The work of WG3 is related to Objective 3 of the action. The aim of WG3 is to give answers the following questions:
- How do policies influence the forest ownership patterns in Europe (restitution, promotion of associations, decentralization, restrictions for the trade of forest land, etc.)?
- How do different types of owners perceive, contribute to and benefit from forest policy?
- What consequences do changing forest ownership patterns have for the fulfilment of national and European policy goals?
- Which policy instruments and organizational concepts do exist in order to reach different ownership types, what are the experiences in practice, and what is hampering their development and application?
- What are the factors for innovation processes with a view to sustainable forest management and rural development, including the role of public and private actors, cooperation, social networks, policy instruments, etc.
Tasks WG3
- Initial stakeholder workshop for collecting practical views and experiences.
- Literature survey of scientific studies on changing property rights and of policies reacting to changing forest ownership patterns and addressing new forest ownership types, including advisory services, financial support, regulatory changes, initiating and supporting forest owners organisations, public relations, etc.
- Screening of European case studies and examples, practical experiences, and relevant initiatives related to forest owners organisations, forest extension service and other advisory activities, adapting policies to ownership types, public relations.
- Comparative assessment of innovative approaches, policy instruments and organizational concepts to reach different ownership types; assessment of the potential of different institutional arrangements: state, market, common property regimes; assessment of consequences for the fulfilment of national and European policy goals, sustainable forest management and sustainable rural development; innovation processes; assessment of gaps and needs for policy development.
- Concluding analysis and synthesis on policies addressing new forest ownership types and analysis of factors explaining success and failure of applied policy means and forest owner associations and cooperatives.
Deliverables (obj 3.)
Literature survey; case studies; comparative articles on governance models, policy instruments, stakeholder perceptions, and policy impacts.
WG3 Leader
D.Sc. Teppo Hujala, The Finnish Forest Research Institute (teppo.hujala (at) luke.fi)