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This article summarizes the international scientific research output of global forest product models, infers future research trends and provides reference for quantitative analysis and mathematical modeling of Chinese forest product problems, with the aim of contributing to promoting domestic production of Chinese forest products and strengthening international trade competitiveness of forest products.

In 1999, Joseph Buongiorno, a scholar at the University of Wisconsin in the United States of America, proposed the global forest products model (GFPM), which was first applied to research in the global forestry sector. GFPM is a recursive dynamic model based on five assumptions: macroeconomics, local equilibrium, dynamic equilibrium, forest product conversion flow and trade inertia. Using a certain year from 1992 to present as the base period, it simulates and predicts changes in prices, production and import and export trade indicators of 14 forest products in 180 countries (regions) through computer programs. Its advantages lie in covering a wide range of countries and a wide variety of forest products. The data mainly include forest resource data, forest product trade data, and other economic data required by the model, sourced from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and the World Bank, respectively.

Compared to international quantitative and modeling research in the field of forest product production and trade, China's related research is not comprehensive and in-depth, and there is not much quantitative and mathematical modeling research, resulting in a significant gap. This article summarizes the international scientific research output of global forest product models, infers future research trends, and provides reference for quantitative analysis and mathematical modeling of Chinese forest product problems, with the aim of contributing to promoting domestic production of Chinese forest products and strengthening international trade competitiveness of forest products.

On the basis of summarizing and analyzing the international scientific research output of GFPM, sorting out the current research status and progress at home and abroad, this article discusses potential research expansion directions in 10 aspects, including the types, yield and quality of domestic forest product production, international trade of forest products, and external impacts on the forestry system, in order to provide new ideas for global forest product model research in China.

Sacred forests are biocultural landscapes deeply rooted in centuries-old traditions of spiritual veneration. These sacred sites, including shrines, temple forests churches and graveyards, have historically been significant reservoirs of traditional resource management practices underpinned by spiritual reverence. However, despite their cultural and ecological importance, the cultural ecosystem services inherent to these sacred forests remain unexplored, particularly in urban settings.

This study focused on six sacred sites within Kanazawa City, Japan, using a meticulous face-to-face survey with 342 participants. We collected data on the extent of forest utilisation, the breadth of activities engaged in by visitors and their holistic appraisal of the rendered cultural ecosystem services. The findings illustrate the multifaceted benefits of urban sacred forests, encompassing participation in religious ceremonies, cultural events and festivals, complemented by educational programming that elucidates the historical and traditional underpinnings of the shrines and their surrounding communities.

It has been observed that urban forests have a crucial role in providing spiritual and communal connectivity, preserving traditional heritage, offering vital aesthetic values as green spaces and making visitors connected with nature while they are in the urban landscape. However, a concerning trend has emerged, as the younger demographic appears to lack interest in participating in the stewardship and cultural activities associated with these biocultural landscapes. Community engagement strategies must be strengthened, conservation measures should be implemented and cultural awareness programs need to be established to ensure the perpetuation and appreciation of these valuable urban sacred forests.

This study provides original perspectives on the measurable cultural ecosystem services and intangible values associated with urban sacred forests using the sacred forests in Kanazawa City, Japan. Our research illuminates the various advantages that visitors derive by examining the intersection of spiritual traditions, resource management practices and cultural significance, which has been relatively unexplored. The present study provides a significant basis for establishing initiatives that seek to promote the cultivation of respect and responsibility towards urban sacred forests.

One of the crucial elements of addressing global climate challenges through urban tourism is the continuing existence of urban forests. The reasoning is that the ecological attraction of urban forests can impact visitors’ intention to conduct pro-environmental behavior, including low-carbon actions. Thus, more visitors to urban forests will positively affect enhancing the quality of the urban environment. However, the extent to which ecological attraction can influence pro-environmental behavior warrants further investigation due to the complexity of psychosocial factors that impact behavioral intention. The main objective of this research is to examine the effects of the ecological attractiveness of urban forests on the pro-environmental behavior of visitors by exploring motivation, ecological experience, perceived value and knowledge as mediators. Moreover, whether the nature of the urban forest and facilities attract visitors simultaneously is also studied.

