Impact of Forest Intervention Zones on Landowners’ Property Rights, Land Use Evolution and Fire Occurrence in Portugal

Abstract The Portuguese government created the forest intervention zones (ZIFs) in 2005 with the main objective of improving forest management and protection, reducing the risk of forest fires and promoting group management practices, while also increasing the productivity, profitability, and resilience of forests. To do so, the policy created instruments to promote the voluntary association of smallholders, who would then jointly agree on a joint forest management plan. By 2022, 267 ZIFs had been established, covering more than 1.9 million hectares. This research aims to: (i) Estimate the impact of ZIF policy on land use and forest fire; (ii) Assess the impact of the policy on owners’ property rights; and (iii) Assess the forest managers’ perception of the policy implementation. The first objective was reached by assessing land use dynamics and fire incidence within ZIFs, between 2005 and 2015, and comparing them with national trends for forest areas outside ZIFs. The comparison between the property rights of ZIF adherents and non-adherents was calculated using the property rights index in forestry (PRIF), to assess the policy impact on the freedom of choice of forest owners. Finally, interviews were conducted with the association's forest managers to analyse their perceptions of the policy’s implementation. The results show that the ZIF policy instrument restricted property rights of forest owners, while having an overall negligible impact on wildfires incidence, mostly due to the lack of financial support by the state, alongside very broad forest management plans that were mostly made to comply with the policy requirements.