Urban Consumers’ Attitudes Towards Non-wood Forest Products and Services in Switzerland and an Assessment of Their Market Potential

To obtain empirical data on future market potential, a consumer survey about supply, demand and consumption of non-wood forest products and services (NWFP&S) was conducted in six cities in different cantons of Switzerland. A total of 897 persons–about 150 per city–were interviewed through arbitrary selection in which women and youths were overrepresented in comparision to the Swiss population. A high consumer acceptance of forest products and particularly forest services among the Swiss urban population was observed. Preferences in purchasing honey, berries, mushrooms and roots among other NWFP were reported. The quality of the products and their environmental friendliness ranked highest in the attitudes of potential consumers who prefer to buy NWFP at market stands, in retail traders’ shops and in drugstores. The most popular forest activities among the respondents are recreation and various kinds of sports activities followed by the gathering of NWFP. As far as the consumers’ wishes and aspirations are concerned, sports, camping and adventure rank high apart from the desire to acquire environmental knowledge about the forest flora and fauna. NWFP&S are highly estimated in Switzerland and have a considerable market potential and, if well marketed, could add substantially to the income of forest enterprises.

Adaptation to Change and Re-designing of Governance Systems: Cases from Small-Scale Rural Forestry

Changes in small-scale forest governance as a reaction to global changes are viewed from the system dynamics perspective, focused on two levels of dynamic systems: the policy system with sets of interactions at the national level and the management system at the local level. These interactions are considered through permanent adaptation and re-shaping of stakeholders’ networks and positions provoking further changes in the systems. Empirical evidence has been obtained from two case studies related to small-scale rural forestry in distinct contexts—France (the Territorial Forestry Charters) and Kyrgyzstan (collaborative forest management and leasing of forest plots)—and viewed through a theoretical framework of social-political systems dynamics. The changes caused by the systems’ capacity for adaptability and resilience are expressed through a double spiral of decision-making, characterising the interactions between national policies and local management practices. The analysis leads to a conclusion that changes are basically determined by the formal and informal stakeholders’ strategies developed in a specific context and their mutual adaptation aimed at system resilience.

Valuing the benefits to the local community of supplying recreational facilities in community owned forests: an application of the contingent behaviour method

This research utilises a contingent behaviour valuation technique to value a number of improvements to recreational facilities in small-scale forests in Ireland. Willingness-to-pay estimates have previously been made for Coillte (Ireland’s state-owned forestry company) trails and forests. The total non-market value of Irish forests has also been examined. This paper adds to the literature by being the first to estimate the consumer surplus associated with recreational enhancements to Irish small-scale forest resources. The results presented indicate that community owned small-scale forestry can contribute enormously to the wellbeing of nearby urban residents, through the provision of outdoor recreational services.

Farmers’ objectives toward their woodlands in the upper Midwest of the United States: implications for woodland volumes and diversity

This paper reports the results of a study that explores the relationship between farm woodland owners’ stated intentions for owning woodland, and the structure and composition of these woodlands in the states of Illinois, Indiana and Iowa in the upper Midwest of the United States. Data from two sample-based inventories conducted by the USDA Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program were combined for this analysis—the FIA forest resources inventory and the National Woodland Owner Survey (NWOS). We looked for relationships between product value and investment in woodlands, as reflected in volumes and tree quality. We also examined whether measures of diversity reflected specific management focus. Our results partially supported our hypotheses. Woodland-focused ownership reasons were found to have larger volumes and individual tree sizes. We found that a passive woodland ownership reason—that woods were “part of the farm”—generally had lower volumes per hectare. Although we were not able to differentiate between different forest product classes and measures of volume, we did find that those landowners who harvested veneer had more volume than those who harvested for firewood. Woodland owners who salvage-harvested their woodlands—a harvesting reason that is more reactive than proactive—exhibited lower volumes per hectare than those who harvested for more proactive, product-focused reasons. Biodiversity was also found to be related to the ownership focus and harvest intent. Generally, there was lower diversity in overstory species when the woodland was viewed merely as “part of the farm,” when the product harvested was fence posts and when timber was harvested for salvage or land clearing. The small sample size limits our analysis, but we can conclude that focusing the woodland owners on management of their woodlands—regardless of what the specific management goals might be—should increase productivity and biodiversity of those woodlands.

