Investment attractiveness of therapeutic forests: A multi-criteria cross-country analysis

One of the emerging trends in public health and social well-being is the implementation of forest therapy based on specialized therapeutic forests. While most studies focus on substantiating the health benefits of forests and evaluating their spatial features, economic approaches to developing therapeutic forests remain insufficiently explored, particularly regarding a comprehensive framework for their investment attractiveness. This study aims to develop a conceptual multi-criteria model and perform a pilot assessment of key drivers influencing the investment attractiveness of therapeutic forests, drawing on international practice and utilizing the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). The research methodology encompasses four distinct stages: comparative content analysis; structural modeling of the primary investment factors represented via a binary matrix; AHP synthesis; and sensitivity analysis of the derived AHP model. The findings highlight the primacy of financial and economic drivers, alongside the crucial role of regulatory frameworks and organizational support for therapeutic forests. The study substantiates the limitations of directly applying purely financial instruments within Ukraine and countries with similar institutional forestry structures – specifically those characterized by a predominance of state and municipal forest ownership and institutional barriers to public-private partnerships. Because the identified priorities stem from the experience of nations with a high share of privately owned forests, these outcomes are particularly valuable for refining forest policies in jurisdictions with substantial private forest ownership and flexible legislation governing partnership arrangements. Overall, this research establishes a scientific foundation for a more detailed examination of the investment factors of therapeutic forests. Specifically, it sheds light on under-researched yet vital dimensions of forest therapy development, including public policies, regulatory foundations, and economic conditions.