Growing pressures on forest ecosystems, such as climate change and biodiversity loss, highlight the need for more diverse forest use. Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) are seen as a key component of multifunctional and sustainable forest management, yet their economic potential is underused. As the largest group of forest owners in Finland, non-industrial private forest (NIPF) owners play a key role in decision-making, influencing the entire forest sector and the future use of forest resources. Therefore, understanding forest owners' perspectives on these issues is crucial to promote multiple use of forests and support the development of NTFP-related businesses.
This thesis examines Finnish forest owners’ perspectives on NTFPs, identifies forest owners' motives and the challenges in NTFP production, defines the structure of forest owners’ networks and identifies value creation within NTFP networks. The study uses a mixed methods approach that combines quantitative surveys and qualitative semi-structured interviews of forest owners. Multivariate methods, principal component analysis (PCA) and K-means clustering were used to analyse the survey data, while thematic coding and social network analyses (SNA) were applied to the qualitative interviews.
The results indicate that forest owners perceive NTFPs as a valuable opportunity to diversify both forest use and income generation. Although current commercial production remains limited, a considerable share of respondents expressed strong interest in engaging in NTFP-related activities in the future. Their motivation stems from both economic values, such as additional income and stable revenue streams, and self-actualisation -related values. However, access to relevant information was identified as a clear challenge. Forest owners’ networks within the NTFP sector are diverse, underscoring the important role of forest organisations and buyers of varying scales. Alongside tangible exchange, intangible elements, particularly knowledge-sharing and social values, play a crucial role. To support the development of multiple use of forestry and advance the NTFP sector, institutional support, improved access to knowledge, and cross-sectoral collaboration are essential.