Do private forest owners in Poland recognise Natura 2000 areas?

Do trees make people more rooted? Private forest owners' migration behaviour

Understanding and promoting South Korean private forest owners’ investment in the Forest Carbon Offset (FCO) scheme is crucial for enhancing carbon sequestration using forests in South Korea. This study aims to identify the factors of private forest owners associated with the investment decision in FCO projects. A total of 132 forest owners in Geumsan-gun, Chungcheongnam-do responded to a mixed-method survey. A chi-square test on the respondent groups shows that a forest management contract has a positive correlation with the forest owners’ willingness to invest in FCO projects. We also developed a logistic regression model for each forest owner group to estimate the effects of forest characteristics, experience of financial support, forest owner characteristics, and management characteristics on the forest owners’ willingness to invest in FCO projects. The results indicate that beliefs in climate change, size of forest holdings, tree species, stand age, experience in cost-sharing for forestry operations with public agencies, and timber harvest experience were significantly associated with the likelihood of a forest owner’s willingness to invest in FCO projects. Therefore, forest policies should take account of the factors influencing the likelihood of forest owners’ investment in FCO projects. We also found that the forest management contract scheme can be used as a policy instrument for promoting private forest owners’ action for climate change in South Korea.

Forest social values in a Swedish rural context: The private forest owners' perspective

Non-industrial private forest owners’ attitudes towards the operational environment of forestry — a multinominal logit model analysis

The role of personal values and personality traits in environmental concern of non-industrial private forest owners in Sweden

Forest fires, or wildfires, are expected to increase due to warmer and drier summers caused by climate change. When the forest is on fire, all forest owners are by law responsible to assist the fire and rescue services. Hence, the aim of this study was to describe private forest owners’ experiences of forest fires on their property. In-depth interviews were conducted and analyzed by using qualitative content analysis to describe 20 private forest owners’ experiences of forest fires. The result merged in the overarching theme: “Powerlessness in fighting the forest fire alleviates by togetherness in a desire to help and to be helped”. Meaning, a forest fire is a disaster both in economical and emotional terms, causing destruction to the forest that has been in the private forest owners’ care for generations. The forest owner feels responsibility and expresses an unquestionable will to act. The invaluable support from the local community helps the forest owner to manage this difficult. However, the forest owner expects to be allowed to contribute, therefore, the fire and rescue services need a proactive plan that involves private forest owners to ensure a safe work environment for all involved. In addition, the strong and differentiated network of family and neighbors that mobilize brings strength and local knowledge important to the operation. Though worrying of new forest fires will remain, it is a burden that needs to be taken seriously. A positive outcome is that through collaboration, security and resilience enhances in the local community.

All too often, a small, private forest property fails to meet its potential for the owner or for the community. This is particularly true of depopulating rural areas in industrialized countries where community demographics are changing most. Some attention has recently been given to rural tourism as an option to assist Asian farmers in these circumstances, but what of its potential to assist small-scale forestry producers? This paper examines a population of small forest property owners in Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. The paper assesses the receptiveness of this community of forest owners to the idea of tourism in their forests. Using original survey data, the paper illustrates that private forest owners’ openness to tourism is strongly related to their interpretation of ‘forest’ in metaphorical terms. The paper concludes by suggesting the best way to pursue the development of ‘forest tourism’ in this community is to rely on the forest owners cooperative to re-package the concept as a ‘secondary forest use’, more closely reflecting forest owners’ interpretations of the forest resource.

Small-scale forestry in Serbia is characterized by high fragmentation of properties, a large number of parcels and forest owners. Numerous activities for private forest owners in Serbia supported by the State, FAO and CEPF have resulted in an increased interest of owners in forming private forest owners’ associations (PFOA). The goal of this paper is to explore preconditions that are necessary for organizing private forest owners in Serbia into effective associations. In order to reach this goal, results of PRIFORT project were used. The over-arching research questions of this paper are: “What is the level of interest among forest owners in forming owners’ associations?”; “Why has forest owner interest in organizing developed so slowly?” and “What are the necessary preconditions for the development of private forest owners’ organizations in the country?” In order to answer these questions, quantitative survey with 42 close, open and Likert scale questions was conducted. Sample size was determined following Malhotra’s proportion method and, in total, 350 private forest owners, from nine municipalities were interviewed. Results of this paper show that majority of respondents are very little or not at all aware of existing legislation. Almost half of respondents consider that their interests are not represented well. Although about 50% of interviewed forest owners miss interest organization, only 0,3% are members of PFOA. More than 70% are ready to join association, if it would provide some economic advantages.

