Comparative analysis of regulatory framework related to private forest management in Slovenia and Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract Forest policy and forest ownership patterns in Slovenia and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) have changed considerably in recent decades due to unprecedented scale of social, political and economic change. The distribution of ownership types varies between the countries – in Slovenia private forest ownership predominates (77%), while in FBiH only about 20% of forest is private-owned. In both countries, private forest properties are small-scale and fragmented, which affects management opportunities and the scale at which policy interventions need to be made. This paper analyses the Slovenian and Central Bosnia Cantonal Law on Forests to assess how the regulatory framework affects private forest owners’ (PFOs) rights, forest management and accelerates cooperation of PFOs. Both laws impose exclusive rights and responsibilities of PFOs, as well as limitation on how they can use their forests. In both countries, legislation contains detailed regulations for forest management activities and stipulate that mandatory forest management plans (FMPs) are an important tool that supports the implementation of sustainable forest management. In Slovenia, FMPs are prepared as common plans for all forests regardless the ownership, while in FBiH the Cantonal Law prescribes a separate forest management planning system for private forests. To improve the efficiency of private forest management, both laws support voluntary cooperation of PFOs. From the analysis, it can be concluded that there is a need for better harmonisation of public and private interests in relation to forest resources, especially in the case of FBiH, and that the deregulation of property right is needed as well as that the level of involvement of PFOs in the forest policy making process is unsatisfactory, in most cases only formal.