Looking for ways to set up associations for private forest owners in Western Balkan countries

The starting point of the project ‘PRIFOR’ is the lack of voluntary private forest owners’ associations in the six Western Balkan countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia. This is still the situation despite the fact that eleven years ago the transition to market economy and private ownership was expressed by the restitution of private forests to their former owners.

Consequently the project aims to evaluate the preconditions for the formation of self-supporting interest associations of private forest owners in the Western Balkan region. It also aims at a better understanding of private forest owners and common forest property regimes (community forests) with regard to the following acreage and geography, silviculture and economic management (in comparison to state forests), legislation and socio-economic characteristics.

The project is coordinated by Prof.Dr. Peter Glück from University of Agriculture, Vienna, and it involves researchers from all the six Western Balkan countries mentioned above. The project is funded by the Austrian Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Environment and Water Management.