A Critical Comparison of Typologies of Small-Scale Forestry in Baden-Württemberg Derived Using Single and Multiple Criteria

The paper presents a typology of small-scale forest owners in Baden-Württemberg based on multiple criteria and derived using multivariate cluster analysis of long-term accountancy network data. Four distinct types of landholders are identified based on a combination of structural, financial and biophysical data. These groups fit well with the present knowledge on small-scale forest owners in Baden-Württemberg. In addition, the members of each group display clear differences in attitudes towards forestry, giving further support for the validity of the grouping. A comparison is made of this typology and typologies derived using the single criteria of forestry region, forest size class, cutting volume, proportion of coniferous trees, forest income and main source of income. This comparison demonstrates the advantages of using cluster analysis to identify types of small-scale forest owners in south-west Germany. No matter whether structural, natural or financial data are assessed, the multiple criteria typology produced by cluster analysis provides the highest percentage of statistically significant distinctions between the medians of the groups identified. A typology based on the single criterion of ‘regions’ provides the second best fit and has the advantage of being simple to develop. A more detailed comparison between these two typologies, whereby the differences between groups were analysed based on the links between individual groups in respect to individual variables, also indicated that the multiple criteria typology was superior.

Development of wood procurement in Northwest Russia: round wood balance and unreported flows

This paper analyses industrial round wood flows into, within, and out of Northwest regions of Russia. We examine sawlogs, pulpwood, and fuelwood used for industrial purposes obtained from logging, and chips obtained from the wood-processing industry. We attempt to clarify different recent trends in wood harvesting, industrial round wood export, and forest industries development that have an influence on unreported wood in Russia. Our method, which uses wood balance diagrams, provides an interpretation of data from different Russian sources in order to offer better transparency regarding wood flows from forests to mills. It also helps to explain the apparent imbalance between round wood supply and demand and it helps one to assess the possible share of unreported industrial round wood production in Northwest Russia. Based on annual forest-related statistical data available from the Ministry of Natural Resources, the State Committee of Statistics, and the Russian Federation’s Customs Department, unreported round wood flows can be estimated to be 23% of the total industrial round wood production, or approximately 9 million m³ u.b. per year. Unreported round wood flows are more common in export oriented regions that have poorly developed forest industries.

Sustainability Attributes of a Small-Scale Betel Leaf Agroforestry System: A Case Study in North-eastern Hill Forests of Bangladesh

The Khasia ethnic community of Bangladesh has been a population of forest villagers in the north-eastern hill forests of Bangladesh since the early 1950s, practicing a betel leaf-based agroforestry system on land granted by the Forest Department. Taking a sample forest village of the Sylhet forest division as a case study, this article examines the sustainability attributes of betel leaf production in the agroforestry system. The presence of several positive attributes of sustainability including the composition of agroforestry, disease control, soil fertility management, profitability, socio-cultural acceptability and institutional support indicate that betel leaf production within the agroforestry system is stable under the prevailing traditional management system. Income from the sale of betel leaf is the principal livelihood means and villager’s reciprocal contributions help to conserve forest resources. However, problems with land ownership and regular agreement renewal need to be resolved for the sake of their livelihoods and forest conservation.

SWOT analyses and SWOT strategy formulation for forest owner cooperations in Austria

Forest owner cooperations (FOC) are bundling wood supply from small-scale forests and some also offer additional services, such as wood harvesting or planting. FOCs are growing throughout Europe in terms of the managed timber volume. The increasing timber demand of forest-based industries as well as the new, rapidly growing demand for energy plants could lead to an under-supply in the following years in Europe. Because of high harvesting arrears in small-scale forests, FOCs are seen as an opportunity to overcome this foreseen timber shortage. The paper maps out timber mobilisation strategies using the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) approach.

