Who owns our forests? Forest ownership in the ECE region Who owns our forests? Forest ownership in the ECE region COPYRIGHT AND DISCLAIMER Copyright© 2020 United Nations and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. All rights reserved worldwide. The publication of submissions from member States in this study does not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) or the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) or the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries as may be referred to in any of the submissions. Party submissions may contain data, opinions and statements from various information sources. The UNECE or FAO do not represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any data, opinion, statement or other information provided in any of the submissions. This work is co-published by UNECE and FAO. ABSTRACT This study examines forest ownership in the ECE region. Based on data on 35 countries, and the first to include all forest ownership categories, this study investigates the changing nature and patterns of forest ownership, the ways in which governance and social structures influence forest owners and users, as well as forest management. Within the limits of data availability and harmonization, the publication provides an overview of, and a new baseline for, understanding the diversity and dynamics of forest ownership in the ECE region. ECE/TIM/SP/43/Rev.1 UNITED NATIONS PUBLICATION eISBN 978-92-1-004828-6 ISSN 1020-2269 eISSN 2518-6450 United Nations publication issued by the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) ii Foreword FOREWORD BY UNECE AND FAO Considering the critical role of forests in housing biodiversity, providing a source of livelihood for millions of people in our region, and combating catastrophic consequences of climate change, there is an important question that merits attention. Who owns forests in the ECE region and why does it matter? There are important distinctions in the way in which forest ownership is defined, interpreted, and implemented across different contexts. The aim of this study is to unravel these distinctions and highlight their implications for sustainable forest management. Our ambition is to encourage the reader to go beyond the simplistic public/private dichotomy and show that forest ownership is not written in stone. Neither as a definition, nor as an existing form of relations. Rather, the access to forest, its products and services, as well as related rights and duties, go beyond the traditional perception of forest ownership. And the topic merits much more attention than it has been previously given. This study, based on data on 35 countries, and the first to include all forest ownership categories, looks at the changing nature of forest ownership, explores its causality, and sheds light on the ways in which governance and social structures affect both owners and users, as well as management of forests. Readers will benefit from a comprehensive overview of changes in ownership patterns in the ECE region. The ECE region, of course, has plenty of examples of changes in forest ownership and management policies, reflecting previous and recent social and political developments. Some notable examples include countries with economies in transition, where we witnessed radical changes in ownership patterns through restitution and privatisation. The study also features a cross-comparison of major ownership trends in the ECE region with trends in other regions and provides historical insight into processes that led to contemporary patterns of forest ownership. Those insights, more than anything else, reveal the deeply political and economic dimension of changing ownership patterns. In order to better design and implement policies for sustainable forest management, we need to understand the context of changing forest ownership, but also the situation and needs of forest owners. We cannot hope to manage our forests sustainably in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goal 15, without an in-depth understanding of who owns them, how duties and responsibilities are distributed among owners, users and the society at large, and what does that mean in the given context. Conceived at the request of UNECE/FAO member States and produced as the outcome of a partnership between UNECE/FAO Forestry and Timber Section and the European Cooperation in Science and Technology Action FP1201 on “Forest Land Ownership Changes in Europe: Significance for Management and Policy” (COST Action FACESMAP), this study is an important step in the right direction. We take this opportunity to thank everyone involved in the process of its preparation and we hope this study will inspire further discussion. Hiroto MITSUGI Olga ALGAYEROVA Assistant Director-General, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, Forestry Department of the Food and Agriculture Executive Secretary of the United Nations Organization of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe iii Who owns our forests? Forest ownership in the ECE region FOREWORD BY COST ACTION FACESMAP The issue of forest ownership has recently been receiving growing attention in research and policy for several reasons. On the one side, there is increasing awareness that for a number of unsolved current issues in forest policy and management the behaviour of the owners is a crucial factor. This is true for the policy aim in many countries to utilize better the sustained yield of wood from the forests as raw material for the forest-based industries. The values and goals of forest owners are similarly relevant when it comes to biodiversity conservation, particularly in integrated conservation concepts that aim to combine timber production and nature conservation. Finally, the challenges of the changing climate require a relatively fast reaction of the owners in adapting their forests to new climatic conditions. On the other side, we observe changing ownership structures in various parts of the western world, due to multiple societal and political developments, including structural changes to agriculture, changes in lifestyles, as well as restitution, privatization and decentralization policies. In former socialist countries, restitution and privatisation has created a new ownership pattern and institutional frames are often still adapting to the new political and economic conditions. In some other countries, new community and private owners are bringing fresh interest and new objectives to forest management. Everywhere, a growing number of so-called “new forest owners” hold only small parcels, have no agricultural or forestry knowledge and no capacity or interest to manage their forests. The interactions between ownership type, forest management approaches, and policy, are of fundamental importance in understanding and shaping forestry, but our knowledge on forest ownership is quite limited. The limited knowledge relates to official figures as well as research. For instance, differing national statistical systems make cross-country comparisons difficult. It also becomes apparent that we have a good understanding of the behaviour of classical forest holdings but we know much less about other forest owner types with their specific motives and preferences. With the aim to give an account of the state-of-knowledge on such questions in Europe, a scientific networking project was launched, the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Action FP1201 on “Forest Land Ownership Changes in Europe: Significance for Management and Policy” (FACESMAP). From 2012 to 2016, experts from across Europe and beyond produced literature reviews, expert reports on country situations, specific topical analyzes, field visits, and knowledge exchange with stakeholders (for the results, see: http://facesmap.boku.ac.at/). Realizing that UNECE/FAO at the same was also about to start efforts to collect data for a regional overview of our knowledge on forest ownership, the COST Action FACESMAP and UNECE/FAO Forestry and Timber Section joined forces to conduct a survey and produce a joint study on the state of forest ownership in the ECE region. On the basis of previous work of UNECE and FAO and the expertise in the COST Action, a joint questionnaire was developed, administered and finally analyzed. We are very happy to present here the results of this intensive and productive collaboration. As chair of FACESMAP I have to thank all those involved in this remarkable joint project from the side of the UNECE/FAO Forestry and Timber Section, the responding countries as well as the participants of the COST Action! Without the knowledge, engagement, creativity and professional working attitudes of so many, this state-of-art report would not have been accomplished. Many thanks! Gerhard WEISS Chair of COST Action FP1201 “FOREST LAND OWNERSHIP CHANGES IN EUROPE: SIGNIFICANCE FOR MANAGEMENT AND POLICY” iv Contents CONTENTS FOREWORD BY UNECE AND FAO ............................................................................................................................................................................................................iii FOREWORD BY COST ACTION FACESMAP ........................................................................................................................................................................................iv