Zuzana Dobsinska - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Zuzana Dobsinska
Annals of Forest Research, 2013
A property rights-based approach is proposed in the paper to underline the common characteristics... more A property rights-based approach is proposed in the paper to underline the common characteristics of the forest property rights specification in ten ECE countries, the specific patterns governing the harvesting of timber in private forestry and the role of the forest management planning in determining the content of the property rights. The analysis deals with the private forests of the individuals (non industrial ownership) from ten countries, covering 7.3 million ha and producing yearly some 25 million m3 timber. The study shows that the forest management rights in private forests belong to the State and that the withdrawal rights on timber, yet recognised in the forest management plans, are in reality strongly restricted from an economic viewpoint. The forest management planning is the key instrument of the current forest governance system, based on top-down, hierarchically imposed and enforced set of compulsory rules on timber harvesting. With few exceptions, the forest owners ...
Forest Policy and Economics, 2020
In the last two decades, attention on forests and ownership rights has increased in different dom... more In the last two decades, attention on forests and ownership rights has increased in different domains of international policy, particularly in relation to achieving the global sustainable development goals. This paper looks at the changes in forest-specific legislation applicable to regular productive forests, across 28 European
Forests, 2019
The complex policy decision-making situation around nature conservation requires examination of t... more The complex policy decision-making situation around nature conservation requires examination of the operational environment. This study develops and tests a three-phase analytical framework for the evaluation of operational environment factors influencing nature conservation policy implementation. The four important operational environment factors (legal, policy, economic, and social) have been identified, to build up a framework. The framework was tested in selected countries and includes experts’ opinions. Experts (n = 44) from five EU countries (Bulgaria, Croatia, Italy, Slovakia, and Slovenia) and four non-EU countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia) defined and evaluated the factors and sub-factors that affect the operational environment related to nature conservation policy implementation. The results show policy changes arising from the new governance requirements introduced by changed political regime and Europeanization are key driving fact...
Journal of Forest Science, 2013
We analysed the formulation of Rural Development Programme of the Slovak Republic for 2007–2013 a... more We analysed the formulation of Rural Development Programme of the Slovak Republic for 2007–2013 applying the theory of actor-centred institutionalism and its interaction forms. Approaches accentuating the role of actors and their interactions are an appropriate tool for the better understanding of cross-sectoral relationships and the improvement of public policy coherence in the formulation process of strategic documents in rural development. Methodologically the study is based on a qualitative analysis of documents and standardized interviews. The formulation of RDP SR 2007–2013 is showing signs of cross-sectoral coordination between different actors in the form of bargaining, as well as signs of hierarchical coordination among public and private actors. In the formulation process of RDP SR 2007–2013 a negative mechanism of coordination was dominant with negative consequences for the policy coherence of the final document. A positive element for the coherence of rural development p...
Forest Policy and Economics, 2018
This study analyses the linkages between private forest owners' perceptions of forest management,... more This study analyses the linkages between private forest owners' perceptions of forest management, and their affinity for subsidies, in a range of European countries. Society increasingly requires the provision of ecosystem services from forests, but the willingness of forest owners to redirect management goals from wood production to the provision of public goods is crucial for sustaining ecosystem services. EU incentives in the forestry sector are still mainly oriented towards an anthropocentric vision of forest management. Forest owners and managers are diverse, and although many efforts have been made to understand the role of forest subsidies in private forest management, it is still necessary to analyse the different perspectives on forest subsidies with a regional comparative approach. This paper explores European private forest owners' affinity for subsidiesthrough survey data at European leveland estimates an ordered probit model to (i) analyse how private forest owners in Europe respond to subsidies in forestry, including regional differences in terms of affinity for subsidies, (ii) characterise the factors that influence these responses and (iii) discuss lessons learned related to forest owners' attitudes on subsidies and the implications for introducing similar kind of incentives such as payments for ecosystem services. Simulations were conducted to examine the potential effects of changes in property fragmentation or the time allotted to forest activities. Forest owners with an utilitarian view of forest management, bigger forest holdings, full or part-time farmers and forest owners from East Europe are most in favour of forest subsidies. Property fragmentation and absenteeism decreases affinity for subsidies.
