Possibilities to Produce Additional Quantities of Woody Biomass from Small-Scale Private Forests in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia

Abstract

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.