Ville Ovaskainen

Costs and benefits of forest conservation: regional and local comparisons in Eastern Finland

Abstract In addition to environmental interests vs. timber production, debates on forest conservation have typically dealt with nationwide vs. local and regional interests. While most previous studies have focused on the nationwide perspective, this paper considers the benefits and costs of existing conservation areas from the regional and local point of view. The non-market benefits of conservation are measured by means of contingent valuation. Unlike most discrete-choice CV studies, we allow for zero willingness to pay. The results of our cost-benefit analysis suggest that the aggregate benefits of conservation clearly exceed the total opportunity costs when viewed from a regional (or nationwide) perspective, but at the local level costs exceed the benefits of conservation. Differences were also found in locally vs. regionally relevant benefits and costs.

Assessing the recreational demand for agricultural land in Finland

It is widely assumed that the scenic attractiveness and other public good aspects of agricultural land can be utilized as a source of livelihood in rural areas in the form of recreation and tourism. In this study we use two approaches to consider whether agricultural landscapes are preferred as a destination for recreation (day trips) and rural tourism (overnight trips). We first analyse the choice of recreation site type based on a model that aggregates sites using the presence of agricultural land as an aggregation variable. Population survey data on recreation trips reveal an association between the respondent’s living environment, recreational activities and visit characteristics and the probability of choosing a destination with agricultural land. Second, we also estimate the demand functions for trips to agricultural sites and other destination types to consider whether the presence of agricultural land, as opposed to other land use categories, increases the number of trips and the benefits of recreation. The results suggest that agricultural landscapes are inferior to alternative site types in terms of per-trip benefits. However, agricultural landscapes are associated with high annual benefits because of the high rate of visitation.

Heterogeneous preferences for recreation-oriented management in commercial forests: the role of citizens’ socioeconomic characteristics and recreational profiles

The management of forests for multiple benefits, such as recreational services alongside timber production, can greatly benefit from the knowledge of public preferences for management-related forest attributes. This paper investigates citizens’ recreational use and preferences for recreation-oriented management in the case of state-owned commercial forests in Finland using data from a choice experiment study. We focus on attributes related to the typical management practices applied to enhance recreation: scenic buffer zones along waters, game bird habitats, and the quality of scenery along hiking trails. Recreational use and its frequency were found to be related to citizens’ background and specific outdoor activities. The scenic buffer zones were the most important attribute to the citizens. While the recreation-enhancing practices were generally valued, respondent segments with distinct preferences were found. Preference heterogeneity was related to citizens’ socioeconomic characteristics and recreational profiles.

Integrating nature-based tourism and forestry in private lands under heterogeneous visitor preferences for forest attributes

Developing nature-based tourism in private lands calls for new mechanisms to consolidate the interests of the tourism industry, visitors, and landowners. This choice experiment study elaborates on the heterogeneity of visitors’ preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) for enhanced forest amenities and ecosystem services. The survey, targeting domestic and foreign tourists visiting the Ruka-Kuusamo area in Finland, considered four attributes: landscape quality, outdoor routes, forest biodiversity, and carbon sequestration. For observed heterogeneity, the visitors were grouped by their attitudes towards forest management. Unobserved heterogeneity in visitors’ choice behaviour and WTP was examined with the latent class model. While most visitors had environmentally friendly attitudes and were willing to pay, especially for enhanced landscape quality and biodiversity, considerable heterogeneity was revealed in terms of three segments with distinctive attitudes, choice behaviour and WTP. The variation in WTP has important implications for the design of a scheme of payments for environmental management.

Metsänomistajien käsitykset metsätalouden kannattavuudesta ja sen mittaamisesta

Tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan kvalitatiivisen tutkimuksen menetelmin yksityismetsänomistajien käsityksiä metsätalouden kannattavuudesta ja erityisesti heidän käyttämiään tapoja oman tilansa kannattavuuden arvioimiseksi. Tutkimusaineisto kerättiin haastattelemalla 19 metsänomistajaa metsänhoitoyhdistys Päijät-Hämeen alueelta teemahaastattelumenetelmällä. Haastatellut metsänomistajat mainitsivat runsaasti erilaisia kannattavuuden mittareiksi tulkittavia arviointitapoja, joiden perusteella kannattavuuteen suhtautumisessa voitiin erottaa kuusi perustyyppiä: absoluuttiset, suhteuttajat, tulojen turvaajat, riskin tiedostajat, arvon mittaajat ja markkinattomat. Haastateltujen mielestä kannattavuuteen vaikuttivat erityisesti metsänhoitotöiden tekeminen, kustannukset sekä raakapuun hinta. Myös metsän kasvu ja rakenne, hakkuun ajoitus, metsän arvon kehitys, toiminnan systemaattisuus sekä aktiivinen puunmyynti ja omatoimisuus mainittiin usein. Yritystoiminnassa yleisesti käytettyjä liiketaloudellisia kannattavuusmittoja (esim. kassavirta, liiketulos, sijoitetun pääoman tuottoprosentti) mainittiin harvoin. Käytetyt kannattavuuden arviointitavat ja käsitykset siihen vaikuttavista tekijöistä olivat silti paljolti perusteltavissa olevia ja oikeansuuntaisia. Haastatellut metsänomistajat myös ymmärtävät kannattavuuteen vaikuttavat tekijät pitkälti samalla tavoin kuin metsäpolitiikan laatijat, vaikka kannattavuustavoitteet vaihtelevat. Kaikkiaan lähtökohta tilatason kannattavuuden parantamiselle markkinaehtoisten palvelujen, julkisrahoitteisen neuvonnan ja politiikan muun keinovalikoiman avulla on varsin hyvä.