The Role of Social Media in Public Forest Management Policies during COVID-19: Implications for Stakeholder Engagement

Social networks have become increasingly popular lately, being a complementary method of expression and communication. With the adoption of quarantine and social distancing imposed by the authorities as measures to limit the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, society has used the opportunity offered by digital technology to continue its concern related to the protection and conservation of the environment, especially the forest. The purpose of this study was to highlight the public interest regarding the forests in the context of COVID-19, especially the extent to which public opinion expressed on social networks has determined public forest management policies. The results revealed a major interest in preserving biodiversity and forestry, in reducing legal logging and stopping illegal logging, and monitoring of timber shipments as measures to combat illegal logging. During the analyzed period (i.e., 1 February 2020 to 31 July 2020), several legislative acts were adopted that overlap with the requests and needs identified by environmental organizations, acts that address the issue of illegal logging, conservation, and protection of the forest, monitoring the traceability of wood. The legislation adopted in the analyzed timeframe and shortly after responded to several major topics related to the licensing and withdrawal of the logging license for illegal logging, amending the legislation for the conservation of biodiversity and the classification of areas with virgin forests as strictly protected forests. An IT system has also been implemented by the government environmental authority that allows the supervision of timber transport, offering the possibility of active involvement of civil society.