Data were collected from 615 respondents who visited three urban forests in Bandung, the second-most populous city in Indonesia, by five-point Likert questionnaires. As an analytical tool, SEM PLS was applied to establish the effect of the ecological performance of the urban forest on the increase in environmentally conscious behavior among urban forest visitors.

The findings demonstrate that the attractiveness of an urban forest affects the growth of environmentally responsible behaviors. Nonetheless, the attractiveness of urban forests is dictated more by their infrastructure than their ecological function. On the contrary, the visitors’ knowledge level can improve their motivation, environmental experience and perceived environmental value. These findings show the significance of developing educational programs with an emphasis on the experience of the visitors so that their ecological performance can contribute to improved low-carbon behavior. In conclusion, this work contributes to the management of sustainable urban tourism.

This work also has some limitations. First, the medium R-square on intention behavior to low-carbon action suggests investigating other influential factors to produce a more robust conscious behavior. Mkono and Hughes (2020) mention that many complex factors that cause positive intention do not necessarily lead to environmental action. Thus, many psychosocial variables need to be explored in different models. Second, the convenient sampling used here does not represent the whole population, making generalization difficult. Thus, further work needs to apply more rigorous sampling techniques to validate the findings. Further investigations may also need to be conducted in other urban forests in another Asian country with a similar and different social context for benchmarking, as this study found that the type of attractive urban forest design is a more dense forest, which differs from other studies based in Europe. Exploring more influencing behavioral factors of pro-environmental action in the model is also suggested. Thus, we could contribute more to support recreational activities in urban forests.

As an implication for planning an urban forest to increase its recreational function, the authors illustrate the importance of producing educational programs. Although the improved knowledge of visitors has been shown to strengthen their commitment to perform pro-environmental actions, the mediating role of motivation, experience and perceived value reveals that some activities are required to achieve visitor motivation to actual behavior. Consequently, designing an urban forest requires not only the enhancement of eco-attractions and artificial elements for the convenience of visitors but also the development of an environmental education program that can improve visitors’ environmental experience and perception of ecological value. The designed educational program may use an experiential education approach incorporating objective knowledge of Earth’s current state. The urban forest education program must encourage visitors’ connection and participation with nature. Moreover, knowledge and information about Earth’s environmental quality can increase visitors’ perceived value, ensuring that their activities in the urban forest contribute to improved health, environmental quality and social environment. Thus, with well-managed and provided education, they are encouraged to adopt low-carbon action because it complements their contribution to a better quality environment.

The theoretical contribution of this research is generated through the role of urban forest attractiveness in the intention to conduct low-carbon action, which influences solutions to existing urban environmental problems. This work exhibits that both ecological attractiveness and attractiveness of artificial elements in urban forests can attract visitors and subsequently boost their outdoor recreation motivation, ecological experience and perceived value and then turn them to boost their intention to conduct low-carbon action. The physical characteristics of a site are behavioral stimuli that can increase a person’s motivation, experience and perception of the value of the environment, thereby increasing their intention to engage in low-carbon actions. This environment behavioral construction is fundamental in understanding that urban forests offer ecological benefits and influence the social quality of urban communities. Nevertheless, without visitor activity, urban forests are merely physical entities that become increasingly demanding to maintain. Due to this, an urban forest that is socially active and has an influence on promoting environmentally conscious behavior is needed, and its presence is becoming ever more crucial. This work shows the significance of integrating psychosocial approaches into managing tourism in urban forests.

This study was conducted to analyse the socio-ecological problems faced by the Suhelwa Wildlife Sanctuary and understand its potential and challenges for developing ecotourism following Triple Bottom Line (TBL) principles. The study also benchmarked best ecotourism practices across the globe to create an ecotourism plan that would provide alternative livelihood and help in sustainable management of the area by reducing poverty, dependency on forests and biodiversity protection.

