Accessibility and racial equality

 

Summary

There are considerable gaps in our understanding of the impact of Forestry Commission functions and services on ethnic minority groups, their attitudes and preferences in relation to woodlands, and how the Forestry Commission might improve its policies in response to the requirements of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act.

Previous research on social exclusion in the countryside has failed to differentiate sufficiently between different types of woodland, between specific ethnic groups, or between categories such as class, age and gender, to provide Forestry Commission with adequate information to advise its staff.

Key questions are:

• How and to what extent do the attitudes and perceptions of specific ethnic minority groups influence their use of public and private woodlands in the district?
• What are the features of best practice in promoting race equality by countryside service providers, both within and beyond Forestry Commission?
• How do we determine levels of participation, satisfaction, relevance and appropriateness of Forestry Commission functions for ethnic minority groups, which can be used as benchmarks to monitor progress in promoting race equality?

Research objectives

• To provide information that will assist Forestry Commission in fulfilling its duties under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000
• To produce guidelines for managers and conservators on how to implement the Race Equality Scheme, by proposing methods for assessing, consulting on, and monitoring the impact of Forestry Commission functions and policies.

Funders and partners

This research is funded by the Forestry Commission.

Forestry Commission policy

In November 2003, as part of its duties under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, the Forestry Commission published a draft Race Equality Scheme, which set out its arrangements for assessing, consulting on, and monitoring new and existing policies for any adverse impact on race equality. Initial reactions indicate that far better guidance is required by local managers on how to implement the scheme in their respective districts.

Methodology

A case study will be conducted in Northants Forest District (and East Midlands Conservancy). This district was chosen because it has a range of sizeable ethnic minority groups and a range of woodland types located both on the urban fringe and in isolated rural areas. The case study will employ qualitative (e.g. semi-structured interviews with the relevent groups) and quantitative (e.g. compilation of existing statistics on the ethnic composition of the district) methods.
Details...

Outputs

The primary output is a report for use within Forestry Commission, which may then be developed further to produce guidelines for local managers, as well as articles and presentations for relevant academic and applied audiences.

 Final report ^(PDF-392K)

Status

The research will be conducted largely during the first half of 2005, with production of the final report planned for the end of the year.

Contact

David Edwards
Forest Research
Alice Holt Lodge
Farnham
Surrey GU10 4LH
UK

Tel: +44 (0)1420 22255
Tel direct: +44 (0)1420 5262251
Fax: +44 (0)1420 23563
Email: david.edwards@forestry.gsi.gov.uk