Voice of the Forest

In the Voice of the Forest, we hear everything we didn’t want to hear. The forest is cultivated with a saw. At least that’s what they still teach in forestry schools. But what does a healthy forest really need? Foresters and hunters perceive the forest as an agricultural commodity and nature as something that needs to be constantly regulated and managed. On the other side are conservationists—advocates of non-intervention—who believe that the forest can manage without us. Where does private ownership fit into this conflict? And is a human’s right to use natural resources in their surroundings superior to a bear’s right to do the same? Slovak forests have become a battleground, but also a proxy for a social conflict that is much deeper than it seems at first glance.