Forest Certification as an Instrument for Improved Forest Management within Small-scale Forestry

Since early 1990 ties, Swedish forest land is increasingly becoming certified. Today all major forest owners have joined the Swedish FSC-standard (Forest Stewardship Council), while small-scale forest owners preferably are joining the PEFC scheme (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification). With the overall aim of gaining a better insight into which small-scale forest owners that have decided to take up on forest certification, and how their forest management practices have been affected by this choice, two set of data has been analyzed; one consisting Data Base of Forest Owner Analysis (DBFOA) data relating to approximately 14,000 properties whereof 1955 were found to be certified, and the other one including data from a follow up questionnaire sent out only to owners with certified forest properties. Results show that certified and non-certified forest properties are managed differently and in particular that harvesting on certified properties has increased. Differences in management seem to be connected principally to the fact that forest owners from generally more active sub-groups embrace forest certification requirements. Moreover, our results shows that economic motives for joining a certification scheme are just as prevalent as environmental motives and a majority of forest owners regard certification as something that favors profitability rather than consider it to restrict economic yield.     

Skepticism of state action in forest certification and voluntary set-asides: a Swedish example with two environmental offsetting options

Non-industrial private forest owners in Sweden are encouraged to mitigate environmental damages from forestry on their properties under a principle of “freedom with responsibility,” although the level of mitigation is generally left to the owners’ discretion. One voluntary measure private forest owners are encouraged to take is setting aside a part of their productive forests for conservation. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate how non-industrial private forest owner beliefs concerning both their own and the Swedish state’s responsibility for nature protection differ among owners of certified forests, who automatically leave a set-aside, and those who have stayed out of forest certification but have decided to leave a set-aside. Results of a Heckman selection bivariate probit model show that the more a respondent believes the state is responsible for fulfilling environmental goals compared to private forest owners, the less likely it is that an owner of a non-certified forest will leave a set-aside for conservation. Beliefs about responsibility do not, however, differ among owners of certified and non-certified forests. From a policy perspective, Swedish government agencies may have difficulty steering specific measures taken by private forest owners who are interested in conservation but have stayed out of forest certification regimes.     

Introducing Gender in Studies on Management Behaviour Among Non-industrial Private Forest Owners

The genderization of non-industrial private forest (NIPF) ownership creates different conditions for male and female forest owners. To compare male and female forest management behaviour and to examine whether observed differences should be understood in terms of gender, data from the Swedish National Board of Forestry's interview inquiry were used. Differences in frequency of harvesting and silvicultural operations were examined by binary logistic regression and differences in harvesting volume were tested by a multiple regression analysis. In all analyses sex of the owner was introduced as one of the explanatory variables. The sex of the owner was found to have a significant effect on the frequency of harvesting, cleaning and supplementary planting, but not on planting and mechanized scarification. In the cases when the sex of the owner was a significant factor, the degree of activity among the female owners was found to be lower. Results regarding harvested volumes did not expose any significant differences in harvesting management strategies between male and female owners.     

Small Scale Forest Owners’ Responsibilities: Results from a Swedish Case Study

Requirements on businesses made by society, public and customers for taking different responsibilities have increased, i.e., balancing economic, environmental and social concerns. Based on literature about corporate responsibility and small scale forest owners this article presents a case study of small scale forest owners?? responsibilities in achieving sustainable forest management and Swedish Forest Agency??s local office holders?? expectations. Interviews have been made with ten small scale forest owners. The results show that no obvious conflict exists between economic and environmental responsibilities. The financial benefits for the owners for taking more environmental and social responsibility are small. The two office holders that were interviewed expect forest owners to take responsibilities. The weight that the interviewed owners give to their wishes is low.     