The process of protection (e.g. reserves, agreements) on the lands of non-industrial private forest (NIPF) owners sometimes leads to conflicts (conflict: a perceived threat to needs, interests or concerns; in this study, “threat” was important). To investigate predictive factors for such conflicts in southern Sweden, a questionnaire was sent to 132 NIPF owners with woodland key habitat (WKH; identified biodiversity values). The response rate was 77% and conflict was reported by 22.5% of respondents, while 14% reported good relations with authorities. The respondents reported conflict due to rules for cutting, protection and compensation. Compared with other owners, those reporting conflict were younger (mean 54 versus 62 years old), had more negative opinion about the personal contact with the authority, had twice as large an area of WKH and had more negative opinion about the WKH. Logistic regression revealed four variables that predicted conflict: area of WKH on property, opinion about WKH, opinion about personal contact and, especially, age of respondent. Younger forest owners may be more dependent upon income from harvesting than older owners. Conflicts were frequent and the factors identified here should be taken into account in forest conservation work.

Lithuania has initiated the development of voluntary ecosystem protection measures within private forests, establishing protection agreements between the state and private forest owners. This article examines the priorities and motivations of private forest owners in the voluntary protection of ecosystems, based on the analysis of expert opinions. The Delphi sociological method was employed to assess expert opinions on the priorities and motivations of private forest owners regarding the voluntary protection of ecosystems. Twenty-nine experts responded to the survey, providing insights into the attitudes of Lithuanian private forest owners towards voluntary forest protection models and contract types, potential environmental protection instruments, the necessity of compensation for losses incurred due to forest management restrictions in protected areas, the proportion of protected forests, factors influencing the intention to engage in forest protection, motivations for voluntary forest protection, the “crowd-out” effect, sources of compensation for losses, the effectiveness of ecosystem protection mechanisms in Lithuanian forests, and the factors that diminish their effectiveness. Summarizing the experts’ findings, it can be concluded that the forest protection priorities of Lithuanian private forest owners, concerning the expansion of protected areas in private forests, protection models, and incentives for protection, are likely to align with the priorities and motivations identified in other European countries. A heterogeneity of priorities and motives was identified. Almost three-quarters of experts thought the current amount of protected forest in Lithuania is sufficient or is already more than necessary, and only about one in ten thought that is necessary for owners to protect more forest. Lithuanian private forest owners are mostly motivated by full financial compensation for losses. According to experts, the majority of private forest owners do not support forest protection models that lack financial compensation. It would be appropriate to implement both permanent and fixed-term protection agreements (contracts) with compensation, alongside the option of selling forests to the state. The level of compensation is identified as the most-significant factor influencing private forest owners’ willingness to engage in ecosystem protection. Experts highlight that the primary reasons for the ineffectiveness of private forest protection measures in Lithuania include inadequate and unjustified compensation, compensation amounts that are too low relative to forest owners’ income, insufficient information, and complex bureaucratic procedures.

In Sweden, privately owned forests provide timber as well as recreational opportunities and biodiversity. In general, forest officers from organizations, whose business is to serve private forest owners, manage these forests. Through survey data, this study compared the attitudes of private forest owners towards various forest functions to how forest officers understand these attitudes. The views of forest owners and forest officers did not always coincide, nor did the attitudes of forest owners in different regions of Sweden. Forest officers regarded timber production as more important than did forest owners. Forest owners considered recreational and environmental functions of the forest as more important to them than did forest officers. Possible explanations for these differences were discussed, along with forest policy implications.