Forest Policy and Economics, 2018
Research on forest ownership has received growing attention in recent years, particularly in rela... more Research on forest ownership has received growing attention in recent years, particularly in relation to the effects of restitution processes in former socialist countries, emerging new forest owner types, trends towards fragmentation of ownership structures, and questions related to the steady supply of forest industries with raw materials. Literature reviews indicate that despite the profound impact of different ownership categories on the actual forest management and fulfilment of policy goals, the aspect of ownership is rarely included in research on forest management or forest policy. Future research should first develop a more differentiated picture of legal forest ownership categories and owner types, going beyond a simple dichotomy of public and private ownership forms, and beyond simplified typologies such as non-traditional, urban or absentee forest owners. Second, it should tackle the question how the form of ownership relates to forest management and the provision of goods and services, and the extent to which new management approaches are needed for different owner types. Thirdly, it should ask about effective support structures for forest
Forest Policy and Economics, 2016
ABSTRACT The aim of this paper is to analyse the potential of forest owners associations (FOAs) t... more ABSTRACT The aim of this paper is to analyse the potential of forest owners associations (FOAs) to influence forest policymaking using power theory. Firstly, the paper examines the concept of power and the political power of interest groups. Interest groups seek to be able to use their power through influencing policy outcomes and framing the underlying dimensions that define policy issues. In the next step the paper defines factors of dispositional political power: formal, informal, internal, and external. Formal factors are primarily based constitutionally or legislatively and are ensured through the right to associate and form associations to advocate common interests. Informal factors represent the abilities of interest groups to operate in the political process. Internal factors represent the ability of interest groups to work within the group and external factors represent the behaviour towards other associations, government, non-governmental organisations, etc. Semi-structured questionnaires to former and present FOAs officials were used containing questions about the basic role of FOAs as they can be found in the scientific literature. The crucial internal factor limiting the dispositional power of FOAs is the lack of financial resources for providing services or necessary apparatus, which might strongly hinder the fulfilment and achievement of set goals in policymaking. The disinterest of the state bureaucracy towards non-state forests also limits FOAs' dispositional power. The most important external factor from the officials' perspective is the disinterest of the state bureaucracy towards non-state forests at the sectoral and cross-sectoral level. There is a common agreement between FOA officials that current strategies and tactics in the form of dialogue are inefficient. FOAs are considered as a partner in policy formulation, but their actual political power is low, due to the disunity among FOA leaders and ineffective strategies and tactics.
Change and Adaptation in Socio-Ecological Systems, 2014
This literature review deals with the understanding of ecosystem services related to the question... more This literature review deals with the understanding of ecosystem services related to the question of their applicability and appropriate methods for their valuation. We distinguish between ecological valuation methods that aim to assess the significance of landscape characteristics, conventional economic, i.e. monetary valuation and non-monetizing valuation or assessment. Ecological evaluation methods derive values by following a cost of production approach which neglects consumer preferences. Economic valuation methods focus on the exchange value of ecosystem services, i.e. they are based on consumer preferences, but do not adequately take into account the complex internal structure of ecosystems. We conclude that – from the view of implementation of ecosystem services for policy support and consulting – successful valuation approaches should particularly consider the relationships between economic, ecological and social aspects of ecosystem services’ provision.
Small-scale Forestry, 2014
ABSTRACT he restitution and privatization in Central and Eastern European countries in the early ... more ABSTRACT he restitution and privatization in Central and Eastern European countries in the early 1990s predisposed a heterogeneous ownership structure, a large number of forest owners and a variety of types of property ownership modes. Furthermore, development of governance in these countries posited anew framework for interest representation in the forestry sector, mainly through organised forms of private forest owners, i.e. formation of forest owners’ associations (FOAs). In this region, FOAs were one of the opportunities for interest representation in the land restitution processes. Later on these associations gained more competency and importance not only in influencing forest policy-making, but also in offering services to their members. The aim of the paper is to improve the understanding of the origins, evolution and current situation of FOAs in Central and Eastern Europe by describing the factors that influenced the FOAs’ creation and development. On the basis of their similar history seven Central Eastern European countries were selected for FOAs analysis: Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Slovakia. The main findings of the study include that FOAs in Eastern and Central Europe, though being the result of the same socio-political changes, differ between countries in terms of their organisational forms. However, they face similar challenges, including the limited motivation of owners to join associations. Also, they undertake similar activities for their successful development, including the pro-vision of information services for their members. Despite not having any legal competence for the direct management of their member’s forests, these FAOs do have strong representative and demonstrative effects in their countries.
