's theory of affordances. We focus on peri-urban woodlands in England as important places where people can interact with nature for health and well-being. Qualitative data were collected in situ via walks in the woods, focus group discussions and photo elicitation, with a sample of 49 people. These methods provide rich data on the wide range of meanings associated with woodlands that can have a perceived impact on people's health and well-being. The findings link to contemporary debates about health, well-being and ecosystem services. We explore the inter-play between attributes of the physical environment and the range of facilities provided to enable access, social interactions and the benefits people attribute to their woodland experiences. We conclude that peri-urban woodlands can clearly contribute to self-reported health and well-being in multiple ways, and that organized activities can be important for those who face barriers to accessing woodlands. A strong message emerging from the research is the opportunity afforded by woodlands for social connections with others, as well as the provision of a range of sensory benefits and opportunities to observe and enjoy seasonal change in woodlands. Mental restoration via connection with nature also emerged as important, confirming previous research.

The impact of land use changes on sustainable development is of increasing interest in many regions of the world. This study aimed to test the transferability of the Framework for Participatory Impact Assessment (FoPIA), which was originally developed in the European context, to developing countries, in which lack of data often prevents the use of data-driven impact assessment methods. The core aspect of FoPIA is the stakeholder-based assessment of alternative land use scenarios. Scenario impacts on regional sustainability are assessed by using a set of nine regional land use functions (LUFs), which equally cover the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainability. The cases analysed in this study include (1) the alternative spatial planning policies around the Merapi volcano and surrounding areas of Yogyakarta City, Indonesia; (2) the large-scale afforestation of agricultural areas to reduce soil erosion in Guyuan, China; (3) the expansion of soil and water conservation measures in the Oum Zessar watershed, Tunisia; (4) the agricultural intensification and the potential for organic agriculture in Bijapur, India; and (5) the land degradation and land conflicts resulting from land division and privatisation in Narok, Kenya. All five regions are characterised by population growth, partially combined with considerable economic development, environmental degradation problems and social conflicts. Implications of the regional scenario impacts as well as methodological aspects are discussed. Overall, FoPIA proved to be a useful tool for diagnosing regional human–environment interactions and for supporting the communication and social learning process among different stakeholder groups.

Environmental threats and progressive degradation of natural resources are considered critical impediments to sustainable development. This paper reports on a participatory impact assessment of alternative soil and water conservation (SWC) scenarios in the Oum Zessar watershed, Tunisia. The first objective was to assess the impact of three SWC scenarios on key social, economic and environmental land use functions. The second objective was to test and evaluate the applicability of the 'Framework for Participatory Impact Assessment (FoPIA)' for assessing scenario impacts in the context of a developing country, in this case Tunisia. The assessed scenarios included: the originally planned SWC policy implementation at 85 % coverage of arable land of the watershed, the current implementation (70 %), and a hypothetical expansion of SWC measures to the entire watershed (100 %). Our results suggest that implementation of the SWC policy at 100 % coverage of arable land achieves the maximum socioeconomic benefit. However, if stakeholders' preferences regarding land use functions are taken into account, and considering the fact that the implementation of SWC measures also implies some negative changes to traditional landscapes and the natural system, SWC implementation at 85 % coverage of arable land might be preferable. The FoPIA approved to be a useful tool for conducting a holistic sustainability impact assessment of SWC scenarios and for studying the most intriguing sustainability problems while providing possible recommendations towards sustainable development. We conclude that participatory impact assessment contributes to an enhanced regional understanding of key linkages between policy effects and sustainable development, which provides the foundation for improved policy decision making.

This paper explores how under-represented groups can be encouraged to access woodlands for healthy exercise, drawing on the evaluation of five woodland-based health projects. These projects were part of a broad programme called ‘Active England’, organised by Sport England and funded through the Big Lottery. A review of academic and policy literature related to health and physical activity, access to greenspace and issues of social inclusion and exclusion is followed by an overview of the wider Active England Programme and an introduction to the five woodland projects. There follows a detailed description of the multi-method approach adopted in the evaluation, including on-site surveys, site catchment profiling, and a qualitative research phase involving shared activities, discussion groups and interviews with project users, non-users and project staff. The inclusion of qualitative research with non-project users was an important innovation of the evaluation, allowing the researchers to explore in detail some of the barriers to involvement experienced by particular groups. The key findings of the research are presented, highlighting aspects of projects that were more or less successful in reaching under-represented groups. The results indicate that staff or volunteer led activities and ‘facilitated’ (supported) access can be crucial in enabling some groups to overcome barriers to participation. Discussion of the findings and critical reflections on the research process are used to draw out key recommendations, with the aim of informing the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of greenspace and woodland projects for target groups.

This paper presents results from research that identified and analysed barriers to accessing British woodlands and forests. This paper aims to contribute to an understanding of access and accessibility and to inform the design of policy and management interventions to encourage increased access by under-represented social groups. A brief review of policy and academic literature places the issue of inclusive woodland and forest access in the context of contemporary debates surrounding public health, well-being, diversity and the perceived role of public green space. There follows an analysis of quantitative and qualitative research findings, informing the presentation of a working typology of barriers. The typology is structured around the access needs of various social groups, allowing an analysis of the social distribution of barriers. The findings indicate the deep-seated psychological, emotional and sociocultural nature of some barriers and highlight the need for carefully designed interventions that may lie outside the conventional remit of woodland management. This paper will be of particular interest to decision-makers and practitioners and to those involved in the design and delivery of policies, programmes and projects aimed at encouraging inclusive use of woodlands, forests and other types of green space.