Swedish non-industrial private forest owners: a survey of self-employment and equipment investments

It has been estimated that Sweden’s non-industrial private forest (NIPF) owners undertake a total of 12 M hours of self-employed forest work per year. This paper reports an evaluation of self-employment in Swedish NIPF’s in terms of the people and equipment involved. NIPF owners’ self-employment was determined by a nationwide survey. Complete equipment sales statistics were compiled from interviews with manufacturers and importers. About 66% of NIPF owners are undertaking self-employed forestry work. Pre-commercial thinning was the activity undertaken most frequently by them, followed by planting, cutting and extraction. In comparison to other NIPF owners, self-employed NIPF owners tend to be younger, and are more likely to be male, single owners, resident on holdings, farmers and members of forest owner associations. Sales of new equipment suitable for self-employed individuals amounted to €67 M, or 83,000 items. Based on sales numbers and the profile of self-employed NIPF owners, no major changes in the amount and nature of self-employment are expected in the near future.     

Describing management attitudes to guide forest policy implementation

Forest policy in Denmark aims to increase the environmental values of forests. For policy implementation it is essential to know how to motivate private owners. Based on a survey among private forest owners in Denmark, four types of owners have been identified, clustered according to their forest management attitudes and practices: (1) the production-oriented owner, (2) the classic forest owner, (3) the environmental/recreational owner, and (4) the indifferent forest owner. Owners in Clusters 1 and 2 are mainly motivated by financial and wood production aspects, whereas owners in Cluster 3 are to a greater extent motivated by environmental and recreational aspects. Cluster 4 is the least motivated cluster. For effective policy intervention, the clusters should be addressed by different means. Owners in Clusters 1 and 2 should be met on their agricultural-production logic, Cluster 3 on their interest to improve environmental values, whereas owners in Cluster 4 might mainly be interested in passive nature management solutions.     

Why do forest owners fail to heed warnings? Conflicting risk evaluations made by the Swedish forest agency and forest owners

In the aftermath of a hurricane in Sweden that felled some 250 million trees, the Swedish Forest Agency advised forest owners to reduce forest vulnerability by planting different tree species. This paper analyses why forest owners failed to heed the Forest Agency's recommendation, thereby reproducing a forest vulnerable to storms. This paper focuses on the deliberations and risk evaluations of forest owners when deciding which tree species to plant. The analysis identifies three main categories of reasoning that guided the forest owners' decision-making process: short-term economic reasoning caused by the pressing situation they faced; an understanding of windstorms as natural catastrophes that are impossible to influence; and the uncertainties associated with alternative forest management practices. Furthermore, given their risk-averse strategy, their approach to understanding and coping with uncertainty was crucial in determining their responses. This paper concludes that the forest owners primarily employed experience-based, practical and embodied knowledge, implying that abstract risks and theoretical knowledge regarding future developments were not deemed relevant. An additional conclusion is that even if a huge storm felling shows the need to change forest management practice, it does not provide the most favourable social conditions for achieving change.     

A typology of small-scale private forest owners in Sweden

Abstract

Planning instruments have to be consistent with the underlying values of the forest owners to have an influence on their management activities. The aims of the present study were to identify different types of Swedish forest owners, to quantify their objectives and to validate a previous, qualitative study of the objectives of the small-scale forest owners. A survey was conducted and forest owners were classified by means of cluster analysis into five types: the “economist”, the “conservationist”, the “traditionalist”, the “multiobjective owner” and finally the “passive owner”. Significant factors characterizing these owners are presented and discussed. The results showed that clear subgroups of forest owners can be differentiated by their objectives and confirm recent studies suggesting that a sole emphasis on economic benefits is not desirable from the forest owners’ point of view. The findings should give a better understanding of the behaviour of the small-scale forest owners and provide a basis for further research, counselling and development of forest policy.     

