In Slovenia, private forest owners have very limited property rights under the Forest Act. The aim of the study was to determine, using the example of the local unit Rogaška Slatina, how private forest owners perceive the provisions of the Forest Act that restrict their property rights and to what extent these restrictions influence their decisions regarding forest management. Data were collected through a survey of 200 private forest owners in the local unit Rogaška Slatina, with 170 valid responses received. The average size of private forest holdings is 9,5 ha, with most owners having forest properties in the size class from 1,0 to 5,0 ha. The results show that 82,0 % of private forest owners carried out tree felling in the last five years, with most relying on their own work assisted by household members. As the most important objectives of forest management, private forest owners highlight the preservation of biodiversity, mitigation of climate change, and protection of natural and cultural heritage, while economic objectives are expressed to a lesser extent. The greatest restriction on property rights, as perceived by private forest owners, is the pre-emption right of the state/local community in the purchase of forests, while the prohibition on the subdivision of land parcels that are forest and smaller than 5,0 ha and the obligation to obtain permits for spatial interventions are also considered important. Statistical analyses confirmed differences in the perception of property right restrictions depending on the size of the forest estate and the implementation of tree felling, as private forest owners with larger holdings (over 5,0 ha) and those who carried out tree felling in their forests in the last five years perceive certain provisions of the Forest Act as more restrictive of forest property rights. Administrative procedures are, on average, assessed as a moderate yet still significant restriction of property rights, which reduces the interest in forest management. The findings confirm that private forest owners, on average, do not perceive their property rights as restricted.
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