TY - JOUR AU - Trishkin, Maxim AU - Lopatin, Eugene AU - Gavrilova, Olga PY - 2017/12/21 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - Assessment of attitudes towards bioenergy by forestry experts in the Republic of Karelia JF - Alue ja Ympäristö JA - A&Y VL - 46 IS - 2 SE - Articles DO - UR - https://aluejaymparisto.journal.fi/article/view/68855 SP - 47-56 AB - <p>The Republic of Karelia is situated in the northwestern part of Russia and represents approximately 1 %<br>of the country’s territory. Forests cover 53 % of the total area, with 70 % of the total forest area available<br>for harvesting. The bioenergy sector is relatively significant as it contributes 10 % to the total energy supply<br>in Karelia, which as a fossil fuel deficient region is highly dependent on imported energy resources from<br>other regions of the country. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to assess the role and position of<br>bioenergy in the Republic of Karelia. It was done by exploring the perception of forestry professionals<br>and forestry students towards bioenergy production in comparison with other forest uses. The role and<br>position of bioenergy was identified through the assessment of the importance of landscape elements,<br>ranking of adverse environmental effects on surrounding landscapes, input to the local economy and<br>importance in planning principles. The results indicate that bioenergy production is perceived to have a<br>low negative effect on the surrounding environment but also a low economic input to the local economy<br>of the region. In addition, bioenergy is perceived to have a low influence on planning principles according<br>to the opinions of the respondents. Statistically significant differences were found between the opinions of<br>respondents with different occupations in regards to the main factors that negatively affect the surrounding<br>environment. In general, the respondents indicated that bioenergy production is of moderate importance,<br>although more research is needed in this field.</p> ER -