Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal for Nature Conservation journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jnc Understanding the drivers for Natura 2000 payments in forests: A Heckman selection analysis Zuzana Sarvašová a,f , Sonia Quiroga b , Cristina Suárez b , Tamás Ali c , Diana Lukmine d , Ilija Đorđević e, ⁎ , Michal Hrib f a Department of Forest Policy, Economics and Forest Management, National Forest Centre – Forest Research Institute, T.G. Masaryka 22, 960 92, Zvolen, Slovak Republic b Department of Economics, Universidad de Alcalá, Plaza de la Victoria, 2, E-28802 Alcalá de Henares, Spain c National Food Chain Safety Office, Forestry Directorate National Food Chain Safety Office Forestry Directorate, 1023 Budapest, Frankel Leóút 42-44, Hungary d Department of Forest Resources, Economics and Policy, Institute of Forestry, Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry, Liepu-1, Girionys, LT-53101, Kaunas District, Lithuania e Department for Spatial Planning, GIS and Forest Policy, Institute of forestry, Kneza Višeslava 3, 11030 Belgrade, Serbia f Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, 16521 Prague 6-Suchdol, Czech Republic ARTICLE INFO Keywords: Biodiversity conservation Rural development programmes Forestry measures Private forest ownership Compensation mechanism ABSTRACT The ecological network Natura 2000 is one element of the common European Union policy regarding biodi- versity protection. National implementation of Natura 2000 differs across the European Union. Ecologically valuable forest ecosystems are often within private lands. The aim of this paper is to assess the implementation of the compensation mechanism developed through adapted management of private forests by using the Natura 2000 payments’ measure of the European rural development programmes for the financing period 2007–2014. The econometric Heckman selection model was used to assess the drivers influencing the implementation of the payments measure. Data sources include European and national statistics and expert knowledge. The results show that the countries with the highest proportion of forest cover in Natura 2000 protected areas are the least paid for compensation, and the implementation apparently does not follow the needs of private forests (as- suming from the share of private forests in the country). The state of progress in designating Natura 2000 sites can be an important driver for increasing the probability of Natura 2000 payments for those countries accessing the European Union after 1995. Other evidence includes that national economic development is not observed to be significant in explaining the implementation of Natura 2000 payments. The drivers affecting the im- plementation of Natura 2000 payments are more focused on increasing the competitiveness of the forest sector than supporting environmental sustainability. 1. Introduction Natura 2000 is an ecological network developed by the European Union (EU). The legal basis for this ecological network has two direc- tives: one from 1979 (Birds Directive, 79/409/EEC) and the other from 1992 (Habitats Directive, 92/43/EEC). Natura 2000 forms the corner- stone of the EU’s nature conservation policy and represents one of the biggest areas of nature protection in the world (Blicharska, Orlikowska, Roberge, & Grodzinska-Jurczak, 2016; Posavec, Beljan, & Lovrić, 2011; Sotirov, 2017; Winkel et al., 2015; Winkel & Sotirov, 2011). Natura 2000 is a system of protected areas for endangered species and habitats at the EU level. The aim of the network is to assure the long-term survival of Europe’s most valuable and threatened species and habitats. A competent application of Natura 2000 mechanisms would ensure a more coherent and resource-efficient use of the EU’s valuable natural capital and foster economic growth that is more sustainable and in- clusive (EC, 2013). Private forest ownership in the EU in 2015 is on average 31.4% (Schmithüsen & Hirsch, 2010), and the Natura 2000 network average is approximately 17.5% of the EU’s land area (EC, 2011). The Natura 2000 network is not a system of strict protections from which all human activities are excluded; instead, it includes restrictions for management https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnc.2018.07.003 Received 24 December 2016; Received in revised form 13 June 2018; Accepted 22 July 2018 Abbreviations: EU, European Union; DGAgri, Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development; DGEnviro, Directorate General for the Environment; FWG, Forum for a World Governance; GDP, gross domestic product; N.I, No Incentives; RDP, Rural Development Programme; RQ, research question; WB, World Bank ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: sarvasova@nlcsk.org (Z. Sarvašová), sonia.quiroga@uah.es (S. Quiroga), cristina.suarez@uah.es (C. Suárez), alit@nebih.gov.hu (T. Ali), ekonsk@mi.lt (D. Lukmine), ilija.djordjevic@forest.org.rs (I. Đorđević), michal.hrib@centrum.cz (M. Hrib). Journal for Nature Conservation 46 (2018) 28–37 1617-1381/ © 2018 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved. T