Suhelwa Wildlife Sanctuary was chosen because this area has several socio-ecological crises with limited livelihood options, and there is an urgent need for alternative livelihood opportunities in the form of ecotourism. The study followed an ethnographic approach through observation, participant observation, and semi-structured interviews. Content and thematic analysis was conducted through Atlas Ti9.0 software for data analysis. Subsequently, benchmarking best ecotourism practices through a literature review was done to develop an ecotourism action plan.

The First finding was related to the study area divided into three themes: problems, potential for ecotourism development, and challenges for ecotourism development. The second finding was related to benchmarking best practices and suggesting an action plan.

This work studied an area not sufficiently acknowledged by academicians and policymakers concerning ecotourism development. The work also benchmarks the best practices for ecotourism and proposes a sight-specific ecotourism action plan in accordance with TBL.

This study aims to examine the participants’ [junior high school students and Master of business administration (MBA) consultants] perceptions and utilizations of the multidimensional place-based resources within the context of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), specifically focusing on its alignment with the sustainable development goals (SDGs) for quality education. While place-based resources have demonstrated the potential for fostering innovative thinking and collaborative efforts, a gap exists in understanding how these resources can be effectively integrated to bolster learning and sustainable outcomes.

The authors adopted a single-case research methodology and conducted an in-depth exploration of the integration of place-based resources within the context of ESD using the 2021 Forest Community Outreach (FCO) Project in Ena City, Japan. Questionnaires, daily journals and consultation reports were used for data collection. This study used the coding and qualitative content analysis process to understand the significance of the five dimensions of place-based resources in fostering effective ESD practices.

The findings show the gap between interest in ESD and utilization of place-based resources as reflected in the perceptions and interests of junior high school participants. MBA consultants acknowledged the relevance of leveraging the five dimensions of place-based resources in the context of ESD. This research enriches the understanding of recognizing and harnessing different resources within the settings, emphasizing the significance of a multidimensional place-based resources approach to effectively incorporate these resources into ESD, thereby fostering learning and practical sustainability outcomes.

This study conducts a novel analysis of diverse dimensions within the realm of place-based resources and their profound influence on the learning experiences and creativity of participants engaged in ESD. The study lays the groundwork for the validation of place-based resource dimensions through collaborative efforts involving stakeholders within the region.

Properties with specific orientations are preferred in South Korea, depending on the real estate market. This preference is usually considered during property transactions and in designing buildings. Despite the importance of property orientation, the magnitude of preference for favored orientation has rarely been empirically estimated in the literature. This study attempts to estimate the value of favored orientation in a quantitative manner and interpret the results.

Using a geographically weighted regression model, this study obtains nationwide property price data and estimates the strength of orientation preference, that is, the premium for favored orientation. Among the various property types, residential sites and forests were investigated because the orientation of these two property types is known to influence their sales prices in the Korean real estate market.

The results show that premiums for south-facing residential sites exist in the market, varying locally and ranging from zero to 13.2%, over residential sites with non-south orientations. The results for forests are mixed in that a south-facing forest commands a maximum of 33.1% premium in a certain region, over a forest with a non-south direction, while it also commands a maximum of 33.8% negative premium (discount) in another region, indicating significant local variations in premiums.

These findings are expected to be utilized in fields such as property valuation, house architecture and design.

This study aimed to understand the agri-entrepreneurial traits of undergraduate university students using machine learning (ML) algorithms.

This study used a conceptual framework of individual-level determinants of entrepreneurship and ML. The Google Survey instrument was prepared on a 5-point scale and administered to 656 students in different sections of the same class during regular virtual classrooms in 2021. The datasets were analyzed and compared using ML.

