Projects / Programmes
Drafting of the platform for tourism and recreational use of forests
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 4.01.01 |
Biotechnical sciences |
Forestry, wood and paper technology |
Forest - forestry |
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| B430 |
Biomedical sciences |
Sylviculture, forestry, forestry technology |
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 4.01 |
Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences |
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries |
Recreation, forest, tourism, forest owners, tourist products
Researchers (11)
Organisations (3)
Abstract
Recreational and tourist use of forests in Slovenia is increasing. There are several reasons, among others are favourable characteristics and contents of forests in Slovenia. The demand and the actual use and exploit of the potentials are undoubtedly greater due to the awareness of the positive effect of outdoor activities for personal health and wellbeing, intensive marketing by manufacturers of sports equipment and the possibility of direct or indirect benefit from various tourist products such as wildlife watching or hunting, guided hiking or cycling tours, picking of forest fruits such as mushrooms and others. At the same time as there are benefits to users and tour operators, there are different conflicts at the level of ownership and users of the forest. Frequent conflicts are appreciated as the negative impacts of the activities on the forest ecosystem itself, an interference with the property rights of forest owners, conflicts of interest among stakeholders or between the different uses of the forest, and the like. The issue will be addressed in the project from an environmental, social and economic point of view.
The project will evaluate the tourist and recreational use of forests and contribute to their sustainable use. Work on the project is divided into six work packages (WP). In addition to the first one (WP 1), which is dedicated to the management, WP 2 is intended for the analyses of the institutional framework, which defines a system for the use of forests for recreational and tourism purposes. We will prepare an inventory of stakeholders, their responsibilities and interests in touristic and recreational use of forests and analyse the legislative framework for the touristic and recreational use of forests in Slovenia. The WP 3 will be dedicated to record all different forms of touristic and recreational use of forests in Slovenia, review conflicts and synergies with other uses of the forest and the owners, conduct of a survey of public attitudes (omnibus) and owners of forests to recreational and tourist use of the forest, giving selected examples of good practice or regulation of touristic and recreational use of forest in Slovenia and abroad, preliminarily evaluation of recreational and tourism potential of forests in Slovenia and check the status of the business environment for the development of recreational and tourist use of the forests. In the WP 4, we will prepare a tool in the form procedural guidelines for the development of sustainable forest tourist product and outline the potential for individual or additional business activity in the field of touristic and recreational use of forests in Slovenia. In the WP 5, key conflicts from WP 3 will be evaluated, including the aspects of property rights of forest owners. On this basis, we will prepare a proposal of expert guidelines for changing the forestry regulations in Slovenia regarding tourism and recreational use of forests. Stakeholder engagement is concentrated for the WP 6, although they will actively participate in all WPs and the achievement of all objectives of the project. Important role in the project will have the Consultative Committee established the WP 1. It will be composed of the group of key stakeholders who will cooperate with the project team and actively participate in the preparation of all relevant deliverables of the project. In this inclusive way we want to ensure the transsektoral reconciliation of the results of the project, in particular those associated with the preparation of starting points for changes in the forestry legislation in Slovenia. During the preparation of the project proposal we received letters of support for the project and expressed interest to actively participate in the Consultative Committee of the project from: the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning - Environment Directorate, Slovenia Forest Service, Hunting Association of Slovenia, Association of forest owners Slovenia, Slovenian tourist Boar
Significance for science
The project focuses on an area that is rarely the subject of theoretical research, but frequently the subject of specific actions. Therefore, the results will fill some of the gaps in the theoretical study of the management of recreational and tourist function of forests, including the results of a survey of public attitudes to tourism and recreational use of forests. The project will identify the different types of forests and indicated the potential for sustainable forms of recreational and tourist use in various types of forests and present a case of best practice of a turistic or recreation product. Parallel to this the contribution in the field of conceptual understanding of the concept of the forest as a public and common good, where the lay public, but also between different professional public gives rise to differences in understanding, will be particularly important. The project will contribute to even more sustainable management of recreational and tourism activities in the forest and offered expert platform for drafting modifications to forestry legislation.
Expected outcomes of the project will:
highlight the tourism and recreational potential of forests,
verify the effectiveness of existing rules, covering the scope of the use of forests for tourism purposes and scope of protecting property rights,
give an insight into the various forms of tourism and recreation use in forest and show innovative approaches to avoiding conflicts between users and forest owners,
contribute to systematically refined typology of forests with respect to possible recreational and tourist use,
key contribution in shaping sustainable recreation and tourism products and last but not least,
expand horizons in the understanding of the forest as a public and common good, thereby fostering scientific debate on sustainable forest management.
With the publication of findings in the renowned domestic and foreign scientific journals results we will be disseminated to the wider global context.
Significance for the country
Possibilities for recreation and tourism activities are an important segments of forest ecosystem services, which represent a potential and actual economic benefit for the entrepreneurs and forest owners, and are a “green motor” of the economy. This is despite that economy tended to ignore this fact and is actually increasingly responsible for the current environmental issues (Porter 2011).
Outdoor recreation, touristic activities and forest-related products are an important source of business potential, which could, in an entrepreneur-friendly and legally-consistent business environment, generate a significant portion of employment: designing and production of information and interpretation equipment beside thematic trails, designing and setting up viewpoints, offering lodging capacities either within forest (forest huts) or near forests (touristic farms), offering professional guidance on thematic trails and in nature reserves, organizing workshops for collecting and processing of forest herbs and wild mushrooms, providing wildlife watching.
Such entrepreneurship endeavors could bring favorable economic effects for the forest owners, where recreation and touristic use is being implemented without their involvement. This benefits can be materialized as incomes from leasing their forest to the one implementing activities or in a form of a linked or embedded product, which emerge in a synergy with the touristic or recreational use: marketing the lodging capacities, incorporation of other products, which are not directly related to forest (farming products). Touristic and recreational use can have a beneficial multiplicator’s effect on economy of local communities, especially as in having more frequent visitors who also utilize other services, which are not directly forest-related (restaurants and spas, lodging, purchase of fuel, payments for parking, ...). Simultaneously, strengthening recreation use of forests affects the sector of sports equipment sales and maintenance positively.
The project will offer an overview of the potentials for touristic and recreation use in the sense of availability and the state of forest lands, and related to this, an overview of the possibilities for fostering entrepreneurship. It will provide institutional starting points, which are linked to recreation and touristic use of forest and process limitations, which emerge when setting up, starting or running business in the area of both uses. Simultaneously, we will prepare starting points for amending national legislation/rules, which could increase the possibilities for fostering entrepreneurship potential, especially in terms of direct linkage forest - forest owner - entrepreneur.
In this way, the project will indirectly contribute to generating new “green” employment and consequently to meeting the goals of “Europe 2020 - strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth” strategy, which aims to foster the “green” economy that utilizes available sources - what forest in Slovenia is - more rational.
Reference:
Porter, M. and M. R. Kramer (2011). "The big idea: creating shared value." Harvard Business Review 89(1): 2.
Most important scientific results
Final report
Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
Final report
