We use some essential cookies to make this website work.
We’d like to set additional cookies to understand how you use forestresearch.gov.uk, remember your settings and improve our services.
We also use cookies set by other sites to help us deliver content from their services.
Traditionally the main function of forests in Europe has been wood production. However, the recreation and tourism functions of forests and woodlands are becoming more important in many European countries. In particular their benefits for economic development, health and well-being and quality of life.
There is however a lack of information on both the benefits and costs related to recreation and nature tourism. Researchers working in this area are also disparate and from many different disciplinary backgrounds. Much of the research on forest recreation and nature tourism been concentrated in North America.
This COST Action aimed to provide a European focus to forest recreation and tourism research to bring together existing knowledge on these activities and in particular the benefits they can deliver, but also how those benefits might be provided in a way which reduces the economic, social and environmental costs of delivery.
The work of the action was split into three working groups:
WG1 – Economic and social values and benefits of forest recreation and tourism
WG2 – Recreation and nature tourism supply and demand, including actual usage
WG3 – Recreation planning and management.
SERG_Recreation_and_Nature_Tourism_research_summary.pdf (PDF-126K)
The main objectives of the COST Action were to:
These were divided into sub-objectives to:
This programme was funded by the European Union under COST action E33
Traditionally the main function of forests in Europe has been wood production. Over the last few decades, in many countries, management for nature and ecological functions of forests has become an important secondary objective, sometimes surpassing wood production as the primary function. The social functions of forests, e.g. recreation, has also started to move up the political agenda in many countries in recent years.
The programme commenced in 2003 and completed in 2008.
The chair of the Management Committee is Simon Bell.
Email: s.bell@eca.ac.uk
The Vice Chair of the Management Committee is Liisa Tyrvainen.
Email: liisa.tyrvainen@helsinki.fi
Research Impact Coordinator
Cookies are files saved on your phone, tablet or computer when you visit a website.
We use cookies to store information about how you use the dwi.gov.uk website, such as the pages you visit.
Find out more about cookies on forestresearch.gov.uk
We use 3 types of cookie. You can choose which cookies you're happy for us to use.
These essential cookies do things like remember your progress through a form. They always need to be on.
We use Google Analytics to measure how you use the website so we can improve it based on user needs. Google Analytics sets cookies that store anonymised information about: how you got to the site the pages you visit on forestresearch.gov.uk and how long you spend on each page what you click on while you're visiting the site
Some forestresearch.gov.uk pages may contain content from other sites, like YouTube or Flickr, which may set their own cookies. These sites are sometimes called ‘third party’ services. This tells us how many people are seeing the content and whether it’s useful.