Provision of Non-market Forest Goods and Services through Governance Perspectives

Forest ecosystems are of high importance for the human wellbeing. On the one hand, they enable important life supporting functions (e.g. photosynthesis, soil formation, water regulation). On the other hand they provide a multitude of goods and services (e.g. wood, food, recreation, carbon sequestration). An increased demand for ecological, social and cultural services derived from forests is observed. This paper is based on the study on development and marketing of non-market forest goods and services (FORVALUE Study). It presents some of the key issues concerning the non-market forest goods and services, including: the importance of non-market forest goods and services in the EU; the challenge of marketability; and the role of new governance principles in the development and marketing of non-market forest goods and services. It shows that non-market forest goods and services are considered important in the EU. It discusses different policy and institutional strategies to address the challenge of their marketability. Finally, it shows that development and marketing of non-market forest goods and services call for new governance principles, such as stakeholder participation, cooperation, cross-sectoral coordination and institutional arrangements.