Supported by a grant from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA Financial Mechanism and the Norwegian Financial Mechanism and funding by Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education from science funds
Project description
Forests provide an important example of a public good in Poland, and their role in culture and tradition is quite remarkable. Their multifunctionality is universally recognised. The significance of the role of the forest as a provider of various social and environmental goods and services – not limited exclusively to timber production – is reflected in both national and EU legislation. Support and strengthening of sustainable forest management and the multifunctional role played by the forests is a major objective of EU Forest Action Plan (Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on an EU Forest Action Plan {SEK(2006) 748}). In spite of that, decisions about the use and management of forest resources are still very often based solely on evaluation of forest value as profits gained from timber sales. Other functions are disregarded in this evaluation – first of all because of a lack of market mechanisms allowing a price to be set. The most important such non-market benefits provided by forests are: recreation, conservation of biodiversity, aesthetic value, CO2 absorption and regulation of hydrological conditions. Lack of market price is not equal to a lack of value. Estimation of the value of non-market goods and services makes a necessary element of Social Cost-Benefit Analysis, which should constitute the basis for decision-making concerning public goods, such as the forests in Poland. If the entire value of forests is not taken into account in decision-making, this might lead to a decrease of welfare, not only for the local people, but also for the entire society.
During the last 60 years, economic sciences have developed a variety of methods for estimating the value of non-market goods. The valuation methods may be divided into two basic categories: methods based on stated preferences of individuals (in surveys constructing a hypothetical market) or on preferences for related goods revealed in actual markets. The number of publications on the topic in Western Europe and North America to date amounts to several thousands. Nordic countries are leaders in evaluation of non-market benefits from forests. In Poland, WOEE is the major centre of research on non-market goods evaluation. In 2005 the General Directorate of State Forests commissioned WOEE to conduct a pilot study estimating the recreational value of forests in Poland.
The major purpose of this project is to present instruments, which could contribute to a more effective forest management in Poland. This purpose will be achieved through evaluation of the most important functions of the forest from the society’s point of view, through analysis of relations between them, and the development of a set of recommendations presenting potential mechanisms to regulate non-market functions of forests – for example, environmental charges or subsidies for private forest owners. For rural communities adjacent to forests, the development of such mechanisms would be of particular significance as an element of strategy leading to a decrease of the number of conflicts related to forest management. In addition the economic situation of rural communities may be improved by utilising sources of revenues from alternative uses of forests, such as sustainable tourism.
In order to develop recommendations for a future strategy for forest management, we intend to examine the demand for key goods and services provided by forests in Poland – including the evaluation of benefits of recreational value, biodiversity, aesthetic function, CO2 absorption and the impact of forests on water management. Cooperation with our Norwegian partners – among the leading research institutes in non-market goods evaluation – will guarantee the highest research quality. We intend to conduct surveys on a nationwide representative sample, as well as at five selected forest sites. Social and environmental benefits from forests will be evaluated by the use of a few different valuation methods, in order to achieve objective results. These methods are: Contingent Valuation Method (CVM), Choice Experiment Method (CEM) and the method based on revealed preferences – Travel Cost Method (TCM). The specific nature of Polish forests and their present management system gives an opportunity for testing new methodological solutions and improving the valuation techniques used to date (improving the survey questionnaires for stated preference methods, improving techniques of statistical and econometric analysis, testing the Benefit Transfer Method on the value of benefits from forests obtained in Poland and in Norway).
The research will verify the correlations between particular functions of the forests: their substitutability, complementariness and excludability. These correlations will also be used in the analysis of supply side of forest management in Poland. We intend to use comparative analysis of the existing systems of management and ownership of forests in the EU, with particular emphasis on forest management in transition countries. Qualitative and quantitative research will be conducted among Polish decision-makers, representatives of forest owners and managers. The purpose will be to identify management goals and present management approaches as well as key problems of forest management, and to examine the attitude towards alternative forest management policies that meet the requirements of sustainable development. This part of the research will be coordinated by the Polish partner, the Forest Research institute in Warsaw.
The project will also involve the identification of opportunities and threats to local economic development in relation to various forms of forest management and the degree of forest protection in rural areas. This will involve surveys conducted among three selected “forest” rural communities. In addition, in-depth interviews will be conducted with representatives of local authorities and community budgets analysed over time. On the basis of demand and supply research and interviews among local communities, three case studies will be developed (the first involving a national park; the second, a forest managed by State Forests; and the third, a private forest). This research will allow the assessment of present relations between local authorities, inhabitants and forest divisions.
Dissemination of research results and social consultations on the use and management of forests in Poland during the project will increase civic awareness and responsibility. The valuation of non-market benefits of forests in monetary units will contribute to transparency in investment decisions that have their impact on the environment and to the reduction of social conflicts that often take place when the parties use qualitative information measures only, and not quantitative ones.
Evaluation of social and environmental benefits of forests in such a comprehensive way would make the first research of this kind in CEE countries. Further, taking into account the specific cultural, economic and environmental nature of a country in transition, would make an important contribution to the discussion on European forest management more generally.