South-east European forestry, 2014
Background and Purpose: Innovations play an important role in multifunctional forestry due to cha... more Background and Purpose: Innovations play an important role in multifunctional forestry due to changing demands for forest goods and services. The multifunctionality can be a result of a joint provision of several outputs from individual forest holding or specialized forest activities. The goal of this paper is to make a comparative analysis from data obtained in two surveys in 2002 and 2010 related to innovations in forest enterprises. The main focus was on ownership, size, and management strategy of forest. Materials and Methods: The paper presents the results of two surveys on innovation in the years 2002 and 2010 with more than 250 representatives-owners/managers of Slovak forest enterprises. The questionnaire in 2002 was sent out by regular mail in the random sample of 1072 forest owners and managers. The response rate was 25 % (in total 279 respondents). The response rate in 2010 was 37 %, and the number of valid responses was 254. The willingness of forest managers to implement innovation was evaluated in the context of different sizes of forest holdings, management strategies and property conditions. Log linear statistics models (Pearson Chi-square) were applied using the software Statistica for data analysis and Microsoft Excel to present the results. Results: This paper presents the development of innovations in order to reach the multifunctionality on the case of Slovakian forestry. Product innovations have doubled from 17 % in 2002 to 34 % in 2010. Large-sized holdings are significantly (p < 0.01) more engaged in innovation and are offering new products. The highest overall innovation activity is revealed in the state-owned enterprises, intermediary in the municipal forests, and the lowest in the private holdings. Forest managers who realized the benefits of innovation were "profit increasing" oriented. Forest managers who did not realize the benefits of implementing innovations preferred conservative management goals-the capital maintenance. The innovative behaviour of managers depends significantly on forest managers' goals and their strategy (p < 0.05). The comparison between the two periods shows that innovation activity has increased from technological innovation to products and services. Wood still remains the main product of forest holdings, but compared to 2002, the importance of bio energy becomes visible. Conclusions: Results show that innovation activity has increased during the time. There was a shift towards innovation from 2002 to 2010 which is visible in the successful innovation cases.
Journal of Forest Economics, 2014
applications, beneficiaries, outcomes and impacts. The comparison of financial support showed tha... more applications, beneficiaries, outcomes and impacts. The comparison of financial support showed that the greater part of support in SK was granted to non-profit investments, whereas in CZ into profit making investments. The main difference was in the interest shown by applicants for support. In CZ nearly 80% of submitted applications were approved compared to 59% in SK. The analysis showed that the main reason for differences in utilisation of available sources was that different principles were applied when selecting supported measures or defining the activities to be supported within the measure.
The present study describes the situation in the Slovak forestry sector comparing innovation acti... more The present study describes the situation in the Slovak forestry sector comparing innovation activity in two different periods (2002 and 2009). The ownership type appeared to be important for the innovation activity of forest holdings. Higher innovation activity was reported by state-owned enterprises, contradicting the hypothesis based on the theory of property rights, according to which the highest entrepreneurial and
Journal of Environmental Management, 2013
Nature protection as a policy sector is not isolated and is directly or indirectly influenced by ... more Nature protection as a policy sector is not isolated and is directly or indirectly influenced by many other sectors (e.g. forestry, water management, rural development, energy, etc.). These policy sectors are neither completely segmented nor unaffected by the decisions taken in other policy sectors. Policy formulation in nature protection is therefore also influenced by different sectors. For that reason it is inevitable to stress the need for inter-sectoral coordination to assure their policy coherence. The aim of this article is to describe the mechanism and modes of cross-sectoral coordination and to analyze the relevant actors and their interaction, using the case of the Natura 2000 formulation process in Slovakia. The European Union (EU) set up an ecological network of special protected areas, known as Natura 2000 to ensure biodiversity by conserving natural habitats and wild fauna and flora in the territory of the Member States. An optimized nature protection must therefore carefully consider existing limits and crossdisciplinary relationships at the EU, national and regional levels. The relations between forestry and biodiversity protection are analyzed using the advocacy coalition framework (ACF). The ACF is used for analyzing how two coalitions, in this case ecological and forest owners' coalitions, advocate or pursue their beliefs from the nature protection and forestry policy field. The whole process is illustrated at the regional scale on the case study of Natura 2000 sites formulation in the Slovak Republic. For better reliability and validity of research, a combination of various empiric research methods was used, supported by existing theories. So called triangulation of sociological research or triangulation of methods consists of mutual results testing of individual methodological steps through identifying corresponding political-science theories, assessing their formal points using primary and secondary document analysis and assessing their informal points with standardized interviews with experts. We can conclude that adequate cross-sectoral coordination represented by new modes is missing and the formulation of the Natura 2000 network in Slovakia shows deficits resulting from different policy beliefs concerning nature protection and forestry coalition.
iForest - Biogeosciences and Forestry, 2014
Public participation is considered an important element of democracy. The purpose of this paper i... more Public participation is considered an important element of democracy. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate participatory approaches in the formulation processes of forest strategic documents and forest management plans in Slovakia. In order to present the context in which the public participation in forestry is applied, we describe the rules according to national forest law. The nationwide example is presented for the case of the National Forest Program formulation, where the scope of the forest management units is covered by the process of Forest Management Plans elaboration and adoption. The empirical findings from forest authorities' data demonstrates that participation is still very formal. The most common actors are public authorities represented by their official representatives and the most active actors besides forest owners or managers are environmental interest groups. To strengthen the participatory process in sustainable forestry planning, not only changes in legislation are needed but also an increase in public awareness concerning the significance of forestry resources.