Social capital in small-scale forestry: A local case study in Southern Sweden

Small-scale forestry builds upon interactions among local stakeholders. Forest management entails multiple social situations such as consultations or cooperative engagements between owners and forest professionals. Successful social endeavours rest on positive social capital as operationalised via trust. Based on qualitative in-depth interviews with forest owners, managers and other forestry stakeholders, this study explores how trust influences the social relationships in a local context of Southern Swedish forestry. Most strikingly, the analysis reveals large differences in owners' trust towards two major actors: the Swedish Forest Agency (SFA) and the forest owner association (FOA) Södra. Permanence of personnel, a client-based approach, and personal features of SFA's local forest officer lead to strong local anchoring and high trust towards SFA. Södra proved to be a trustful partner in the aftermath of calamities; however its industrial priorities seem to erode owners' trust. The empirical findings of this study demonstrate the importance of recognising personal relationships and the catalysing role of bonding social capital in order to understand the local forest management situations. Our results are useful for forestry organisations and policy-makers willing to comprehend the local context and implement best practices in small-scale forestry.     

Owner mapping for forest scenario modelling — A Lithuanian case study

Ample research on private forest owners (PFOs) has established high heterogeneity in owners' objectives, motivations and management decisions. Such heterogeneity is, however, rarely taken into account in forest scenario modelling. This study, in contrast, conducts a detailed forest owner mapping that feeds into simulations of ecosystem services (ES) under alternative future scenarios. First, we identify four private forest owner types (FOT) – Forest Businessmen, Household Foresters, Passive Forest Lovers, and Ad Hoc Owners through in-depth interviews and qualitative analyses on a case study area in western Lithuania. Next, each forest estate and forest compartment is assigned a FOT by combining the property registry and forest characteristics with opinions of two types of local experts: state forest managers and inspectors from the State Forest Service. Third, a set of forest management (FM) programmes is specified using field interviews and desktop research, FM records, and expert judgement for each forest compartment. Finally, ES provision is projected using a behavioural matrix combining management styles of FOTs with details of FM programmes. We simulate the dynamics of profits from forestry activities, accumulated carbon in live biomass and tree species diversity under a reference scenario without substantial changes; and a policy intervention scenario. The study demonstrates that treating forest owners as a homogenous group overestimates profits from timber and underestimates the provision of the other analysed ES, potentially misinforming policy decisions.     

Ecology-oriented House Builders and FSC-certified Domestic Timber in Japan

Forest owners’ cooperatives are one of the leading organizations in the forest sector in Japan. Yusuhara Forest Owners’ Cooperative (YFOC) in Kochi Prefecture is one of such examples, which obtained FSC forest certification as a resource manager of the forest, which belongs to more than 1,200 small-scale forest owners. YFOC has successfully expanded sales of FSC-labeled timber in recent years. Most of their certified timber is purchased by house builders in urban cities including Osaka. This paper analyzes who desires FSC-certified timber from YFOC and why. Six case studies are reported, which reveal that ecology-oriented house builders are interested in using FSC certified timber because of traceability of the timber, price advantage from direct dealing, environmentally sound forest management of YFOC, and relatively high quality of the timber.     

恒被林及其育林体系

恒被林很早就被提出来了,但其育林体系直到现在才得到推行,这个育林体系不包括皆伐,要求林冠永远地覆盖林地,而不使土壤裸露。这个育林体系既能维护森林环境,不影响森林景观和森林结构的变化,又能培育与收获木材,很符合现代的森林经营观念。英国的恒被育林体系包括:群状与单株择伐,渐伐,带状与群状渐伐,有计划的群状采伐,伐块范围不超过0.25hm2,采用人工栽植或天然更新或两者结合以形成复层异龄混交林。对于同龄纯林可采用上述育林体系进行改造。     

Values placed on forest property benefits by Swedish NIPF owners: Differences between members in forest owner associations and non-members

A forest property represents benefits to the owner, the nature of which varies between resident and non-resident owners. Forest owners’ associations can be considered as an arrangement to increase the benefit from forest ownership by helping the forest owner to increase profitability. Thus, it can be assumed that associated forest owners value forest property benefits differently to non-associated owners. This study examines differences between members and non-members, and residents and non-residents, with respect to how they value the various forest property benefits. Responses from a landholder survey reveal differences concerning forestry income, maintaining contact with native locality, and keeping up a tradition in forestry. It is concluded that a challenge for the associations is to develop the organisation in accordance with the forest owners’ dissimilar property interests.     