Entrepreneurial traits existed among students before attending undergraduate entrepreneurship courses. Establishing strong partnerships (0.359), learning (0.347) and people-organizing ability (0.341) were promising correlated entrepreneurial traits. Female students exhibited fewer entrepreneurial traits than male students. The random forest model exhibited 60% accuracy in trait prediction against gradient boosting (58.4%), linear regression (56.8%), ridge (56.7%) and lasso regression (56.0%). Thus, the ML model appeared to be unsuitable to predict entrepreneurial traits. Quality data are important for accurate trait predictions.

Further studies can validate K-nearest neighbors (KNN) and support vector machine (SVM) models against random forest to support the statement that the ML model cannot be used for entrepreneurial trait prediction.

This research is unique because ML models, such as random forest, gradient boosting and lasso regression, are used for entrepreneurial trait prediction by agricultural domain students.

This study aims to investigate the intricate relationships between a community energy system, water resources and biodiversity conservation, with a specific focus on augmenting community energy resilience in Bondo. The primary objective is to gain an in-depth understanding of how community members perceive and experience the challenges related to balancing the often-conflicting demands of energy, water and biodiversity conservation within this context.

The research uses a qualitative approach to unravel the multifaceted dynamics of community energy systems, water resources and biodiversity conservation in Bondo. Data were collected through focus groups and direct observations, enabling a nuanced exploration of community perspectives and lived experiences. The subsequent analysis of this qualitative data follows established thematic analysis procedures.

The study's findings shed light on the formidable barriers that impede rural communities in Malawi from accessing electricity effectively. Even in communities fortunate enough to have electricity connections, the lack of knowledge regarding productive electricity use results in community energy systems operating at significantly reduced load factors. Furthermore, the intricate challenge of managing a biodiversity hotspot persists, exacerbated by the densely populated peripheral communities' continued reliance on forest, land and water resources. These activities, in turn, contribute to ecosystem degradation.

In a context where government-led management of forest reserves and game reserves has not yielded the expected results due to a multitude of factors, there arises a compelling need for innovative approaches. One such innovation involves fostering partnerships between the government and experienced trusts as lead organisations, providing a fresh perspective on addressing the complex interplay between community energy systems, water resources and biodiversity conservation. This novel approach opens doors to explore alternative pathways for achieving the delicate balance between human energy needs and the preservation of vital ecosystems.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the problem of land degradation as a category of environmental terrorism, which has been increasing along with the rise of open pit mining and oil palm plantation activities.

This study uses a doctrinal approach that aims to find the best solution to address the problem of land degradation and environmental terrorism activities in Indonesia through a comparative legal study conducted with the handling of similar cases in Malaysia, which has almost the same character as Indonesia.

This paper finds that both Indonesia and Malaysia have enacted laws and regulations to address environmental concerns. However, it turns out that relying only on law enforcement is not an optimal solution. Addressing the problem of land degradation would also require the implementation of sustainable development practices, public awareness and cooperative dialogue.

This paper provides a new approach to answer the inclusion of environmental degradation as environmental terrorism, which should also be considered a crime against humanity.

Green Sukuk (GS) is a recent innovation that has the potential to serve humankind in sustainable development. However, its potential can only be achieved if the proceeds of GS are used for the priority areas needed. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to find out, using selected GS issued to determine whether the proceeds of GS are actually given to the needed areas.

This is qualitative research utilizing case studies where the “priorities given” areas are observed through information collected from the library that consists of primary and secondary sources, such as statutes, books, articles and internet sources, while “priorities needed to issue GS” areas are determined through information collected from Al-Quran and Hadiths to derive conclusions.

The outcome of this study reveals some untouched areas that needed immediate attention where GS can be implemented. This study recommends implementing GS for the plant, agriculture, forests, road, water, animal and others. One example in this regard is to create “forest sukuk,” which is a tool for financing forest preservation.

It is anticipated that, via the outcome of this research, GS issuance frameworks can be enhanced, especially in revising the areas in which Sukuk proceeds can be used, and it will provide guidance to the potential GS issuers to choose financing projects.