The most important SWOT factors and strategies of sustainable forest management for the Hyrcanian forests using Analytic Network Process (Case study: Siahkal forests)

To manage Hyrcanian forests, it is necessary to identify the most important strategies based on effective internal and external factors and use them in alternative planning. Here, the most important factors and strategies for sustainable management of Siahkal forests in Guilan province were investigated. Therefore, a set of effective strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats were assessed by the Delphi group consisting of 15 forestry and local experts using the 5-point Likert scale, and were analyzed following de-fuzzyfication using the SWOT method. Then, the pairwise comparison questionnaire was judged based on the defined network by a group of 15 forestry experts, and the information was processed using an analysis network process. The results showed that forests were more affected by the external environment. Remaining further weaknesses and threats after screening showed public concerns about forest management. The final results of the network analysis process showed that competitive diversity strategies (ST) and conservative review (WO) were ranked first and second ranks among the four SWOT strategic groups. Among the 19 selected SWOT factors, factors including traditional livestock in the forest (T1), watershed ecotourism capacities (O2), forest tourist attractions if properly managed (S2), and gas supply to the villages connected to the forest (O3) and forestry projects (S5) ranked first to fifth. The selection of two intermediate strategic groups (ST and WO) and the top five factors in the network analysis process can be recommended as more robust and promising decisions in the sustainable management of Hyrcanian forests (future forestry), which can be applied in alternative forestry plans.