PRIVATE FOREST OWNERS IN SELECTED SOUTH-EAST EUROPEAN COUNTRIES: IN SEARCHING FOR INFORMATION
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54652/rsf.2015.v45.i2.84Keywords:
Private forest owners, Information, Forest policy, South-east European countriesAbstract
UDK: 630*92(4)
Social, economical and political changes in South-east European countries have led to significant shift from traditional pattern of forest policy to new, more complex paradigm when it comes to forestry and forest resources management. Among other things, this implies increasing of private forest owners’ heterogeneity which is reflected in changes of their expectations, objectives, attitudes and management practices. In this context, it is important to explore how private forest owners obtain information useful for forest management but also to analyze in which way their characteristics influence fulfilling of informational needs. The objective of this paper was to analyse sources of information that private forest owners are most likely to use, and to assess how owners’ characteristics, property conditions as well as management behaviour, affect it. Surveys were conducted in Bosnia-Herzegovina (n=350), Serbia (n=350), Croatia (n=350) and Slovenia (n=322) on random samples of private forest owners while the data were analysed by using logistic regression model. The paper examined five models of information providers: private forest owners associations (1), relatives (2), public forest administration (3), other owners (4) and public forest companies (5). Comparison between countries indicates the differences regarding to informational providers, caused mainly due to importance of private forests to their owners and different organizational structure of national forest sectors. Comparing to other countries, it seems that Slovenian private forest owners are more active in searching for information. Public forest administration is the most preferable provider of information in Slovenia while in Bosnia-Herzegovina these are public forest companies and public forest administration. In Serbia and Croatia the most common providers of information are public forest companies. Only Slovenian private forest owners use interest associations as the source of information. The traditional providers of information (other owners) are still important for private forest owners in Slovenia and Bosnia-Herzegovina at least. The results of logistic regression models reveal that forest property size, fragmentation, harvesting activities as well as owners’ age influence the source of information that private forest owners are most likely to use. The model 3 (pubic forest administration) is statistically significant in Slovenia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, while in Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina the model 5 (public forest company) is significant. None of the models is statistically significant for Croatia. Besides, the model 4 (other owners) was statistically significant in Slovenia.
References
AVDIBEGOVIĆ, M., PEZDEVŠEK MALOVRH, Š. (2015): Sources of information for private forest owners – comparative analysis between Slovenia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. In: ŽIVOJINOVIĆ, I. et al. (ed): Concepts, methods and findings in forest ownership research in Europe. Mid-term Proceedings of the COST Action FP1201 Forest Land Ownership Changes in Europe: Significance for Management and Policy, FACESMAP, EFICEEC-EFISEE Research Report. University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), 37-44.
BANKOVIĆ, S., MEDAREVIĆ, M., PANTIĆ, D., PETROVIĆ, N. (2009): The National Forest Inventory of the Republic of Serbia - the growing stock of the Republic of Serbia. In: RANKOVIĆ, N. (ed), Ministry of Agriculture FaWMotRoS, Forest Directorate, Belgrade, pp 244.
BOON, T.E., MEILBY, H. (2007): Describing management attitudes to guide forest policy implementation. Small-scale Forestry 6(1), 79-92.
BOON, TE., MEILBY, H. THORSEN, BJ. (2004): An Empirically Based Typology of Private Forest Owners in Denmark: Improving Communication Between Authorities and Owners. Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research 19(4), 45-55.
CORP, I. (2011): IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows. 20.0 edn. IBM Corp., Armon, New York.
EMTAGE, N., HERBOHN, J., HARRISON, S. (2007): Landholder Profiling and Typologies for Natural Resource–Management Policy and Program Support: Potential and Constraints. Environmental Management 40(3), 481-492.
FIELD, A. (2009): Discovering statistics using SPSS. 3rd edn. SAGE, Los Angeles.
FINLEY, AO., KITTREDGE, DB., STEVENS, TH., SCHWEIK, CM., DENNIS, DC. (2006): Interest in cross-boundary cooperation: identification of distinct types of private forest owners. Forest Science 52, 10-22.
GLÜCK, P., AVDIBEGOVIĆ, M., ČABARAVDIĆ, A., NONIĆ, D., PETROVIĆ, N., POSAVEC, S., STOJANOVSKA, M. (2010): The preconditions for the formation of private forest owners' interest associations in the Western Balkan Region. Forest Policy and Economics 12(4), 250-263.
GLÜCK, P., AVDIBEGOVIĆ, M., ČABARAVDIĆ, A., NONIĆ, D., PETROVIĆ, N., POSAVEC, S., STOJANOVSKA, M. (2011): Private forest owners in the Western Balkans - Ready for the formation of interest associations. In: Hasenauer H (ed) EFI Research Report 25, Institute EF, Joensuu, Finland, pp 234.
