Agroforestry practices of non-industrial private forest landowners in Washington State

A mail survey was conducted to gain understanding of the agroforestry practices of non-industrial private forest landowners (NIPF) in Washington State, located in the north-western USA. Although NIPF owners control 1.5 million hectares of the state's commercial forestland base, their diversity of forestland uses, land management practices and objectives as land managers are not well understood. Past NIPF surveys and anecdotal information suggest agroforestry is a major use of NIPF lands. We defined agroforestry as a potentially sustainable land use practice combining the deliberate growing of woody perennials with agricultural crops and/or animals. Objectives of this study were to:

1. determine the extent that agroforestry is used by Washington's NIPF owners,
2. develop insight into NIPF owners' motivations for practicing agroforestry,
3. describe the agroforestry practices within three distinct physiographic and agroecological zones in Washington, and
4. determine the agroforestry information needs of NIPF owners.

The target population consisted of NIPF owners in 4 counties within each of the three regions. Response to the August 1990 mail survey was 63.5%, yielding 296 useable questionnaires. Fifty-seven percent of all respondents practice agroforestry. Forestland grazing is the most common agroforestry practice (39% of all respondents), followed by windbreaks (34%), harvest of special forest products (12%), livestock enrichment plantings for forage or shelter (7%), orchard grazing (5%), orchard intercropping (2%), and Christmas tree grazing (0.34%). The most frequent motives for owning land were passing land on to children (80%), keeping it natural and income from timber (both 72%). Respondents saw aesthetics (77%), increasing land unit income (74%), and water conservation (70%) as possible advantages of practicing agroforestry. High establishment costs (66%) and livestock damage to trees or crops (64%) were the most frequently selected potential disadvantages to practicing agroforestry. Lack of technical and educational support (67%) and lack of access to livestock/livestock facilities (58%) were disincentives to practicing agroforestry. Landowners are interested in learning more about agroforestry and how agroforestry techniques might be incorporated in their land management tool kit. A significant number of non-industrial private forest land owners in Washington believe that management of forestland, balancing conservation and production goals, can be furthered by suitable agroforestry practices.     

Computing maximum willingness to pay with Faustmann's formula: some special situations from New Zealand

Faustmann's theory of discounted cash flow analysis, developed using perpetually recurring before-tax cash flows facilitates the determination of the maximum willingness to pay (WTP) (i.e. economic) value of bare forestland and immature timber. He describes three valuation approaches: (1) compounding costs; (2) compounding/discounting annuities; and (3) discounting future cash flows. If non-recurring costs (or benefits) are incurred in any rotation or if the current stand is non-optimal with respect to future rotations, the discounting of future cash flows is the preferred approach. When after-tax cash flows are considered, four categories of tax treatment must be addressed: (1) immediately deductible expenditures; (2) capitalized expenditures which are deducted against future harvest revenue; (3) capitalized expenditures which are depreciated or amortized; and (4) non-deductible expenditures. Apart from the second case, either compounding costs or discounting future cash flows can be used to value a stand. However, discounting cash flows is the preferred approach when expenditures are capitalized and deducted against future harvest revenues. Illustrations of the consequences of the four categories of tax treatment are shown with respect to New Zealand pine plantations. Extension to the tax policies of other countries is straightforward.     

Revenue loss from legal timber in Indonesia

The link between forest revenue administration and under performance of revenues from legal timber has received little attention in the literature. This article analyzes revenues from the timber royalty and reforestation fund fee, two important forest non-tax revenues in Indonesia whose tropical forest has been under threat of extensive deforestation particularly from commercial timber logging. It shows that revenue realization does not reflect potential with two key findings: first, timber royalty revenues represent only 52% of their potential, and second, revenues from reforestation fund fee suggest a counter-intuitive pattern – revenue realization is 34% above its potential. We provide plausible explanations from the perspective related to features of revenue collection. We further consider policy relevance in terms of forest revenue administration.     

