# Ownership fo the Swiss Forest (NFI)

A map of a former edition of the Atlas of Switzerland, the national atlas published by ETH Zurich. It opens only in the desktop atlas (version 4) for Windows and macOS, not in the web atlas; see the links below.

- Map: https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/theme/ownership-fo-the-swiss-forest-nfi/
- Short title: Forest ownership (NFI)
- Map id: 1035
- Categories: Landscape and Space › Landscapes/Habitats › Forest and trees
- Keywords: Economy, Forest, Landscape
- Published: 2022-08-31
- Last revised: 2022-08-31
- Content language: English
- Other languages: [Deutsch](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/de/thema/eigentum-am-schweizer-wald-lfi.md), [Français](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/fr/theme/propriete-de-la-foret-suisse-ifn.md), [Italiano](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/it/tema/proprieta-della-foresta-svizzera-ifn.md)

## Description

The Swiss forest belongs to many different owners – around 246,000 of whom are private and 3,400 public. The private owners are split between individuals and companies, while the public ones include the Swiss federal government, individual cantons, political municipalities, civic communities and corporations. The private owners combined account for around 31% of the forest, while the remaining 69% is under public ownership. There are significant regional differences in the ownership structure, as the graphic “Ownership of the Swiss Forest” shows.

However, owning forest in Switzerland does not mean that the owners can do whatever they like with their section. The law on forests is relatively strict, so even private owners are subject to clear rules on forest management. The forest is also freely accessible at all times, regardless of who owns it, as long as there is no danger of “excessive” use.

## Sources

- WaldSchweiz (2020): [Zahlen und Fakten](https://www.waldschweiz.ch/)
- WSL, Eidgenössische Forschungsanstalt für Wald, Schnee und Landschaft (2016): [Das Landesforstinventar LFI](https://www.lfi.ch/lfi/lfi.php). Eidgenössische Forschungsanstalt für Wald, Schnee und Landschaft

## Data sources

- Brändli et al. (2020): [Landesforstinventar Vier: Ergebnisbericht](https://www.lfi.ch/publikationen/publ/ergebnisberichte/LFI4_Ergebnisbericht.pdf). WSL, Birmensdorf

## Data owners

- [FOEN](https://www.bafu.admin.ch/bafu/de/home/amt/kontakt-und-standort-des-bafu.html)
- [Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL)](http://www.wsl.ch)

## Citation

The terms of use ask to name the Atlas of Switzerland and the data owners, and to keep the source references in exports, screenshots and embeds. Cite the map as:

> Atlas of Switzerland (2022): Ownership fo the Swiss Forest (NFI). ETH Zürich. Map data © FOEN, WSL. https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/theme/ownership-fo-the-swiss-forest-nfi/

## Links

- Map page, with the description and sources and a button that opens the map in the desktop atlas: https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/theme/ownership-fo-the-swiss-forest-nfi/
- Open the map in the desktop atlas (version 4), where it is installed: adsglobe://map/1035
- Download of the desktop atlas (version 4) for Windows and macOS: https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/ads4-download/

## Related maps

- [Timber Exploitation in the Swiss Forest (NFI)](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/theme/timber-exploitation-in-the-swiss-forest-nfi.md) (id 1032, former edition, desktop atlas only)
- [State of the Swiss forest (NFI)](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/theme/state-of-the-swiss-forest-nfi.md) (id 1016, former edition, desktop atlas only)
- [Functions of the Swiss forest NFI)](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/theme/functions-of-the-swiss-forest-nfi.md) (id 1034, former edition, desktop atlas only)

For the use and citation of maps and data, see the [terms of use](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/terms-of-use/).