Pezdevšek Malovrh Špela, PhD.

Private forests in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia are highly fragmented into
small plots of land with low productivity level and a large number of owners. Nevertheless,
they are recognized in the strategic plans and programs concerning renewable energy as having
a significant potential for woody biomass production. A regional research was conducted
among 350 private forest owners in each of the three South-East European countries, Bosnia
and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia. It analyzed management activities and readiness of
private forest owners to produce additional quantities of woody biomass. Smart regulation
principles were selected as analytical framework in order to understand how the design of
forest policy instruments, based on specific characteristics of the target groups, can contribute
to the improvement of private forest owners’ readiness to mobilize additional quantities of
woody biomass from their forests. The results of this research indicated that although the
majority of private forest owners use their forests for producing firewood to meet their own
needs – 91.2% of private forest owners in Croatia, 85.0% in Bosnia and Herzegovina and
89.7% in Serbia, there is economic interest of private forest owners to produce additional
quantities of woody biomass beyond their own fuelwood household consumption – 43.9% in
Croatia, 45.8% in Bosnia and Herzegovina and 54.8% in Serbia. Moreover, private forest
owners’ socio-demographic characteristics, forest property characteristics and management
objectives significantly impacted the owners’ readiness to produce additional quantities of
woody biomass. The readiness for woody biomass mobilization could be increased by providing
different policy instruments, since this is deemed important by private forest owners. Hence,
forest policy recommendations were proposed that may support the private forest owners’
readiness to produce additional quantities of woody biomass.

In countries where private forest ownership prevails, wood mobilisation largely depends on the interest and commitment of private forest owners (PFOs) to manage their forests. In Slovenia, where 77% of forests are privately owned but insufficiently managed, this issue is particularly important. Governments not only in Slovenia, but also in other EU countries, have responded to this challenge of wood mobilisation by proposing various policy instruments, addressing the importance of PFO business cooperation both among themselves and with forest service providers. This study aims to find out: 1) whether there is a potential for business cooperation among PFOs; 2) which of the existing business organisational forms are appropriate for PFOs and 3) how property characteristics, forest management activity, forest management objectives and PFOs’ socio-demographic and economic characteristics influence PFOs readiness to engage into business cooperation. Based on the results, policy recommendations were developed to increase the share of PFO cooperating in business organisational forms in Slovenia. An online survey conducted in March and April 2022 among randomly selected Slovenian households owning forests provided data for two logistic regression models. The results show that PFOs are in general ready to engage in business cooperation; however, according to them, none of the currently existing forms of business cooperation is considered as very appropriate. The model »cooperation with other PFOs in business organisational forms« suggests that PFOs readiness to engage is influenced by forest management objectives related to carbon sequestration, wood and biomass production for personal use and for the market, as well as preserving forests as an investment for the future, PFO age and level of education. The model »cooperation with forest service providers« shows that PFOs readiness to engage is influenced by forest management objectives related to biodiversity conservation and wood and biomass production for personal use and for the market, as well as by PFO level of education. To motivate PFOs to engage into business cooperation, forest policy decision makers must take a holistic transformation of forest policy. To achieve the desired forest policy outcomes, the transformation should incorporate innovative and supportive policy instruments.