Non-industrial Private Forest Owners' Risk Preferences

A set of hypotheses was formulated on the basis of available knowledge about non-industrial private forest (NIPF) owners' risk preferences. The empirical material used for testing the hypotheses was gathered in telephone interviews with 130 randomly selected NIPF owners. The results confirm that direct economic risks such as price and cost changes are seen by this group as much more important than indirect economic risks such as biological damage. The forest owners regarded forest holdings as a safer investment than stocks or bank savings. The results on risk attitudes were ambiguous. However, when larger amounts of money were at stake, the forest owners could be considered risk averters and a decrease in absolute and relative risk aversion could be confirmed.     

New Forest Owners: Change and Continuity in the Characteristics of Swedish Non-industrial Private Forest Owners (NIPF Owners) 1990–2010

This paper presents a total survey of the characteristics and changes over time (1990–2010) within the entire population of Swedish non-industrial private forest owners (NIPF owners). By charting the changed demographic, socio-economic and geographic profile of the NIPF owners, it also provides a baseline for a discussion and analysis of potential implications for forest management, policy and values. NIPF owners differ in important ways from the general population of Sweden. However, the gap has narrowed over time with regard to, e.g., educational level and sex composition. The ongoing urbanization process is evident in the growing share of non-residential NIPF owners who live at a distance from their forest property and who differ from their residential (rural) peers through, e.g., higher education, higher income and a higher prevalence of co-ownership of their forest holdings. Although these changes might translate into updated views on forest values among NIPF owners, there could be a delay before this impacts on forest management practices and output.     

Determinants of private forest management decisions: A study on West Virginia NIPF landowners

The availability of timber in the United States depends largely on forest management and investment decisions of nonindustrial private forest landowners since they hold the largest share of forest land in the nation. Since NIPF landowners are so diverse, there is a need to better understand the determinants of their decisions so that policies could be in place to motivate them. A survey was carried out in 2005 to the nonindustrial private forest landowners of West Virginia to examine the factors affecting their forest management decisions. The study looked at four categories of decisions related to forest management: timber harvest, silvicultural activities (i.e., tree planting, herbicide application, fertilization, thinning, grapevine control, and timber stand improvement), property management activities (i.e., road construction, road maintenance, surveying/boundary maintenance, and access control), and wildlife habitat management and recreation improvement activities. Four models were developed to examine factors affecting each category of forest management activity. The results showed that landowner, ownership, and management characteristics of NIPF landowners are associated with their forest management decisions. Specifically, age, education, profession, income, ownership size, period of forestland acquisition, distance of the forestland to the place of residence, whether the forestland was purchased or acquired through inheritance or as a gift, primary objective of forestland ownership, and presence of a written forest management plan were found to be significant determinants for at least one of the categories of forest management activities. The models explained 25%, 27%, 31%, and 24% of the variation in timber harvesting, silvicultural activities, property management activities, and wildlife habitat management and recreation improvement activities, respectively. Understanding the underlying factors influencing forest management decisions of this diverse group of forest landowners could form the basis for developing, modifying and targeting policy instruments to motivate NIPF landowners in forest management.     

Practical Application of Multivariant Analysis Techniques to the Forest Management of Active Farmers in the Northwest of Spain

As managers almost exclusive in many worldwide forestry regions, non-industrial private forest (NIPF) owners come to play a key role in balanced integrating the variety of forest uses and functions in policies for promoting and revitalising rural areas. In Galicia, a region in the Spanish Northwest, over 67.5% of forestland and 80% of woodland is managed by NIPF owners. Almost 40% of the Galician NIPF owners are agricultural or livestock farmers who manage a total of 169,755 agrarian holdings with woodlands. Although the number of agricultural holdings has dropped significantly over the last 60?years, farmers still constitute a representative section of the NIPF owner population in Galicia. Starting from an initial population of 31,285 active full-time professional farmers in the region, and based on data collected by a personal questionnaire from a sample comprising 4,383 of these professional farmers for the period 1993?C2003, Discriminant Analysis (DA) was used to identify which socioeconomic, territorial and public-political factors were useful in distinguishing, and to what extent, that a certain population of Galician active farmers should opt to own and manage forestland areas within their agrarian holdings. The results suggested that the forestry production capacity for the area in which the agricultural holding is located, the size and the number of plots in the land base, the number of years the farmer has been the owner and the economic yield from the holding over the total family income were key factors in distinguishing between farmers with forestry activity (forestland owners) and farmers with no forestry activity (farmland owners). These findings could be used as a guide for designing, planning, and implementing research and policy measures that could allow NIPF landowners with farming and livestock activity to develop sustainable forestry, as key agents in promoting rural development.     