Journal of Rural Studies, Aug 1, 2017
Private forest owners' involvement in forest management has been frequently examined through the ... more Private forest owners' involvement in forest management has been frequently examined through the attitudes, values, beliefs, objectives and motivations associated with owning and managing forestland. Owners' views on forest management do not always align with those of policymakers who believe forest owners do not actively manage their forests. However, empirical studies on forest owners' conceptualisations of forest management are scarce. To determine how private forest owners in Europe conceptualise forest management, a survey (n = 1,140) was undertaken in seven European countries (Portugal, France, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Slovakia and Romania). The owners were asked to indicate their level of agreement with 19 pretested statements defining forest management on a five-point Likert scale. Classification and regression trees were used to explain the major factors that influenced owners' conceptualisations. Owners primarily conceptualised forest management as preserving forests for future generations and considered "a good business opportunity", "an opportunity to earn additional money" or a "source of subsidies" less important. Their understanding of forest management as a mixture of forest maintenance, ecosystem stewardship and economic activity does not match with alleged policy makers' views. Property size, age and Eastern/Western countries were the most relevant predictors of definitions of forest management. Small-scale forest owners from Western Europe considered ecosystem orientation more important, while owners from Eastern Europe considered economic aspects and forest maintenance more important. These differences might be associated with the socio-political system dynamics in Europe in the 20 th century and changing values in postmodern society. Policymakers must be aware of the different forest management paradigms among forest owners in Eastern-Central and Western Europe when designing European forest policies.
Forest Policy and Economics, 2019
Research on forest ownership has received growing attention in recent years, particularly in rela... more Research on forest ownership has received growing attention in recent years, particularly in relation to the effects of restitution processes in former socialist countries, emerging new forest owner types, trends towards fragmentation of ownership structures, and questions related to the steady supply of forest industries with raw materials. Literature reviews indicate that despite the profound impact of different ownership categories on the actual forest management and fulfilment of policy goals, the aspect of ownership is rarely included in research on forest management or forest policy. Future research should first develop a more differentiated picture of legal forest ownership categories and owner types, going beyond a simple dichotomy of public and private ownership forms, and beyond simplified typologies such as non-traditional, urban or absentee forest owners. Second, it should tackle the question how the form of ownership relates to forest management and the provision of goo...
Forest Policy and Economics
The political and economic transformations that have taken place since the early nineties in the ... more The political and economic transformations that have taken place since the early nineties in the former socialist countries in Europe have significantly influenced reforms of their forestry institutions. As part of these reforms, restitution processes were initiated with the aim of recognising private ownership of forests and returning forests to their former owners or heirs. Using institutional and actor perspectives, this paper analyses the power relations of the key actors in the restitution processes in three European countries: the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Serbia. The methodological approach combines multiple research methods: document analysis and a literature review to explain the restitution processes, and semi-structured in-depth interviews for analysing the actors' power in this process. The results show that actors' power in the analysed restitution processes varied greatly between actor types and in different phases in the processes. In the initial phase, considerable power was wielded by the public, which demanded change, and by the policy makers, who enabled the necessary legislative changes. As the processes advanced, the power shifted to liable entities who administered the restitution processes. The analysed countries followed different pathways and had varying dynamics throughout their restitution processes due to their diverse historical and political legacies but the power of the respective types of responsible actors did not vary much between analysed countries. While the cases of the Czech Republic and Slovakia are relatively similar, Serbia proves to be different in terms of initial drivers as well as the phases and speed of the process. In the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the result of restitution has been the creation of a large number of small-scale private forest owners, while in Serbia property was given back principally to the church, a large-scale forest owner. These owner categories (small-scale private forest owners and church) were formally recognised as new in all three countries but their specific interests were not adequately translated to existing policy and management documents. The state forestry administration in each country has retained power in the field by continuing its supervisory and regulatory role in forest management. Even though the restitution processes are coming to an end in all analysed post-socialist countries, it can be noted that private forest owners are still under strong state supervision when it comes to forest management rights.
Acta Silvatica et Lignaria Hungarica, 2016
During the past decades, the awareness of environmental issues in forest management is increasing... more During the past decades, the awareness of environmental issues in forest management is increasing due to changes in environmental education. The perceptions of forests, sustainable management, and ecosystem services were studied through two surveys. The general public and forest owners were the two target groups. The questionnaires had similar questions, though two different methodological approaches were used - the CATI system, for general public opinion survey, and semi-structured questionnaires for forest owners. The second survey contained more detailed questions regarding forest properties. Combined answers from 1503 respondents from the general public and 150 forest owners were evaluated on the following topics: sustainable forestry, major ecosystem services, and perceptions of forests. The majority of the Slovakian public regards ecological values as the most important element, whereas forest owners prefer the economic purposes for the maintenance and enhancement of forests. ...