From Framework to Forest Activities: A Comparative Analysis of Different Ownership Types in Two Adjacent Regions

The paper examines the interactions between the demands of society, the restrictions due to recreational and protective functions of forests and the intensity and kind of forest management in the various ownership classes in Switzerland (CH) and Baden–Württemberg (BW) in south–west Germany. A survey was carried out among owners of communal forests, private forest landholders owning more than 200 ha of forest land and small-scale forest enterprises with up to 200 ha of forest land. The survey adopted a two-dimensional approach, using regions and comparable ownership classes in order to identify basic differences and underlying key drivers. It became obvious that there are relevant distinctions between the two countries. The paper highlights the present use of forests, the restrictions perceived by their owners, and the underlying management strategies in terms of structure of the forests, tree species composition and thinning activities. In BW the financial function is the dominant motivation for the majority of the private owners. The communities emphasize both timber and non-timber functions of their forests. Except for the protection function (avalanches, rockslides) the utilisation and importance of the forest in CH is lower than in BW. Profitability of forests continues to be a key-driver of intensity of forest management activities, but there is less influence on the choice of basic silvicultural strategies. The results of this comparative survey are placed in the context of a forest policy framework and the medium-term financial situation in the two countries.

Governance Concepts and their Application in Forest Policy Initiatives from Global to Local Levels

In recent decades the concept of ‘governance’ as interdependent coordination of actors as well as the normative concept of ‘good governance’ have increasingly influenced international forest policy, to varying degrees. Using the three dimensions of multi-actor, multi-sector and multi-level governance to analyse key aspects of governance in the follow-up of global policy after the UNCED conference in 1992, this paper shows that ‘multi-actor governance’ has received considerable attention in international forest policy, mainly through promoting national forest programs. Global forest policy initiatives were less able to develop concepts to address and improve ‘multi-sector governance’ and ‘multi-level governance’, although these two dimensions of governance are particularly relevant for local levels. A number of major international forest policy initiatives, both public and private, have also focused on improving various dimensions of ‘good governance’. A review of the degree to which these international governmental initiatives have been transposed and applied at the local or regional level reveals a major gap between concepts and forest policy initiatives developed and promoted at international and national levels and their application at the regional and local levels. This calls for better concepts addressing in particular the ‘multi-level’ dimension of governance in order to improve connectivity between these levels. A range of governance change approaches can be applied, including adjusting modes of interaction, instruments and institutions.

Regional employment trends of wood-based industries in Germany’s forest cluster: a comparative shift-share analysis of post-reunification development

After reunification in 1990, Germany’s forest cluster developed anew and employment in the wood-based industries differentiated very quickly. With more than 900,000 employees, it is now considered one of the most important industrial sectors in the country. This paper analysed general trends in the development of employment of wood-based industries in the German forest cluster between 1999 and 2006. Shift-share analysis was considered to be the most appropriate way to determine regional differences in the subsection DD/20 ‘Manufacture of wood and wood products’ of the code “Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community, Revision 1.1” (NACE): the sawmill industry, the wood-based panel industry, the wood construction industry, the wood-based packaging industry, and the miscellaneous wood products industry. This method decomposed the change of employment into three different components that are due to that change: national trends, (industrial) sectoral trends, and regional conditions. Employment in the selected wood-based industries showed a significantly larger decrease than overall trends in both the producing industries and the whole economy of Germany: a continual loss of employees could be observed over the time period, affecting almost all of the selected wood-based industries. However, federal states in western and eastern Germany experienced divergent trends between 1999 and 2006, as different absolute and relative regional share components indicated in the shift-share analysis. This method allows of identifying regional disparities and characterising regions with positive (mainly eastern federal states) and negative (mainly western federal states) rates of employment growth. The research suggests that positive employment trends in eastern Germany’s wood-based industries can mainly be attributed to regional factors such as comparatively higher subsidies for new investments, lower labour costs, lower land values or infrastructural peculiarities.

