Browsing by Subject "contract-based payment scheme"

The importance of multipurpose forests is increasing since forests can simultaneously provide solutions for climate change mitigation, biodiversity protection, and the diverse needs of humans. Therefore, forest management practices, various management objectives, and forest-related policies become necessary parts of sustainable forestry. A notable share of forest management decisions depends on the preferences and motives of private forest owners, and an increasing number of owners are interested in other than timber values in their properties. In addition, changes in forest ownership structures and varied use of forest management alternatives emphasize understanding private forest owners’ management motives. This thesis aims to examine Finnish private forest owners and their forest management preferences regarding the support of biodiversity values and interest in wood-material production for the needs of the bioeconomy. The survey data were collected in spring 2020 and included a choice experiment with three forest management schemes. Two hypothetical management contracts, timber-oriented, and nature-oriented strategies, were used as alternatives for the conventional management practices. The long-term effects from each management scheme were described with the changes in profit, biodiversity, carbon stock, climate change-induced damages, and one-time subsidy. The survey data were analyzed using conditional logit, random parameters logit, and latent class logit models. Forest owners consider biodiversity values and raw material supply for the bioeconomy important. However, the results suggest that, on average, forest owners may not be willing to accept the timber-oriented management contract, whereas the nature-oriented management strategy is generally a more preferred option. The latent class model reveals three forest owner types with different preferences and management objectives. The largest share of the respondents is identified as Traditionalists who prefer conventional management practices to other alternatives. They might be reluctant to change their strategies despite the level of subsidies. The smallest group, Environmentalists, is oriented towards environmental and natural values in their forests and would most likely use continuous cover forestry and safeguard biodiversity values. The monetary support does not necessarily impact their management decisions. The rest of the respondents are described as Profit-oriented owners who may be a potential target for various forest management contracts. They consider their property more often as financial security and could be motivated by compensation. The possibility for productive and viable forests has a considerable impact on forest owners’ management decisions. However, the results indicate broad interest in various management alternatives, and the segment-based analyses reveal different forest management objectives among the owners. Therefore, understanding the diversity between forest owners helps policymakers to target specific policy goals more effectively.