Annals of Forest Research, 2013
A property rights-based approach is proposed in the paper to underline the common characteristics... more A property rights-based approach is proposed in the paper to underline the common characteristics of the forest property rights specification in ten ECE countries, the specific patterns governing the harvesting of timber in private forestry and the role of the forest management planning in determining the content of the property rights. The analysis deals with the private forests of the individuals (non industrial ownership) from ten countries, covering 7.3 million ha and producing yearly some 25 million m3 timber. The study shows that the forest management rights in private forests belong to the State and that the withdrawal rights on timber, yet recognised in the forest management plans, are in reality strongly restricted from an economic viewpoint. The forest management planning is the key instrument of the current forest governance system, based on top-down, hierarchically imposed and enforced set of compulsory rules on timber harvesting. With few exceptions, the forest owners ...
Forest Policy and Economics, 2020
In the last two decades, attention on forests and ownership rights has increased in different dom... more In the last two decades, attention on forests and ownership rights has increased in different domains of international policy, particularly in relation to achieving the global sustainable development goals. This paper looks at the changes in forest-specific legislation applicable to regular productive forests, across 28 European
Forests, 2019
The complex policy decision-making situation around nature conservation requires examination of t... more The complex policy decision-making situation around nature conservation requires examination of the operational environment. This study develops and tests a three-phase analytical framework for the evaluation of operational environment factors influencing nature conservation policy implementation. The four important operational environment factors (legal, policy, economic, and social) have been identified, to build up a framework. The framework was tested in selected countries and includes experts’ opinions. Experts (n = 44) from five EU countries (Bulgaria, Croatia, Italy, Slovakia, and Slovenia) and four non-EU countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia) defined and evaluated the factors and sub-factors that affect the operational environment related to nature conservation policy implementation. The results show policy changes arising from the new governance requirements introduced by changed political regime and Europeanization are key driving fact...
Journal of Forest Science, 2013
We analysed the formulation of Rural Development Programme of the Slovak Republic for 2007–2013 a... more We analysed the formulation of Rural Development Programme of the Slovak Republic for 2007–2013 applying the theory of actor-centred institutionalism and its interaction forms. Approaches accentuating the role of actors and their interactions are an appropriate tool for the better understanding of cross-sectoral relationships and the improvement of public policy coherence in the formulation process of strategic documents in rural development. Methodologically the study is based on a qualitative analysis of documents and standardized interviews. The formulation of RDP SR 2007–2013 is showing signs of cross-sectoral coordination between different actors in the form of bargaining, as well as signs of hierarchical coordination among public and private actors. In the formulation process of RDP SR 2007–2013 a negative mechanism of coordination was dominant with negative consequences for the policy coherence of the final document. A positive element for the coherence of rural development p...
Forest Policy and Economics, 2018
This study analyses the linkages between private forest owners' perceptions of forest management,... more This study analyses the linkages between private forest owners' perceptions of forest management, and their affinity for subsidies, in a range of European countries. Society increasingly requires the provision of ecosystem services from forests, but the willingness of forest owners to redirect management goals from wood production to the provision of public goods is crucial for sustaining ecosystem services. EU incentives in the forestry sector are still mainly oriented towards an anthropocentric vision of forest management. Forest owners and managers are diverse, and although many efforts have been made to understand the role of forest subsidies in private forest management, it is still necessary to analyse the different perspectives on forest subsidies with a regional comparative approach. This paper explores European private forest owners' affinity for subsidiesthrough survey data at European leveland estimates an ordered probit model to (i) analyse how private forest owners in Europe respond to subsidies in forestry, including regional differences in terms of affinity for subsidies, (ii) characterise the factors that influence these responses and (iii) discuss lessons learned related to forest owners' attitudes on subsidies and the implications for introducing similar kind of incentives such as payments for ecosystem services. Simulations were conducted to examine the potential effects of changes in property fragmentation or the time allotted to forest activities. Forest owners with an utilitarian view of forest management, bigger forest holdings, full or part-time farmers and forest owners from East Europe are most in favour of forest subsidies. Property fragmentation and absenteeism decreases affinity for subsidies.
