Abstract

COELHO, Inocêncio Seita. Propriedade da Terra e Política Florestal em Portugal. Silva Lus. [online]. 2003, vol.11, n.2, pp.185-199. ISSN 0870-6352.

This paper presents some evidences of the importance of land tenure in the application of forestry politics in Portugal. The property rights regime for forestland is of different types: the public property, the communal property, the industrial private forest and the non-industrial private forest. They influence today, just as they influenced in the past, the success of reforestation measures, one of the pillars of forestry politics in Portugal since the XIX century. The structure of private forest tenure presents very different realities; in the regions of the North and Centre of the country (where the communal land is located) small proprietors predominate, having very small land parcels with forest; in the South there predominate proprietors having medium to large dimension forest parcels. The result of this differentiated structure is clearly reflected in the areas of forestation and in well-organized areas for hunting. This paper includes a brief review of theoretical concepts dealing with land tenure and a brief history of the evolution of forest lands during the XIX and XX centuries in Portugal; it covers a structural analysis of non-industrial private forest owners, and adds empirical evidences of the influence of land tenure on the forestry sector. In this way, we can demonstrate that land tenure is a significant factor in the Forest Policy of Portugal.

Keywords : property; land tenure; Portuguese forestry policy; private forest; afforestation.

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