HAMUNEN, K. et al. (2014): Defining Peer-to-peer Learning – from an Old ‘Art of Practice’ to a New Mode of Forest Owner Extension? The Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension 21(4), 293-307.
HOGL, K., PREGERNIG, M., WEISS, G. (2005): What is new about new forest owners? A typology of private forest ownership in Austria. Small-scale Forest Economics, Management and Policy 4(3), 325-342.
HOSMER, DW., LEMESHOW, S. (2000): Applied logistic regression. 2nd edn. John Wiley & Sons, New York.
HUJALA, T., TIKKANEN, J. (2008): Boosters of and barriers to smooth communication in family forest owners’ decision making. Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research 23(5), 466-477.
KARPPINEN, H. (1998): Values and Objectives of Non-industrial Private Forest Owners in Finland. Silva Fennica 32(1), 43-59.
KUULUVAINEN, J., KARPPINEN, H., OVASKAINEN, V. (1996): Landowner Objectives and Nonindustrial Private Timber Supply. Forest Science 42(3), 300-309.
LEBAN, V. (2014): Efficiency analysis of forest owners associations in Slovenia and Germany. Master thesis, University of Ljubljana, Biotechnical Facutly, Department of Forestry and Renewable Forest Resources.
LÖNNSTEDT, L. (1997): Non‐industrial private forest owners' decision process: A qualitative study about goals, time perspective, opportunities and alternatives. Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research 12(3), 302-310.
MA, Z., KITTREDGE, D., CATANZARO, P. (2012): Challenging the Traditional Forestry Extension Model: Insights from the Woods Forum Program in Massachusetts. Small-scale Forestry 11(1), 87-100.
NI DHUBHÁIN, Á., COBANOVA, R., KARPPINEN, H., MIZARAITE, D., RITTER, E., SLEE, B., WALL, S. (2007): The Values and Objectives of Private Forest Owners and Their Influence on Forestry Behaviour: The Implications for Entrepreneurship. Small-scale Forestry 6(4), 347-357.
NI DHUBHÁIN, Á., MAGUIRE, K., FARELLY, N. (2010): The harvesting behaviour of Irish private forest owners. Forest Policy and Economics 12(7), 513-517.
PEZDEVŠEK MALOVRH, Š., (2010): Influence of institutions and forms of cooperation on private forest management. Doctoral dissertation, University of Ljubljana, Biotechnical Faculty, Department of Forestry and Renewable Forest Resources.
PEZDEVŠEK MALOVRH, Š., HODGES, DG., MARIĆ, B., AVDIBEGOVIĆ, M. (2011): Private forest owners expectations of interest associations: comparative analysis between Slovenia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Šumarski list CXXXV(9-10):1-10.
PEZDEVŠEK MALOVRH, Š., NONIĆ, D., GLAVONJIĆ, P., NEDELJKOVIĆ, J., AVDIBEGOVIĆ, M., KRČ, J. (2015). Private Forest Owner Typologies in Slovenia and Serbia: Targeting Private Forest Owner Groups for Policy Implementation. Small-scale Forestry:1-18.
PEZDEVŠEK MALOVRH, Š., ZADNIK STIRN, L., KRČ, J. (2010): Influence of property and ownership conditions on willingness to cooperate. Šumarski list 134(3-4), 139-149.
RICKENBACH, M., ZEULI, K., STURGESS-CLEEK, E. (2005): Despite failure: The emergence of “new” forest owners in private forest policy in Wisconsin, USA. Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research 20(6), 503-513.
SCHMITHÜSEN, F., HIRSCH, F. (2010): Private forest ownership in Europe. In: (ed) Geneva Timber and Forest Study Paper 26, UNECE, Geneva, Switzerland, pp 110.
SCHUBERT, JR., MAYER, AL. (2012): Peer Influence of Non-Industrial Private Forest Owners in the Western Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Open Journal of Forestry 2(3), 150-158.
SMARS (2007): Relational databases from the Landowner register. Ljubljana.
WIERSUM, KF., ELANDS, BM., HOOGSTRA, M. (2005): Small-scale forest ownership across Europe: Characteristics and future potential. Small-scale Forest Economics, Management and Policy 4(1), 1-19.
ZIEGENSPECK, S., HÄRDTER, U., SCHRAML, U. (2004): Lifestyles of private forest owners as an indication of social change. Forest Policy and Economics 6(5), 447-45.
ŽIVOJINOVIĆ, I. et al. (2015): Forest Land Ownership Change in Europe. COST Action FP1201 FACESMAP Country Reports.
