Determining appropriate strategies for management of Hyrcanian forests, using the quantitative strategic planning matrix (Case study: Siahkal Forests)

The management of Hyrcanian forests is experiencing the first period of logging ban since 2017. The transition from traditional forestry to modern forestry and the suitable management strategies is an indispensable step to prevent the forestry plans from mismanagement. Aiming at strategic planning, this study deals with factors affecting forestry with the aid of value engineering and including experts' viewpoints and study records screened through fuzzy Delphi. The result of the concurrency of the scores of the internal and external factors in the evaluation matrix of SWOT could select the strategies countering weaknesses and threats. The results of the measurement of the attractiveness of defense strategies with selected SWOT factors in the QSPM matrix from experts' viewpoints showed that the impact of external factors on forest management was more than internal factors; hence prioritized strategies were reselected regarding the main stakeholders and the social view of the forest. Based on the weighted average of internal factors, the strategy of the necessity of increasing forest adaptability to climate change was chosen as the first priority, indicating the necessity of science-based management in the Hyrcanian forests.