加拿大的林业税收体制

加拿大的税收管理体制由联邦、省、市3级政府构成。各级政府都有独立的课税权,制定税率权,各自有自己的税收来源和税种。联邦政府也拥有主要的税收权力和税源。90年代以来,联邦政府分两个阶段对税收制度进行了改革:第一阶段对公司的所得税进行了改革;第二阶段对销售税进行了改革。改革的基本目标是:扩大税收范围,简化税制,降低税率,为企业创造更加平等的竞争环境,促进经济增长。这一改革对联邦和省级的林业税收产生了显着影响。     

Modeling Forest Owner Harvesting Behaviour and Future Intentions in Tasmania

Our ability to design public policies that effectively promote the efficient use of privately owned forest resources is underpinned by an understanding of the way in which forest production and investment decisions are made, and of how forest owners respond to changes in social, economic, and institutional conditions. A model of non-industrial private forest owners (NIPF) past harvesting behaviour and future harvesting intentions using a logit approach is presented. A Tobit model, which investigates harvesting intensity, is also developed. The responses to a survey of 386 NIPF owners in Tasmania are used to construct the data set consisting of socio-economic characteristics of NIPF owners, their forest ownership objectives, and property characteristics. The current study is innovative in that the role of NIPF owner objectives and attitudes is assessed in three econometric models exploring past harvesting behaviour, harvesting intensity, and future harvesting intentions. A series of observations can be made from comparing the results of the three models. For example, higher pulp prices are unlikely to affect NIPF owners harvesting intentions but are likely to increase harvesting intensity. The financial characteristics of the NIPF owner contribute most to predicting future harvesting intentions, with financial security being a disincentive to future harvesting. Landowner objectives and attitudes are important in explaining past harvesting activities and future intentions but do not significantly affect harvesting intensity. Furthermore, there are significant differences between different types of landowners in terms of the incentives that are likely to make them change their mind about participating in native forest harvesting.     

芬兰林业税的改革及启示

芬兰自1922年起对林业实行立地生产力税制, 根据土地面积和土地生产力征税, 成为有效促进木材供应增长和鼓励林业投资的重要工具。1993年, 芬兰开始实行按实际收入征税的新税制。新税制操作简便, 并与其他欧盟国家税制接轨, 适应了芬兰经济发展的现实需要。文中讨论了芬兰林业税改革对中国的启示:立地生产力税制对于中国而言, 操作难度大; 中国应借鉴芬兰经验, 结合我国林业特点, 设计适应国情的林业税制。     

Potential impacts of carbon taxes on carbon flux in western Oregon private forests

This study considers a carbon tax system as a policy tool for encouraging carbon sequestration through modification of management in existing forests and examines its welfare impacts and costs of the carbon sequestered. The simulated carbon tax leads to reduced harvest and increased carbon stock in the standing trees and understory biomass. Changes in the level of silvicultural investments vary by owner, depending on the nature of their initial inventory. In general investment under the tax is concentrated in regimes that establish faster growing plantations. Average rotation age increases, varying in extent across ownerships and site qualities. The carbon tax reduces both consumer and producer surpluses in regional timber markets. Producers are compensated by the carbon subsidies, except at low carbon tax levels. Not all rates of carbon tax will attract interest from private owners if participation is voluntary. Estimates of the marginal cost of sequestering carbon in western Oregon private forests are shown to be within the range of costs for projects considering afforestation alone in some eastern regions of the United States.     