Plantations and social conflict: exploring the differences between small-scale and large-scale plantation forestry

Commercial afforestation of agricultural land is often associated with social conflict over the perceived environmental, economic and social impacts of the plantations being established. One of the most common solutions suggested to this conflict is a shift from large-scale afforestation by companies and government agencies to small-scale afforestation by individual landholders. Small-scale afforestation by farmers is argued by many to have more positive and fewer negative impacts than large-scale afforestation by non-farmers. However, few studies have examined whether small-scale afforestation is associated with less social conflict than large-scale afforestation. This paper reports results of a recent study that compared afforestation conflicts in two regions: County Leitrim in the Republic of Ireland and the Great Southern region of Western Australia. Considerable afforestation has occurred in both regions in recent decades, and both have also experienced major shifts in the scale and ownership of the plantations being established over time. For both regions, establishment of small-scale farm forest plantations was found to be associated with considerably less social conflict than establishment of large-scale plantations by non-farmers. Some tentative explanations may be given for this pattern, based on comparisons between the two case study regions.

The Increasing Importance of Small-Scale Forestry: Evidence from Family Forest Ownership Patterns in the United States

The state-level distribution of the size of family forest holdings in the contiguous United States was examined using data collected by the USDA Forest Service in 1993 and 2003. Regressions models were used to analyze the factors influencing the mean size and structural variation among states and between the two periods. Population density, percent of the population at least 65 years of age, percent of the population residing in urban areas, per capita income, income inequality, and per capita private forestland were found to be significantly correlated with the structure of landholding size. This paper suggests that the number and proportion of small-scale family forest owners in the United States are both increasing due to the increasing importance of non-timber amenities to forest landowners.

Carbon inventory methods and carbon mitigation potentials of forests in Europe: a short review of recent progress

The role of European forests and forest management in the carbon balance has received much attention in research recently. This was particularly motivated by the recognition of forest management as one possible measure countries may adopt in the framework of the Kyoto Protocol to reduce the concentration of greenhouse gases in the earth’s atmosphere. The main method to assess carbon budget in forests is based on traditional forest inventories. This method requires the conversion of measured stem volume to carbon pools. This conversion has been identified as a large source of uncertainty in past assessments. Over the last 5 years, intensive research efforts have resulted in significant advances in the reliability of forest inventory based carbon budgets. In parallel, the impact of forest management on the carbon balance of forest ecosystems has been investigated and the carbon mitigation potential of these activities has been analysed. This paper reviews the progress that was made in these two fields of research with a particular focus on European forests.

Private Native Forestry in NSW: Environmentally Benign,Economically Important but Silviculturally Challenged?

With large areas of public native forests now converted into National Parks and unavailable for timber harvest, private native forests (PNF) in New South Wales (NSW) are becoming increasingly important in providing timber for the wood processing industry. At the same time, there is increasing interest in the role that these private forests play in providing and maintaining habitat for wildlife. Historically, timber production from these forests has been opportunistic, with little or no silviculture to maintain wood production potential. Market circumstances and policy settings have not favoured sound silvicultural practice, generating an exploitative and short-term view of the timber resource to maximise short-term returns. This has occurred at a time when these forests are an important and increasing source of log supply to industry. This paper discusses payment of biodiversity credits (incentives) to improve both environmental management and timber production outcomes, and examines the findings of some recent studies on the ‘sustainability’ of PNF. Willingness-to-pay (WTP) and willingness-to-supply studies reveal a disparity between the demand and supply prices for biodiversity and habitat ‘services’ in many cases. Recent ‘sustainability’ studies indicate forestry operations are relatively benign in their impacts on biodiversity, compared to other land uses. However, in the absence of increased financial returns from PNF and in the face of increased public demand for greater environmental outcomes, there seems little alternative to meeting the competing demands of biodiversity and timber production than to implement a system of incentive payments which reward sound private forest management for a multiplicity of objectives.