IntroductionThe Swedish National Forest Program emphasizes that the forest can be more multifunctional where the values created by human experiences of the forest, i.e., social values, can be used for tourism and outdoor recreation, leading to rural development and sustainable growth. To develop multifunctional forests in this respect, private forest owners' perspectives on development are critically important. For example, the place attachment of the private forest owners affects how they manage their forests. Therefore, it is crucial to consider private forest owners' perspectives when planning land use.MethodThe study area is a region in southwest Sweden (Hallandsås) designated as a national interest area for outdoor recreation. There is interest in expanding and developing nature-based tourism, including trail systems, based on the perception of the areas as having great outdoor recreation value. This article aims to present findings from a study that investigated the potential for outdoor recreation development in the forests of Hallandsås. A questionnaire was sent out to private forest owners, which contained questions about social values, perspectives on the Swedish right of public access, development of outdoor recreation, and place attachment.ResultsThe results showed that private forest owners considered health, well-being, and a good living environment the most important social values of their forested lands. The identity and cultural heritage value of private forest lands and the value of working on the land were the second and third most highly identified forest social values. Outdoor recreation was not identified as a top forest social value.DiscussionThe analysis identified seven key factors that must be considered with outdoor recreation development, given concerns and the importance of other forest social values. Careful consideration of these factors and their interactions can provide a path for outdoor recreation development that is respectful to people and places. This consideration is at the core of landscape protection and management as interpreted by the European Landscape Convention. Forest owners' social values are a critical part of landscape quality objectives, along with planning that links public aspirations with landscape character.

Forests offer various, sometimes contradictory utilities to their owners and all other users on the global societal and ecological levels. In Finland, meeting the industrial requirements for a stable roundwood supply has defined the forestry service market, as it has been widely supported by the forest owners, the industrial buyers, and the national forest policy. Along with the changes among the owners themselves, demand for forestry services has fragmented. Recently, by introducing the new Forest Act, which gives more freedom for forest owners to choose between management practices, Finnish government has triggered a change that aims at the creation of more market-oriented distribution of forestry services. Based on the concepts of institutional transition at the market level, service-orientation as value-creation logic change, and business model thinking as the unit-level logic, the theoretical objective of the thesis is to define the ongoing renewal of the forestry service market. Using public and private owners as customers and the current forestry service organizations as service providers, the practical aim of this dissertation is to identify potential opportunities and barriers with respect to creating new services in the forestry service market. Methodologically both qualitative interview studies on forestry service organizations (n=22 and n=17) and quantitative multivariate analysis based on survey data with private (n=557) and public (n=139) forest owners are used. According to the results, there is a growing tension in the market environment accelerated by institutional transition: private forest owners are fragmented into multifaceted groups with various needs, while public owners (such as municipalities) are facing versatile user pressures on their publicly owned forests. Therefore, it seems that the traditional “roundwood supply” approach may no longer match the needs of versatile customer groups. From structural perspective, the established service market dominated by a small number of players is limiting the successful entry of new enterprises. The lack of dynamic middle-sized companies in the Finnish forest sector coupled with difficulties in adopting a more cooperative mind set is proving to be hindrance for renewal of the forestry service market despite the development of information technology, which can facilitate the use of participative methods in forest management and service marketing.

An understanding of private forest owners is needed for appropriate forest governance and outreach to forest owners. This study examined different types of objective and subjective knowledge (i.e., actual knowledge and confidence, respectively), including general forest knowledge and knowledge of management for different objectives, among individual private forest owners in Sweden. In addition, the importance of structural variables (e.g., gender, size of forest holding) and forest involvement variables (e.g., certification, involvement in forest planning) for forest knowledge was analysed. The study was conducted by means of a postal questionnaire to a random sample of private forest owners in Sweden (n = 3000, response rate 43%). Structural variables, but particularly involvement variables, were found to be related to subjective and objective knowledge. Being a male owner, owning a larger forest holding, having bought the land, and having owned the forest a long time were associated with higher subjective knowledge, or confidence, in managing the forest. Although being a male owner, for example, was also associated with higher levels of objective knowledge, the correlation diminished when controlling for forest involvement. The study considers the role of learning environments for forest owners and highlights the need to elaborate on the conceptualization and measurement of forest knowledge to understand the links between structural characteristics, forest involvement, and forest knowledge among private forest owners.

In the Nordic countries, the non‐industrial private forest (NIPF) owners play an important role in the roundwood market, and are essential to the successful implementation of environmental policies. We know little about the owners as managers, however; about their goals, procedures for identifying cutting opportunities, or the selection of buyers and price options. To study these issues, I have used a qualitative method, based on personal interviews with 35 owners. The results show that an overriding objective, influencing the cutting patterns of the owners, is to preserve and develop the property. A variety of formal and informal economic, production and environmental, and intangible goals are influenced by this overriding objective. In addition to relying on their own observations of price changes and the recommendations of the forest management plan, owners identify cutting opportunities through neighbours, friends, timber buyers, or extension rangers. Usually the owner uses the same selling form from one time to the next. Dissatisfaction with the result of the last cutting, however, may trigger a search for new options.