福建省人工用材林收益与风险分析

对福建省人工用材林的投资风险进行实证分析,得出结论:1993-2002年,福建省人工用材林自然灾害风险所造成的平均风险损失较低,这与木材税费下降和人工林优惠政策出台有关;然而,对私人而言,其森林一旦发生火灾或病虫害,将造成投资损失,因此,政府必须建立分散风险的制度.     

Typology of non-industrial private forest owners in Tasmania

The heterogeneous nature of non-industrial private forest (NIPF) owners and the challenge this heterogeneity presents for effective policy and program design and delivery is widely recognised. Understanding the socio-economic and motivational differences between various types of landowners will better equip policymakers and forest extension professionals to design policies and programs that efficiently promote private sector timber production and forest conservation outcomes. The purpose of this study was to develop a survey-based empirical typology of Tasmanian NIPF owners based on their stated objectives of forest ownership and to relate owner type to a range of observable property and owner characteristics as well as to timber harvesting and forest management behaviour. Using principal component analysis (PCA) followed by means cluster analysis, four distinct groups are identified: income and investment owners, non-timber output owners, agriculturalists, and multi-objective owners. Members of these groups are found to differ significantly in terms of their personal and property characteristics, as well as their timber harvesting and management behaviour. For example, members of the non-timber output owners, who are motivated solely by objectives related to the production and protection of the non-timber outputs of forests, have similar proportions of timber on their property, but are less likely to have harvested timber from their property, than all other groups.     

Land-use and land-base patterns in non-industrial private forests: Factors affecting forest management in Northern Spain

There is increasing worldwide interest in land-use allocation and management within the sphere of rural planning and development. The study of land-use patterns mainly focuses on understanding the practices and values of individuals involved, and no debate of this issue would be complete without taking into account non-industrial private forest (NIPF) ownership as a key component in most rural areas worldwide. This paper empirically explores and assesses NIPF owners' management in terms of analysing dynamics in farming and forestry practices (past conversions from forestland to meadow and from marginal meadow to woodland, and intentions to change the current productive forest species and to extend the area of woodland) and landholding attributes (size and degree of parcellation in productive forestland). Logistic regression models were also used to investigate the probabilities and influencing factors involved in transforming marginal meadows to woodland, and attempts on the part of NIPF owners to change the current productive forest species and increase productive forestland. For this, a total of 103 NIPF owners in Northern Spain were interviewed in person, in March 2004, about their commitment to and involvement in land management during 1999–2003. The models correctly explained 73.3%, 83.7% and 73.3% of the variability in having converted marginal meadow in woodland and of future intentions to change the productive forest species and increase the area of productive forestland, respectively. The results of the study indicate that forest management mainly responds to investment and increasing the productivity of the land as a capital asset, which is directly influenced by the size and degree of parcellation of the holding, and directly or indirectly related to the owner's interest in timber production. The results may be used by forest professionals, researchers and policymakers in order to design and execute successful forest policies related to land management and planning.     

Suitability of the taungya system at North Kilimanjaro Forest Plantation,Tanzania

The taungya is a system whereby villagers and sometimes forest plantation workers are given the right to cultivate agricultural crops during the early stages of forest plantation establishment. Cultivation is often allowed to continue until trees shade crops due to canopy closure. This study aimed at analyzing the taungya system at the North Kilimanjaro Forest Plantation in Tanzania but was limited to an examination of costs and revenues resulting from the practice and also the impact the system has on tree survival and food crop yields. Results show that during the early stages of forest plantation establishment, intercropping of young trees with food crops is beneficial in terms of tree survival, food crop production, financial income to the peasant farmers and reduction of forest plantation establishment costs. Therefore the system is suitable and should be sustained.     

