Norbert Weber

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the aims, strategies and activities of the involved political actors, and illustrates the shifting political influence of NGOs over the past 10 years with regards to the development and implementation of the EU habitats directive.

TL;DR: This article examined the prevailing silvicultural regimes and resulting economic outcomes in Germany and Sweden as benchmarks, and then corresponding analyses are performed for post-transition EU countries, represented by Poland, Lithuania and Latvia.

TL;DR: The Forest Strategy 2020 (Waldstrategie 2020) was adopted on national level by the German parliament in 2011 as mentioned in this paper, which was considered as an alternative to the NFP process to provide solutions for problems and conflicts arising by a magnitude of societal interests.

TL;DR: Theories constitute an important part of science and contribute to its advancement as discussed by the authors, however, theory building has not as yet been commonly applied in forest policy research, as a consequence of the variety of scientific approaches available, students of forest policy can choose between three alternatives: relying on and applying an existing theory, attempting to combine several theories in a new context or creating a new theory based on their own experiences and findings from desk research and/or empirical surveys.

Abstract: Short rotation plantations (SRP), also called short rotation coppice, can contribute to bioeconomy by satisfying the rising demand for wood raw material while strengthening the rural economy. However, farmers all over Europe show limited adoption of SRP. Marginal lands are considered a promising option for producing SRP biomass and avoiding conflicts with food production. This study focuses on the Malacky region in Western Slovakia because of suitable land quality and a board production site close by providing a significant local market for the produced biomass. Qualitative interviews in 2018 explored personal and situational factors that influenced local farmers’ (N = 19) willingness to adopt SRP. Slovakia’s land fragmentation in combination with the required landowner’s consent, competition with food production, and lack of identification with SRP were identified as prominent barriers. The economic benefit from using low quality lands and environmental benefits from SRP were identified incentives. Moreover, the study found agricultural cooperatives more open to SRP than agricultural business companies, as they are more interested in the economic benefits and prefer agricultural activity over fallow land. Because the study identified conflicting views about the possible impacts of SRP on the environment and the rural community, it is considered crucial to provide farmers with science-based facts on these issues. This aspect should also be acknowledged to increase acceptance of stakeholders, such as land owners, governmental actors, and the general public, which is needed to develop measures to encourage SRP.