Forest Policy and Economics, 2018
Research on forest ownership has received growing attention in recent years, particularly in rela... more Research on forest ownership has received growing attention in recent years, particularly in relation to the effects of restitution processes in former socialist countries, emerging new forest owner types, trends towards fragmentation of ownership structures, and questions related to the steady supply of forest industries with raw materials. Literature reviews indicate that despite the profound impact of different ownership categories on the actual forest management and fulfilment of policy goals, the aspect of ownership is rarely included in research on forest management or forest policy. Future research should first develop a more differentiated picture of legal forest ownership categories and owner types, going beyond a simple dichotomy of public and private ownership forms, and beyond simplified typologies such as non-traditional, urban or absentee forest owners. Second, it should tackle the question how the form of ownership relates to forest management and the provision of goods and services, and the extent to which new management approaches are needed for different owner types. Thirdly, it should ask about effective support structures for forest
Forest Policy and Economics, 2016
ABSTRACT The aim of this paper is to analyse the potential of forest owners associations (FOAs) t... more ABSTRACT The aim of this paper is to analyse the potential of forest owners associations (FOAs) to influence forest policymaking using power theory. Firstly, the paper examines the concept of power and the political power of interest groups. Interest groups seek to be able to use their power through influencing policy outcomes and framing the underlying dimensions that define policy issues. In the next step the paper defines factors of dispositional political power: formal, informal, internal, and external. Formal factors are primarily based constitutionally or legislatively and are ensured through the right to associate and form associations to advocate common interests. Informal factors represent the abilities of interest groups to operate in the political process. Internal factors represent the ability of interest groups to work within the group and external factors represent the behaviour towards other associations, government, non-governmental organisations, etc. Semi-structured questionnaires to former and present FOAs officials were used containing questions about the basic role of FOAs as they can be found in the scientific literature. The crucial internal factor limiting the dispositional power of FOAs is the lack of financial resources for providing services or necessary apparatus, which might strongly hinder the fulfilment and achievement of set goals in policymaking. The disinterest of the state bureaucracy towards non-state forests also limits FOAs' dispositional power. The most important external factor from the officials' perspective is the disinterest of the state bureaucracy towards non-state forests at the sectoral and cross-sectoral level. There is a common agreement between FOA officials that current strategies and tactics in the form of dialogue are inefficient. FOAs are considered as a partner in policy formulation, but their actual political power is low, due to the disunity among FOA leaders and ineffective strategies and tactics.
Change and Adaptation in Socio-Ecological Systems, 2014
This literature review deals with the understanding of ecosystem services related to the question... more This literature review deals with the understanding of ecosystem services related to the question of their applicability and appropriate methods for their valuation. We distinguish between ecological valuation methods that aim to assess the significance of landscape characteristics, conventional economic, i.e. monetary valuation and non-monetizing valuation or assessment. Ecological evaluation methods derive values by following a cost of production approach which neglects consumer preferences. Economic valuation methods focus on the exchange value of ecosystem services, i.e. they are based on consumer preferences, but do not adequately take into account the complex internal structure of ecosystems. We conclude that – from the view of implementation of ecosystem services for policy support and consulting – successful valuation approaches should particularly consider the relationships between economic, ecological and social aspects of ecosystem services’ provision.
Small-scale Forestry, 2014
ABSTRACT he restitution and privatization in Central and Eastern European countries in the early ... more ABSTRACT he restitution and privatization in Central and Eastern European countries in the early 1990s predisposed a heterogeneous ownership structure, a large number of forest owners and a variety of types of property ownership modes. Furthermore, development of governance in these countries posited anew framework for interest representation in the forestry sector, mainly through organised forms of private forest owners, i.e. formation of forest owners’ associations (FOAs). In this region, FOAs were one of the opportunities for interest representation in the land restitution processes. Later on these associations gained more competency and importance not only in influencing forest policy-making, but also in offering services to their members. The aim of the paper is to improve the understanding of the origins, evolution and current situation of FOAs in Central and Eastern Europe by describing the factors that influenced the FOAs’ creation and development. On the basis of their similar history seven Central Eastern European countries were selected for FOAs analysis: Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Slovakia. The main findings of the study include that FOAs in Eastern and Central Europe, though being the result of the same socio-political changes, differ between countries in terms of their organisational forms. However, they face similar challenges, including the limited motivation of owners to join associations. Also, they undertake similar activities for their successful development, including the pro-vision of information services for their members. Despite not having any legal competence for the direct management of their member’s forests, these FAOs do have strong representative and demonstrative effects in their countries.
