Forest holdings
The number of forest holdings is an important social indicator,
especially for the sustainable development in rural areas.
Within Europe significant change in number of holdings was
caused during the last decades by political decisions on the restitution
and privatization of forest land to former owners and
their heirs in a number of countries in Central, South East Europe
and in the Baltic countries. The size of the public and the private
forest area in Europe are both about 100 million ha in 2010.
Finnish forestry is mainly in the hands of families, and the properties
are mainly quite small. Private forest owners own two thirds
of forests in Finland equalling 12 million hectares of forest land;
the State, 5 million hectares; companies 2 million hectares; and
others (municipalities, parishes and other public corporations)
own 1 million hectares of forest land.
 |
 |
Ownership of forest in Europe, 2010.
|
The share of forest land area by forest ownership category, 2010.
|
|
