Exploring forest owners’ perspectives and their willingness to accept incentives to adopt climate-smart forestry practices in South Carolina, USA

Climate-Smart forestry (CSF) is an evolving concept that promotes forestry practices that mitigate climate change while supporting forest productivity and income of forest owners. However, the transition towards CSF carries implications for the forest owners’ livelihood and their land’s environmental benefits. This study aims to determine the forest owners' willingness to accept (WTA) incentives for adopting improved forest management practices under the CSF framework, such as thinning, selective harvesting, clearcutting with planting of higher quality seedlings, and thinning with underplanting of longleaf seedlings. A contingent valuation method was used to determine the WTA of forest owners in South Carolina. Results show that forest owners' decision to implement the practices was influenced by their management objectives, level of education, additional income from other forest-related activities, and goal to improve their current forest management practices. Moreover, financial incentives and commitment to leaving a good legacy for future generations are key motivations for CSF adoption, while uncertainty about its ecological impacts causes forest owners' hesitation to adopt these practices. The findings provide valuable insights to improve the current and future incentive-driven strategies and to support and increase forest owner participation in cost-share programs. Aligning these incentive programs with forest owners’ management objectives is also needed to successfully implement CSF practices. • We determined the forest owners’ preferences towards CSF practices. • Contingent valuation estimated the forest owners’ WTA. • WTA for CSF practices were influenced by incentives, education and forest profile. • Leaving a legacy motivates forest owners to adopt CSF practices.