Comparison of harvesting and business activities of non-shareholders and shareholders in a forest common in Västerbotten,Sweden

Abstract

Swedish forest commons are collectively owned and managed by shareholders who always also own other forest holdings. The majority of them are non-industrial private forest (NIPF) owners. The objective of this study was to assess differences, with respect to harvesting intensity and related business activities on their individually managed forest properties, between non-shareholders and shareholders in a Swedish forest common. Forest commons are intended to promote local agriculture and forestry and to serve as a model for forestry activities. On this basis, the hypotheses examined in this study were that the shareholders’ harvesting and business activities, as well as their contributions to the local economy, are greater than those of non-shareholders. An apparent difference between shareholders and non-shareholders was found, but it was unexpected since non-shareholders undertook more harvesting and business activities than shareholders, and contributed more to the local economy through taxes. Since no evidence was found for a significant difference between the two categories in their potential to undertake forestry activities, one provisional conclusion is that the outcome is partly due to differences between the institutional frameworks in which shareholders and non-shareholders operate and the impact of these frameworks on incentives to maximize forest production.     

Born to be a forest owner? An empirical study of the aspects of psychological ownership in the context of inherited forests in Finland

Ownership is a multidimensional phenomenon that includes legal, social, and emotional aspects. In addition to legal aspects, the social and emotional aspects, “feelings of ownership,” potentially have behavioral effects. Nevertheless, these aspects are often overlooked in the research influencing the forest owners' behavior and thus their forest management decisions. This article examines how private forest owners with inherited forest holdings construct feelings of ownership toward their forests and how these constructions are reflected in their forest management decisions. Forest ownership is addressed through the theory of psychological ownership. On the basis of 15 thematic in-depth interviews, we suggest that a sense of identity and control, as dimensions of psychological ownership, can influence whether forest management decisions are guided by tradition, economic incentives, or responsibility toward property. Based on the results, a forest owner typology (restricted, indifferent, informed, and detached forest owners) was constructed, further enabling us to understand the differences among private forest owners and the roots of their forest management decisions. More generally, the study highlights the important role of emotions in forest management decisions.     

Recognizing the Interest of Forest Owners to Combine Nature-Oriented and Economic Uses of Forests

Protecting biodiversity within separate set-aside conservation areas has not been effective enough to halt its loss. Thus, new approaches to conserve biodiversity alongside production are needed. The non-market values of a forest may play an essential role when the forest owner decides the use of their land. However, so far the service offerings other than related to timber production, have been scant. The mismatch between decision support services offered and the service interests of forest owners may result in the objectives of forest owners remaining unfulfilled. The aims of this study were to explore the links between family forest owners’ forest management preferences and their objectives for the forest and secondly their preferences for decision support services. Data were collected in a postal survey in the Northern Karelia region, Finland in spring 2014. Data consist of 298 survey answers that were analysed using multi-variate analyses. Two typologies were combined: clustering of forest ownership objectives and the preferred forest management style. We found that the forest owner’s objectives were demonstrated by their preferred way of managing the forest. Opinions about different decision aid services varied between cluster groups. The groups emphasizing nature values considered biodiversity related information about their forest more necessary than other groups. They were also less satisfied with the usability of the forest management plan. Forest advisory services should better acknowledge the prevalence of multiple objectives also among forest owners who are interested in timber selling. Developing services for forest owners with diverse socio-economic backgrounds, information needs and objectives is important.     