This paper presents the results of a sustainability impact assessment (SIA) of policy induced land use changes in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The regional problems include rapid expansions of urban areas, due to high population pressure, and the conversion of paddy fields and forests into settlements. The objective of this study was to assess the impacts of two land use policies on social, economic, and environmental Land Use Functions (LUFs) in Yogyakarta. The following scenarios were developed for the SIA: a forest protection scenario (S1), a paddy field conservation scenario (S2), and a counterfactual (no policy) scenario of ‘Business As Usual’ (BAU). The Framework for Participatory Impact Assessment (FoPIA) was applied to conduct an expert-based impact assessment. For the specification of the regional sustainability context, a set of nine key LUFs and associated indicators were developed, including three social, three economic, and three environmental sustainability criteria. The resulting scenario impacts of the assessment differed considerably, with positive impacts of the S1 and S2 scenarios on seven of nine LUFs, and negative impacts of the BAU scenario on six LUFs. The perception of the FoPIA method by the regional stakeholders was positive. We conclude that this method contributes toward an enhanced regional understanding of policy effects and sustainability, particularly in data-poor environments.

The evaluation of EU policy in the area of rural land use management often encounters problems of multiple and poorly articulated objectives. Agri-environmental policy has a range of aims, including natural resource protection, biodiversity conservation and the protection and enhancement of landscape quality. Forestry policy, in addition to production and environmental objectives, increasingly has social aims, including enhancement of human health and wellbeing, lifelong learning, and the cultural and amenity value of the landscape. Many of these aims are intangible, making them hard to define and quantify. This article describes two approaches for dealing with such situations, both of which rely on substantial participation by stakeholders. The first is the Agri-Environment Footprint Index, a form of multi-criteria participatory approach. The other, applied here to forestry, has been the development of 'multipurpose' approaches to evaluation, which respond to the diverse needs of stakeholders through the use of mixed methods and a broad suite of indicators, selected through a participatory process. Each makes use of case studies and involves stakeholders in the evaluation process, thereby enhancing their commitment to the programmes and increasing their sustainability. Both also demonstrate more 'holistic' approaches to evaluation than the formal methods prescribed in the EU Common Monitoring and Evaluation Framework.

SummaryEvaluation of Agri‐Environment and Forestry Schemes with Multiple ObjectivesThe evaluation of EU policy in the area of rural land use management often encounters problems of multiple and poorly articulated objectives. Agri‐environmental policy has a range of aims, including natural resource protection, biodiversity conservation and the protection and enhancement of landscape quality. Forestry policy, in addition to production and environmental objectives, increasingly has social aims, including enhancement of human health and wellbeing, lifelong learning, and the cultural and amenity value of the landscape. Many of these aims are intangible, making them hard to define and quantify. This article describes two approaches for dealing with such situations, both of which rely on substantial participation by stakeholders. The first is the Agri‐Environment Footprint Index, a form of multi‐criteria participatory approach. The other, applied here to forestry, has been the development of ‘multi‐purpose’ approaches to evaluation, which respond to the diverse needs of stakeholders through the use of mixed methods and a broad suite of indicators, selected through a participatory process. Each makes use of case studies and involves stakeholders in the evaluation process, thereby enhancing their commitment to the programmes and increasing their sustainability. Both also demonstrate more ‘holistic’ approaches to evaluation than the formal methods prescribed in the EU Common Monitoring and Evaluation Framework.

This paper presents the methods and results of two phases of stakeholder inclusive research aimed at assessing the impacts of bioenergy policy scenarios in the High Tatras, Slovakia; a 'Sensitive Area Case Study' within the SENSOR project (Sustainability Impact Assessment: Tools for Environmental, Social and Economic Effects of Multifunctional Land Use in European Regions) . The assessment involves the analysis of the impacts of biodiversity policy scenarios using a range of social, economic and environmental indicators that are defined by the stakeholders. Impact scores are compared to sustainability limit values derived for each indicator. The assessment also involves a sustainability criteria ranking exercise, used to elicit stakeholders' preferences for the scenarios. Taken together, the analysis of sustainability indicators, limits and criteria constitutes a Sustainability Impact Assessment (SIA) of the policy scenarios. The results reveal that all of the assessed scenarios would fail to achieve satisfactory sustainability levels in any of the selected indicators, despite some positive impacts in relation to employment generation and water management. From these results we conclude that stakeholders have serious misgivings about the sustainable implementation of bioenergy in the High Tatras region and that major revisions to current bioenergy policy formulation may be needed if the policy's potential contribution to sustainable regional land use is to be realised.

This paper reports on a scoping study, 'Understanding Loweswater', funded under the Rural Economy and Land Use (RELU) programme. It highlights the research and policy context supporting the need for this kind of interdisciplinary, stakeholder-inclusive research and explains the way that the research was carried out in practice. The scoping study identified some of the challenges of the interdisciplinary approach taken, as well as highlighted its potential for solving environmental problems that do not fit within the frame of a single discipline.