Can Biodiversity Conservation Benefit Local People? Costs and Benefits at a Strict Protected Area in Uganda

This article examines the livelihoods and experiences of local people after two decades of living close to a strict protected area (PA). A total of 290 local PA neighbors and 60 key informants were interviewed. Findings reveal a limited access to assets and low incomes. An average PA neighbor earns US$0.5 per adult equivalent unit (AEU)/day. PA proximity is associated with lower incomes, mainly because of wildlife damages that cost an average household (HH) up to 10% of its annual income. Other recurrent PA costs include the “invisible” costs incurred to cope with crop raiding, and restricted access to PA resources, that jointly amount to 16% of an average HH’s annual income. PA benefits include the sharing of tourism revenues, integrated conservation and development projects, and park-related employment. In total, benefits constitute 3.5% of the total annual income of an average HH, a figure higher than the contribution of other PAs in Uganda. However, overall, an average HH accrues a net annual loss of 12.5% of its total income or a total loss of US$1.54 million for the 1,1875 HHs, yet the park sends up to US$7 million to the central treasury. This highlights the need for policy revisions of the political economy of PA management.     

Return and Risk in Timberland and Other Investment Alternatives of NIPF Owners

No comparisons for Non-Industrial Private Forest (NIPF) owners of the returns on timberland and other investment alternatives, or of the risks in different investments, have been made in Swedish forest economics research. Modern portfolio theory in forest economics has been used to a very small extent in all of Europe, with the exception of Finland. The underlying idea in this study was to apply "the mean-variance framework" in Swedish forest holdings and make comparisons with some other investment alternatives. The results showed that forest holdings had a medium-high return and a high risk. Shares showed high returns and a relatively high risk. Bank assets showed low returns and a low risk. The lowest returns were seen for agricultural holdings. There were negative correlations for forest holdings with several other assets, which means that forest as one investment in a portfolio can be defended when the risks are spread out over time. The result indicates that it would be of interest for NIPF owners to reduce their investments in timberland and increase their share holdings. However, the portfolio mixture depends on the risk preferences of the owners.     

适度调整国家税收政策有利于国民经济的发展

论述了适度调整国家税收政策的必要性 ;阐明税负的轻重 ,是关系到国民经济能否持继健康发展的重要因素 ;并在公平税负、涵养税源、完善税收制度等方面阐述了自己的观点     

A general equilibrium analysis of the economic aspects of the imposition of an export tax on the plywood sector in Indonesia

Computable general equilibrium (CGE) models are extensively used to simulate the economic impact of forest policies. In this study, we conduct a counterfactual analysis to assess the impact of an export tax ranging from 5 to 20% on the plywood sector to the Indonesian economy. The indonesian economy is aggregated into 5 sectors: 2 sectors are related to forest,i.e., (1) log, and (2) plywood. The other three sectors are not related to forest,i.e., (3) non-wood manufacturing, (4) agriculture, quarrying, and services, and (5) construction. The simulation results show that an export tax on the plywood processing sector is negatively correlated with real GDP and labor demand in log and plywood sectors, but is positively correlated with total labor demand, government revenue, income distribution, wood resources and social welfare. Reduction in labor demand by log and plywood sectors, due to a plywood export tax, can be absorbed in other sectors. The simulated policy of an export tax on plywood can reserve trees in production forests for future use.     

Reindeer husbandry in a mountain Sami village in boreal Sweden: the social and economic effect of introducing GPS collars and adaptive forest management

Reindeer husbandry in northern Sweden, Norway, and Finland is an extensive agroforestry system, and the management of reindeer occurs alongside other land uses such as forestry, hunting, and tourism. The economic, social, and environmental impact of using GPS collars to track the reindeer was evaluated in the Sami village of Njaarke in boreal Sweden. A second objective was to evaluate how adapted forest management influenced reindeer husbandry. The results show that the use of GPS tracking enables the improved monitoring of the reindeer but the financial costs were greater than the financial benefits. The increased income did not cover the costs of depreciation and maintenance. Whilst the labour inputs associated with reindeer husbandry were high, 30–40% of the gross value added by village activities were related to hunting, tourism, and the renting of fishing rights. The use of adaptive forest management was assumed to increase the number of reindeer that could be reared through to slaughter and it was calculated to increase the gross value added by reindeer husbandry by more than 30%.