Clustering-based typology and analysis of private small-scale forest owners in Slovenia

Small-scale private forest owners (SPFO) have been recognized as a relatively heterogeneous social group; therefore typology and classification have become key to describe their characteristics and differences. Most of Slovenian forest is owned by SPFOs. To understand why these forest estates are relatively poorly managed, the owners' values and objectives were analysed. We conducted a questionnaire-based survey (n=387) and based our typology on three values and four management variables. The typology was constructed automatically, using the k-medoids clustering algorithm. Clustering resulted in two clusters, which were our basis for two types of owners: “engaged” and “detached”. We analysed these two types through socio-economic and broader geo-spatial perspectives. We found that multi-objective orientation and high valuation of production function are positively related to active forest management and to the likelihood that the forest will be managed in the future. Conversely, higher value to environmental and social function corresponds to lower management levels. Spatial patterns of owners residencies and forest estates influence managing decisions. Results confirm the importance of spatial factors and owner values and objectives for understanding forest management.     

Costs for thinning and final felling operations in Sweden, 2000–2017

ABSTRACT

Wood supply is one of the most significant cost items for most forest industries, and costs of forest operations and sale prices of wood is vital information for forest owners. Cost trends between 2000 and 2017 in Swedish forestry is analysed, separately for final felling and thinning, and subdivided into ordinary and salvage operations. Data on costs for operations totalling 821 million m³ harvested roundwood were analysed, both as actual costs and after adjustment for the consumer price index. Adjusted costs for ordinary harvesting operations declined between 2000 and 2007, increased during 2008 and 2009 and have since been relatively constant. Costs of salvage logging operations performed as thinning were 21% higher than ordinary thinning, and when performed as final felling costs were 64% higher than in ordinary final felling. The relative logging cost trends in Sweden and Finland were similar during the period, and there are similarities with the US. However, while logging costs in Sweden and Finland increased in 2008 and 2009, they declined in the US and did not reach the same relative level as in Sweden until 2013. Results can be used for benchmarking logging costs between regions or larger buyers of logging services.     

Customer Segments Among Family Forest Owners: Combining Ownership Objectives and Decision-Making Styles

Empirical forest owner classifications typically distinguish groups based on owners’ behaviour or motivations. Typologies are used to inform forest and environmental policies and market-based service provision. However, single typologies may be weak in discerning owner groups that would bring new insights for policymakers or service providers. The present study aims to put together two previously documented owner classification frameworks to form and analyse customer segments for decision-support services. The first grouping is based on owners’ objectives for forest ownership, while the second grouping focuses on owners’ decision-making styles. These two typologies deal with subjects of interest and motivations for communication, respectively. The study uses a subsample of the Finnish Forest Owner 2010 survey data, collected in 2009 (n = 2,106). Via cross-tabulation of the two groupings, the four largest and potentially most interesting combined owner groups are discerned: multiobjective learners (13 %), multiobjective thinkers (9 %), learning recreationists (8 %) and learning investors (7 %), while the other 16 combined groups each account for less than 6 % of owners. The result thus reveals the need for learning-oriented services for three differing principal subjects of interest as well as multiobjective services for deliberate thinkers, i.e. comparative information about forest management alternatives. The message for policymakers and service providers is that the majority of forest owners may be served with educative interactive services. Learning-oriented indifferent owners need special services to recognize their latent goals. Delegators need ready-made services for outsourced decision making and self-reliant owners need information packages of varying contents. Combinations of groups prove feasible for producing policy advice.     

林木采伐权的法律问题探讨

林木采伐权是权利主体根据依法取得的采伐许可的规定而享有的按照法定方式对林木进行采伐获得收益并排除他人干涉的权利,是林权处分权能的一个表现.我国有关林木采伐的制度中,还存在立法不完善、商品林的林木采伐权的限额制度过于严格以及管理机制不完善等不足.因此,只有明确林木采伐权的物权地位、完善林木采伐的法律制度并建立高效的林木采伐的管理机制才能保证林木采伐权真正实现.