Protective Forests in Austria

Forests in Austria fulfil a wide range of functions. National economic assessments often focus solely on timber production, while other dimensions of benefits remain largely neglected. One particularly important function of forests is protection against natural hazards. Approximately 16 percent of Austria's forest area consists of protective forests that directly safeguard assets such as buildings and technical infrastructure from avalanches, rockfall and shallow landslides. However, due to the poor condition of many protective forests, their protective potential is limited. Assuming a high level of protective effectiveness and based on calculations by the Federal Research Centre for Forests, the areas of the Austrian national territory potentially protected by forests were identified. The estimation of value added relies on highly disaggregated regional economic data. The unsatisfactory condition of many protective forests results from suboptimal incentive structures in the governance of local public goods, which encourage free-rider behaviour. As a potential solution to improve the quality of protective forests and to enhance their protective function, a strengthening of local decision-making structures is proposed.