Post-normal science in practice: A Q study of the potential for sustainable forestry in Washington State, USA

Some ecological economists have advocated participatory decision methods, in which people act as citizens rather than consumers, as an epistemologically preferable alternative to a price-based valuation approach for determining the disposition of ecosystems. Q method is a research technique advocated by proponents of discursive democracy to assess the self described attitudes of participants in discourse around a particular topic. Techniques that attempt to discern public values around ecological systems without imposing contrived (e.g. only monetary) or unintentionally biased frameworks can be seen as advancing ecological economics as a post-normal science. Understanding the attitudes of groups involved in conflict over ecosystem use is crucial for designing policies that have a chance of being implemented, as well as being equitable and sustainable. Thus, the use of Q method is an essential step for supporting successful public participation in decisions affecting ecosystem sustainability. This paper reports the results of a Q study designed to ascertain: (1) the potential to find a common basis for cooperation among groups with a long history of conflict over forest management issues in the Pacific Northwest of the United States; and (2) the extent to which current science pertaining to sustainable forest ecosystem management is commonly understood among these same actors. Participants were asked to rank 64 statements about forest management in the region, including definitions of sustainable forestry, on a scale of + 4 (strongly agree) to − 4 (strongly disagree). Thirty people with a wide variety of backgrounds and experience with forest issues performed this “Q sort” and then were interviewed to provide context for their answers. The individual Q sorts were correlated and factor analyzed to derive ideal discourse types. Three distinct discourses about sustainable forestry emerged from the factor analysis. Results indicate a strong desire across stakeholder groups to engage in participatory decision-making with people from all sides of the issues. There also appears to be a lack of consensus about the exact meaning of sustainable forestry and a lack of familiarity with scientific concepts of ecosystem resilience among some groups. Recommendations for additional ways in which Q method can be applied by ecological economists as a practical means of advancing the field as a post-normal science are described in the concluding section.