%0 Research article
%T Forest owners' decision support in voluntary biodiversity-protection projects
%A Kurttila, Mikko
%A Leskinen, Pekka
%A Pykäläinen, Jouni
%A Ruuskanen, Tiina
%D 2008
%J Silva Fennica
%V 42
%N 4
%R doi:10.14214/sf.238
%U https://silvafennica.fi/article/238
%X New forest-biodiversity-protection instruments based on temporary  protection periods and non-industrial private forest owners’ voluntary  participation have been recently introduced and tested in pilot areas  located in Southern Finland. Thanks to their several benefits, the use  of voluntary instruments is becoming more common in many other countries  as well. Voluntary protection here means that forest owners voluntarily  set aside tracts of forest to be protected and define their  compensation fees. Depending on the objectives of the forest owners, the  compensation fee reflects the forest owners’ (positive) attitude  towards biodiversity, scenic beauty, recreational values and/or the  existence of long-term cutting possibilities. When a forest owner  decides to offer part of his/her forest holding to be temporarily  protected, the owner faces a new decision problem related to definition  of the compensation fee, which should be based on diverse information  concerning stand- and holding-level opportunity costs as well as on the  biodiversity value of the stand. This article introduces three  decision-support elements for assisting forest owners in defining their  compensation fees. The first element relates to the assessment of the  potential stand-level loss of timber harvesting income that the  temporary protection of the stand may cause. The second element sets the  holding-level opportunity cost of protection by utilizing the forest  owners’ holding level goals, the holdings’ production possibilities and  optimization methods. The third element describes the biodiversity value  of the stand by means of a multi-criteria expert model. Case study  material collected from the area of Central Karelia Herb-rich Forests  Network pilot project is used to illustrate the characteristics of the  decision-support elements and to point out some development needs for  the future use of these elements.