Passive or not? – Examining the diversity within passive forest owners

Abstract

The structural changes that affect forest owners at the European level have entailed the threat of their becoming more passive in their forest management. These “so-called” passive forest owners represent a challenge for policy-makers, as they typically do not pursue explicit forest management goals and put less weight on externalities demanded of the forest resources by society. At the national level, an increasing number of indifferent or passive forest owners is usually construed as a waste of forest resources. Even so, the deeper reasons for passivity have not been thoroughly examined. Previous studies show that certain technical reasons, such as small forest holding size and a long distance to the forest, may increase passive forest management behaviour. However, in many countries various forest management services to overcome these obstacles are provided. This raises the question of whether we actually understand the reasons for passive forest management behaviour. Without this understanding, no advisory services can truly solve the problem.This study presents the results of 273 qualitative phone interviews targeted at Finnish private forest owners classified as passive. The reasons for passivity in forestry are described by constructing a qualitative typology of passive forest owners. The findings illustrate the various reasons leading to passive forest management behaviour. As practical implications, the results provide tools for communicating on forest management with different forest owner groups considered as passive.