South-east European forestry, 2014
Background and Purpose: Innovations play an important role in multifunctional forestry due to cha... more Background and Purpose: Innovations play an important role in multifunctional forestry due to changing demands for forest goods and services. The multifunctionality can be a result of a joint provision of several outputs from individual forest holding or specialized forest activities. The goal of this paper is to make a comparative analysis from data obtained in two surveys in 2002 and 2010 related to innovations in forest enterprises. The main focus was on ownership, size, and management strategy of forest. Materials and Methods: The paper presents the results of two surveys on innovation in the years 2002 and 2010 with more than 250 representatives-owners/managers of Slovak forest enterprises. The questionnaire in 2002 was sent out by regular mail in the random sample of 1072 forest owners and managers. The response rate was 25 % (in total 279 respondents). The response rate in 2010 was 37 %, and the number of valid responses was 254. The willingness of forest managers to implement innovation was evaluated in the context of different sizes of forest holdings, management strategies and property conditions. Log linear statistics models (Pearson Chi-square) were applied using the software Statistica for data analysis and Microsoft Excel to present the results. Results: This paper presents the development of innovations in order to reach the multifunctionality on the case of Slovakian forestry. Product innovations have doubled from 17 % in 2002 to 34 % in 2010. Large-sized holdings are significantly (p < 0.01) more engaged in innovation and are offering new products. The highest overall innovation activity is revealed in the state-owned enterprises, intermediary in the municipal forests, and the lowest in the private holdings. Forest managers who realized the benefits of innovation were "profit increasing" oriented. Forest managers who did not realize the benefits of implementing innovations preferred conservative management goals-the capital maintenance. The innovative behaviour of managers depends significantly on forest managers' goals and their strategy (p < 0.05). The comparison between the two periods shows that innovation activity has increased from technological innovation to products and services. Wood still remains the main product of forest holdings, but compared to 2002, the importance of bio energy becomes visible. Conclusions: Results show that innovation activity has increased during the time. There was a shift towards innovation from 2002 to 2010 which is visible in the successful innovation cases.
Journal of Forest Economics, 2014
applications, beneficiaries, outcomes and impacts. The comparison of financial support showed tha... more applications, beneficiaries, outcomes and impacts. The comparison of financial support showed that the greater part of support in SK was granted to non-profit investments, whereas in CZ into profit making investments. The main difference was in the interest shown by applicants for support. In CZ nearly 80% of submitted applications were approved compared to 59% in SK. The analysis showed that the main reason for differences in utilisation of available sources was that different principles were applied when selecting supported measures or defining the activities to be supported within the measure.
The present study describes the situation in the Slovak forestry sector comparing innovation acti... more The present study describes the situation in the Slovak forestry sector comparing innovation activity in two different periods (2002 and 2009). The ownership type appeared to be important for the innovation activity of forest holdings. Higher innovation activity was reported by state-owned enterprises, contradicting the hypothesis based on the theory of property rights, according to which the highest entrepreneurial and
Journal of Environmental Management, 2013
Nature protection as a policy sector is not isolated and is directly or indirectly influenced by ... more Nature protection as a policy sector is not isolated and is directly or indirectly influenced by many other sectors (e.g. forestry, water management, rural development, energy, etc.). These policy sectors are neither completely segmented nor unaffected by the decisions taken in other policy sectors. Policy formulation in nature protection is therefore also influenced by different sectors. For that reason it is inevitable to stress the need for inter-sectoral coordination to assure their policy coherence. The aim of this article is to describe the mechanism and modes of cross-sectoral coordination and to analyze the relevant actors and their interaction, using the case of the Natura 2000 formulation process in Slovakia. The European Union (EU) set up an ecological network of special protected areas, known as Natura 2000 to ensure biodiversity by conserving natural habitats and wild fauna and flora in the territory of the Member States. An optimized nature protection must therefore carefully consider existing limits and crossdisciplinary relationships at the EU, national and regional levels. The relations between forestry and biodiversity protection are analyzed using the advocacy coalition framework (ACF). The ACF is used for analyzing how two coalitions, in this case ecological and forest owners' coalitions, advocate or pursue their beliefs from the nature protection and forestry policy field. The whole process is illustrated at the regional scale on the case study of Natura 2000 sites formulation in the Slovak Republic. For better reliability and validity of research, a combination of various empiric research methods was used, supported by existing theories. So called triangulation of sociological research or triangulation of methods consists of mutual results testing of individual methodological steps through identifying corresponding political-science theories, assessing their formal points using primary and secondary document analysis and assessing their informal points with standardized interviews with experts. We can conclude that adequate cross-sectoral coordination represented by new modes is missing and the formulation of the Natura 2000 network in Slovakia shows deficits resulting from different policy beliefs concerning nature protection and forestry coalition.
iForest - Biogeosciences and Forestry, 2014
Public participation is considered an important element of democracy. The purpose of this paper i... more Public participation is considered an important element of democracy. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate participatory approaches in the formulation processes of forest strategic documents and forest management plans in Slovakia. In order to present the context in which the public participation in forestry is applied, we describe the rules according to national forest law. The nationwide example is presented for the case of the National Forest Program formulation, where the scope of the forest management units is covered by the process of Forest Management Plans elaboration and adoption. The empirical findings from forest authorities' data demonstrates that participation is still very formal. The most common actors are public authorities represented by their official representatives and the most active actors besides forest owners or managers are environmental interest groups. To strengthen the participatory process in sustainable forestry planning, not only changes in legislation are needed but also an increase in public awareness concerning the significance of forestry resources.
