Managing forests for the greater good: The role of the social license to operate

With steadily rising affluence levels within a jurisdiction and across the globe, forests are expected to play an increasing role in satisfying human needs for ecosystem services as well as recreational, cultural and spiritual demands. Companies that manage forests to provide goods and services are expected to satisfy the social license to operate as well as market-driven supply and demand conditions. The social license to operate has evolved to reflect shifting societal values, orientations of the regulatory regimes and the interplays of various forces mediating the diverse interests of stakeholders. The social license to operate is predicated to encompass society's growing desire of managing forests for the greater good. Examples from North American context suggest that forest companies have embraced their corporate social responsibility and made a conscious effort to implement the social license to operate. Forest management regimes have a tendency of unfolding within a nested system that resembles Russian nesting dolls of Matrioshka. The strength of the social license to operate serves as an important indicator for predicting the extent to which enterprises are able to meet a spectrum of stratified, compartmentalized, yet interconnected, management objectives. Forest companies, public agencies and resource professionals will benefit from a better understanding of contextualized social license to operate, which is subject to change on account of community consent, citizen endorsement and society-wide support. However, managing forests for the greater good will remain a lofty goal, which serves as foresters' North Star on their journey toward sustainable forest management.