From the University of Tuscia, a new survey on citizens’ opinions regarding ancient European beech forests
The transnational UNESCO site of the ‘Ancient Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe’ is composed of 94 areas in 18 European countries: Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, North Macedonia, Poland, Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, and Ukraine. Globally, it is the only site of its kind to bring together so many components, thanks to the extraordinary adaptability of the beech tree and its tolerance of diverse climatic, geographic, and physical conditions, allowing it to thrive in a wide range of environments.
American student Olivia Box, a scholar at the University of Tuscia, and Professor Gianluca Piovesan have designed a questionnaire to assess the various ways in which ancient forests are perceived and the awareness of UNESCO World Heritage sites in the population.
The project aims to collect responses from as many people as possible, from diverse backgrounds, in order to compare the results across demographic groups (urban and rural areas, age groups, etc.).
The opinions of those who are willing to dedicate some of their time to participate in the questionnaire will be particularly important in designing a more effective communication and awareness campaign that takes into account the values attributed to these sites by people.
You can find the questionnaire here: https://forms.gle/A4t9K3UknSHj1n8n8
