Coppice forests ownership and governance

Throughout Europe coppice forests have been installed and managed for centuries. In many cases they developed special ownership and user rights frameworks in parallel to this physical management. Many coppice forests began with the common use of all inhabitants of a village or settlement (right of commons). Some of these old rules have survived and are still in place today. Others have been developed further to physical or financial participation and concrete or abstract user rights with many different variations. These specific governance regimes guaranteed an intensive but still sustainable management of the coppice forests over decades. They may also be an excellent model case for future alternatives of managing small-scale forests in general and may contribute to overcome the negative consequences of highly fragmented land ownership patterns.

Reports

• Socio-economic Factors Influencing Coppice Forest Management in Europe
• The Potential Barriers to Persistence and Development of Small Scale Coppice Forest Management in Europe