Journal of Rural Studies, Aug 1, 2017
Private forest owners' involvement in forest management has been frequently examined through the ... more Private forest owners' involvement in forest management has been frequently examined through the attitudes, values, beliefs, objectives and motivations associated with owning and managing forestland. Owners' views on forest management do not always align with those of policymakers who believe forest owners do not actively manage their forests. However, empirical studies on forest owners' conceptualisations of forest management are scarce. To determine how private forest owners in Europe conceptualise forest management, a survey (n = 1,140) was undertaken in seven European countries (Portugal, France, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Slovakia and Romania). The owners were asked to indicate their level of agreement with 19 pretested statements defining forest management on a five-point Likert scale. Classification and regression trees were used to explain the major factors that influenced owners' conceptualisations. Owners primarily conceptualised forest management as preserving forests for future generations and considered "a good business opportunity", "an opportunity to earn additional money" or a "source of subsidies" less important. Their understanding of forest management as a mixture of forest maintenance, ecosystem stewardship and economic activity does not match with alleged policy makers' views. Property size, age and Eastern/Western countries were the most relevant predictors of definitions of forest management. Small-scale forest owners from Western Europe considered ecosystem orientation more important, while owners from Eastern Europe considered economic aspects and forest maintenance more important. These differences might be associated with the socio-political system dynamics in Europe in the 20 th century and changing values in postmodern society. Policymakers must be aware of the different forest management paradigms among forest owners in Eastern-Central and Western Europe when designing European forest policies.
Forest Policy and Economics, 2019
Research on forest ownership has received growing attention in recent years, particularly in rela... more Research on forest ownership has received growing attention in recent years, particularly in relation to the effects of restitution processes in former socialist countries, emerging new forest owner types, trends towards fragmentation of ownership structures, and questions related to the steady supply of forest industries with raw materials. Literature reviews indicate that despite the profound impact of different ownership categories on the actual forest management and fulfilment of policy goals, the aspect of ownership is rarely included in research on forest management or forest policy. Future research should first develop a more differentiated picture of legal forest ownership categories and owner types, going beyond a simple dichotomy of public and private ownership forms, and beyond simplified typologies such as non-traditional, urban or absentee forest owners. Second, it should tackle the question how the form of ownership relates to forest management and the provision of goo...
Forest Policy and Economics
The political and economic transformations that have taken place since the early nineties in the ... more The political and economic transformations that have taken place since the early nineties in the former socialist countries in Europe have significantly influenced reforms of their forestry institutions. As part of these reforms, restitution processes were initiated with the aim of recognising private ownership of forests and returning forests to their former owners or heirs. Using institutional and actor perspectives, this paper analyses the power relations of the key actors in the restitution processes in three European countries: the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Serbia. The methodological approach combines multiple research methods: document analysis and a literature review to explain the restitution processes, and semi-structured in-depth interviews for analysing the actors' power in this process. The results show that actors' power in the analysed restitution processes varied greatly between actor types and in different phases in the processes. In the initial phase, considerable power was wielded by the public, which demanded change, and by the policy makers, who enabled the necessary legislative changes. As the processes advanced, the power shifted to liable entities who administered the restitution processes. The analysed countries followed different pathways and had varying dynamics throughout their restitution processes due to their diverse historical and political legacies but the power of the respective types of responsible actors did not vary much between analysed countries. While the cases of the Czech Republic and Slovakia are relatively similar, Serbia proves to be different in terms of initial drivers as well as the phases and speed of the process. In the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the result of restitution has been the creation of a large number of small-scale private forest owners, while in Serbia property was given back principally to the church, a large-scale forest owner. These owner categories (small-scale private forest owners and church) were formally recognised as new in all three countries but their specific interests were not adequately translated to existing policy and management documents. The state forestry administration in each country has retained power in the field by continuing its supervisory and regulatory role in forest management. Even though the restitution processes are coming to an end in all analysed post-socialist countries, it can be noted that private forest owners are still under strong state supervision when it comes to forest management rights.
Acta Silvatica et Lignaria Hungarica, 2016
During the past decades, the awareness of environmental issues in forest management is increasing... more During the past decades, the awareness of environmental issues in forest management is increasing due to changes in environmental education. The perceptions of forests, sustainable management, and ecosystem services were studied through two surveys. The general public and forest owners were the two target groups. The questionnaires had similar questions, though two different methodological approaches were used - the CATI system, for general public opinion survey, and semi-structured questionnaires for forest owners. The second survey contained more detailed questions regarding forest properties. Combined answers from 1503 respondents from the general public and 150 forest owners were evaluated on the following topics: sustainable forestry, major ecosystem services, and perceptions of forests. The majority of the Slovakian public regards ecological values as the most important element, whereas forest owners prefer the economic purposes for the maintenance and enhancement of forests. ...