Stakeholders and their view on forest-based bioeconomy in Slovakia

Abstract Within the concept of bioeconomy at Slovak level, forestry is often seen as a key sector. For that reason, the concept of forest-based bioeconomy gained a specific importance. To this concept is on the European level already paid increasing attention not only in research, but also in politics. Whether or not the forest-based bioeconomy will have a success in Slovakia is greatly dependent on stakeholders´ perception and attitude towards the concept. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to identify stakeholders´ perception of forest-based bioeconomy. To achieve this, we identified 13 stakeholders from various, bioeconomy-related, sectors that were suitable for qualitative interviewing. The respondents are representants of public and private organizations and are active in relevant areas. The study was conducted using structured interview consisting of 12 questions. Respondents in general tend to lean towards forest-based bioeconomy, as they feel that it brings more opportunities (for the forest and wood-processing sector, economy, industry, nature protection) than risks. However, a threat has presented itself during the study, being the fact that forest stakeholders do not feel to be sufficiently involved in bioeconomy discussion. For the bioeconomy to fulfil its role as an all-purpose weapon, there is an urgent need for more precise policy guidance and for involving of all relevant stakeholders into discussion.