The success of the forest-based bioeconomy relies on the availability of forest ecosystem services (ES), making it essential to understand the perspectives of stakeholders involved in the ES flow – from ecosystems to beneficiaries. In this study, we examined the willingness of private forest owners to participate in payment for ES schemes (PES), public preferences regarding the availability of ES and ES-based products and services, business models of enterprises within the forest-based bioeconomy, and the potential roles of policymakers in implementing PES schemes. Results from surveys of private forest owners (n = 299) and the public (n = 813), as well as interviews with policymakers (n = 35) and businesses (n = 24), reveal clear heterogeneity of interests and preferences. More than half of private forest owners are unwilling to adapt their forest management practices – without appropriate incentives – to increase the availability of high-quality wood, facilitate the implementation of forest tourism, or expand the area of strictly protected forests. The public shows strong support for increasing the volume of high quality wood in Slovenian private forests, forest tourism, and expanding the area of strictly protected forests. Businesses attribute relatively high potential to their products and services based on forest ES, identifying innovation, knowledge of product or service provision, and sustainable reputation as their most important competitive advantages. Policymakers see their role in implementing PES schemes primarily in the initial design phase and less so in the coordination phase, and they are hesitant to introduce such schemes as potential solutions for strengthening the forest-based bioeconomy. A comprehensive and comparative approach to analysing the views of all four stakeholder groups represents an important scientific contribution to understanding the challenges and opportunities for the development of the forest-based bioeconomy in Slovenia.
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