Private Forest Owners’ Priorities and Motives for Voluntary Protection of Biodiversity and Ecosystems in Lithuanian Private Forests

This article focuses on analyzing the priorities and motives of private forest owners in the voluntary protection of biodiversity and ecosystems. The Delphi sociological method was applied to determine these priorities and motives in Lithuania. Twenty-nine experts answered questions about the attitudes of Lithuanian private forest owners towards voluntary private forest protection models and types of protection contracts, possible environmental protection instruments, the need for compensation for losses due to forest management restrictions in protected areas, the share of protected forests, factors determining the intention to protect forests, motives for voluntary forest protection, the "crowd-out” effect, sources of compensation for losses, the effectiveness of biodiversity and ecosystem protection mechanisms in forests applied in Lithuania and factors that reduce them. According to the experts, Lithuanian private forest owners have chosen fixed-term and permanent protection contracts with compensation. The main motive for forest protection is monetary compensation for losses due to restrictions on forest activities.