Abstract

FELICIANO, Diana. Effectiveness Indicators for Forest Owner's Association in Portugal. Silva Lus. [online]. 2012, vol.20, n.1-2, pp.55-70. ISSN 0870-6352.

Forest Owner's Associations (FOA's) providing technical support to private forest owners only appeared in Portugal at the beginning of the 1990's mainly in North and Central Portugal, where small-scale forestry is predominant. This movement was supported by Forestis - Forest Association of Portugal, a non-profit organization, created by forest owners and foresters, whose main objective has been to support the creation of FOA's at the local level. The relevance of FOA's is obvious in a country where most of the forest is private and small-scale. After 20 years of evolution, certain FOA's have acquired the capacity to provide a diversified range of forest services. The objective of this study is to propose indicators of effectiveness of FOA's in the accomplishment of two objectives: increasing the number of members (and forest area covered) and increasing the quantity of services provided to the members. The assessment of FOA's effectiveness is important in order to assist funding agencies in determining whether and how much public support FOA's should receive and to inform the future of this support.

Keywords : Forest owners' associations; private forest; effectiveness.

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