Status quo der Umsetzung von Naturschutz im Wald gegen Entgelt in Deutschland. Ergebnisse einer Befragung von Forstbetrieben

Contract-based nature conservation or payments for nature conservation measures are de facto sporadically implemented in forests. Against this background, the joint research project “Nature Conservation Contracts in Forests (WaVerNa Project)” aims to analyze the current implementation status as well as opportunities and constraints of nature conservation contracts in the field of forest ecology, economics and law. In this context representatives of forest enterprises were asked in a nationwide online survey referring to their engagement in forest nature conservation for a consideration. The answers of 195 representatives of forest enterprises which either have already experiences in forest nature conservation contracts or intend its implementation in near future were assessed. Although the online survey was carried out as an open questionnaire, mainly middle-sized and large forest enterprises have participated. Thus, they build a non-representative sample for a nationwide assessment of the implementation practice, referring to payments for nature conservation in forest. As the answers indicate, a large scale of forest nature conservation measures is principally implemented by different funding instruments and programs. These areas cover up to 5 % of the forestal income in most of the consulted forest enterprises. More than half of the enterprises stated, that payments for nature conservation measures contribute up to 5 % of the whole turnover related to forestry. In a few cases these payments for nature conservation in forests significantly exceed the remaining forest income. Three-quarter of the forest enterprises stated positive experiences regarding nature conservation contracts, one third plans to raise its engagement. Less than one third of those forest enterprises, which have already experiences in forest nature conservation, plans to implement nature conservation measures in the future. A possible explanation for this apparent contradiction is that the potential for nature conservation measures is currently exhausted in the forest enterprises. But in summary, the results of the online survey suggest that a scarce demand referring to nature conservation measures in forests does not seem to be the only constraint for limiting the interest on side of forest enterprises. Based up on the results of the online survey, it can be stated further, that a significant increase of forest enterprises’ engagement in nature conservation cannot be expected under the current framework.