Exploring the Socio-Economic Situation of Plantation Villagers: A Case Study in Myanmar Bago Yoma

Since the early 1980s, Myanmar Forest Department has been recruiting shifting cultivators, establishing plantation villages and applying the taungya method in establishing teak plantations. From the beginning, there has been an argument about whether the program is creating ‘forest protective groups’ or ‘forest destructive groups’. A key determinant to that question from the research viewpoint is the socio-economic situation; knowing the present situation of the plantation villagers can help to understand their forest management practices. Interview surveys were carried out in three villages in Bago Yoma, the main region of the special teak plantation program, to examine the current economic benefits to plantation villagers. Questions were designed mainly to explore the incentives for people participation and the socio-economic situations of the plantation villagers. Principal component analysis was used to group landholder types. It was found that local people are willing to participate in the initial establishment of plantations. However, all the incentives relating to plantation projects are temporary, with no long-term consideration for taungya farmers, which jeopardizes the plan to create forest protective groups. It is concluded that the time has come for the Myanmar Forest Department to change its main aim of earning foreign exchange from establishment of teak plantations through the taungya method to redressing deforestation through people participation based on rural socio-economic development.

Transmission of price changes in sawnwood and sawlog markets of the new and old EU member countries

In the European sawnwood markets, competition is tight between producer countries, with the new EU countries gradually gaining larger market shares. This paper focuses on the pass-through of sawnwood prices to supplier countries’ national roundwood prices. Price-change effects on market shares are known to be large, but not so much is known about the timing and duration of price transmission between competitor countries. Our empirical analysis concerns the exports of four large sawnwood supplier countries in Europe (Finland, Austria, Estonia and the Czech Republic) to German markets, using quarterly panel data for 1995–2003. The transmission process was found to differ between countries, and the relationship was most clearly detectable between Finnish sawlog and sawnwood prices. Results based on seemingly unrelated regression analysis indicated that price transmission exhibits similarities between old (i.e. Austria, Finland) and new EU member countries (Estonia, Czech Republic). Overall developments in both sawnwood and sawlog prices displayed convergence in the study period, which indicates that deepening integration in European markets is also detectable in the forest sector.

Climatic Drivers of Revegetation Management Practices in Australia: Analysis of a Social Survey

Investment in small and large-scale revegetation in Australia is growing in response to concerns regarding the sustainability and productivity of agricultural landscapes. Site preparation and management––such as soil cultivation, weed control, fertilising, mulching, use of treeguards and watering––are major costs associated with small-scale revegetation. The aim of this study has been to investigate local revegetation knowledge and practices to determine the usefulness of each management practice for achieving success and to determine whether some practices are more suited to particular climatic zones. A national online revegetation survey was conducted to ascertain current small-scale revegetation practices and the factors that drive these choices. Management practices were found to be strongly associated with climate. Mulch, fertiliser, weed control and watering were applied more frequently in higher rainfall and higher temperature zones. Soil cultivation and treeguards were used more frequently in lower rainfall and lower temperature zones. These findings suggest that there may be some benefit in modifying existing revegetation guidelines to reflect climatic zones and management flexibility.

Future harvesting pressure on European forests

We provide quantitative insight in the spatial distribution of the future supply of wood as a raw material from European forests (27 countries) until 2060. This supply is tested for two scenarios: ‘projection of historical management’ and ‘new management trends’ and compared against a benchmark scenario. The new management trends scenario incorporates influences of issues as nature-oriented management, carbon credits and increased demand for bio-energy. The results of these projections provide insight in the state of the European forests and indicate that under the ‘new management trends’ supply can still increase to 729 million m³ by 2060 in Europe, whereby almost throughout Europe we allow harvest to be higher than increment for some time. Without linking countries dynamically through international trade, we identify regions where harvesting pressure is highest. Under the new management trends scenario, the harvested volume is reduced with 82 million m³/year (compared to ‘projection of historical management’) because of stricter management constraints. However, the management regimes as parameterised here allow harvesting pressure to remain highest in Central Europe and some Scandinavian countries, notably Finland and Norway.