A Forest Commons Revival in Slovenia

Forest commons in Slovenia are a poorly known indigenous institution for common resource management. They are a functional entity linked to a specific community that establishes interpersonal and intergenerational ties, as well as a link to the resource. We refer to shared ownership of resource, once made of pastures; today forests prevail. Collective property management remained despite community changes and legislation development. Today registered forest commons represent approximately one-third of those that existed before 1945. We highlight seven developmental turns to explain their revival. Six indicators are used in the analysis of current conditions. Forest commons are a potentially effective response to forest management challenges in Slovenia but also a potential model of social cohesion, rational resource use, and a balance between forest use and conservation. However, they are plagued by state ignorance, which hinders statistically sound analyses.