Swedish Forest Owners’ Associations: Establishment and Development After the 1970s

The context under which forest owners’ associations operate has changed dramatically since the first ones were established in the 1910s and 1920s. The purpose of this article is to describe the development of these associations after their establishment particularly since the financial crises at the end of 1970s. The diffusion and merger theories form a conceptual base. The annual reports of the associations are the main data source. The number of forest owners’ associations after 1,985 decreased dramatically and presently is only four. The consolidation can be explained by a wish to achieve increased efficiency through economies of scale and more influence on the wood market. After the financial crises at the end of the 1970s the number of members dropped sharply but has since then increased. Some associations have had significant financial problems. In the 1970s it became apparent that during economic downturns the relatively low proportion of equity made them vulnerable. Return on equity has, on average, during the 2000s been around 7–8 %. One problem for the associations is the risk that larger and more efficient organisations lead to increased “distance” between the associations and their members. Another problem is that the members cannot take advantage of the large value growth. Moreover, there is capital tied up in operations that do not really have any formal ownership.     

To Join Small-Scale Forest Owners’ Associations or Not? Motivations and Opinions of Small-Scale Forest Owners in Three Selected Regions of the Czech Republic

This article analyses motivations and attitudes of small-scale forest owners in the Czech Republic towards joining associations. The research is a follow-up to a field investigation performed within the National Forest Programme II for 2007–2013 in the Vyso?ina region in 2010. The present research was carried out in the Pilsen region in 2012 and the Central Bohemia region in 2015, applying the same method of investigation as in 2010—a questionnaire survey. The findings are based on the results of all three surveys and supported by the analysis of legal and forestry-related documents concerning financial subsidies for forest owners’ associations. The study has revealed reluctance of small-scale owners to join associations. Their lack of motivation is caused by insufficient funding from the government supporting the administration and management of associations. The reluctance also results from the request for associations to be legal entities, which most applicants do not meet as they are either not registered or are registered under unsuitable legal forms. Between 2011 and 2013, no contributions were paid by the government to associations, and no new small-scale forest owners’ associations were formed. To increase associations, we propose that the government should provide sufficient funding not only for the administration and management of associations but also for the process of establishing associations and initial investments. It is also necessary to make major innovations in legislature regarding the transition of ownerships to more convenient legal forms.     

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.     

Family Forest Owners’ Commitment to Service Providers and the Effect of Association Membership on Loyalty

Long-term relationships with family forest owners willing to sell roundwood are important for the Nordic forest industry. Research has shown that customer loyalty is mediated by a sense of commitment to the service provider. At least two forms of commitment have been distinguished: affective commitment in the sense of liking the provider, and calculative commitment in the sense of being dependent on the provider. In Sweden, more than one-third of family forest owners are members of a forest owners’ association with the primary objective of supporting its members’ profitability. The associations buy one-third of the owners’ roundwood. This study examined the role of different forms of commitment in the process of becoming loyal timber suppliers, and the moderating role of membership. A questionnaire was sent to forest owners who notified the authorities of a final harvesting operation involving timber procurement by an organization. The results show that both forms of commitment significantly affected loyalty and the forms were correlated. Members of forest owners’ associations who sold their timber to the association expressed higher affective commitment and loyalty than other forest owners, indicating that a sense of member involvement is important for timber procurement by the associations.     

Conflicts and Their Resolution in the Utilization of Forest Resources

ByTangCaifuForestsaretherichestrenewableplantresourcesandembraceeconomic,ecologicalandsocialbenefits.Variousconflictsandcontradictionsariseinexpandingtheutilizationofforestresources.AparticipatoryevaluationmethodwasusedtoinvestigateconflictsinforestresourcesutilizationinLongweiandLinwanVillages.ThesearetwoplojectsitesoftheCommunityForestryProjectofQuxianCounty.Thesolutionstotheseconflictshavebeensummarizedandnewapproachestoaddressingtheconflictssought.1.Tilelandconjlictbetweenforestryanda…     

What Can an Understanding of the Changing Small-Scale Forest Owner Contribute to Rural Studies? The Swedish Case

Small-scale Forestry - Over the centuries, Swedish rural areas have been formed in close interaction with their inhabitants and different and various uses. Based on studies, particularly of...     

Family Forest Owners’ Perceptions of Landowner Assistance Programs in the USA: A Qualitative Exploration of Program Impacts on Behaviour

Using data collected from a series of focus groups, this study examines how landowner assistance programs (which may include management plans, cost-share, technical assistance and advice, and education components) affect family forest owner behaviour in the USA. Not surprisingly, most owners who participated in assistance programs had pre-existing management objectives. Participation in the management plan and cost-share components was found to facilitate the stewardship of private forests by assisting and reinforcing the behaviour of those landowners who already intend to manage their land in some pre-conceived manner. Advice and educational components appeared to do more in terms of introducing owners to new ideas. The mix of components offered as part of a landowner assistance program should consider the goals of the program and which components will be most effective in achieving those goals.     

How to improve the marketing of timber in France?

Large forest estates actively participate in the marketing of timber in France. However, the marketing of wood from private and public large forest estates (over 25 ha) could be improved by better managing price risk in multiannual supply contracts of the timber industry: creation of compensation funds for forest owners or calls to financial markets linked to processed timber products for industrialists. But, the development of supply contracts does not mean that private or public auction procedures should be abandoned. Similarly, by supplementing “forest area development schemes”, it would be possible to increase the mobilisation of timber produced on small (1 to 10 ha) and medium (10 to 25 ha) forest estates: more forestry cooperatives or local forest agencies and a new timber pre-sale mode adapted to small forest estates are necessary (sales subject to the buyer's choice of purchasing standing timber or cut wood delivered to a depot by the seller).     

Study on the Value of Forest to Conserve Soil and Water in Beijing

Forest has a strongfunction in storing water, conserving soil and protecting farmland. In the study, based on fleld management and survey, these effects of forest in Beijing were determined and quantified. According to the principles and methodology of environment economics, the values of forest to conserve soil and water were accounted. The result shows that the total value of forest to conserve soil and water in Beijing is as much as 1129.58×10~8 yuan, in which the value of water storage is 1107.92×10~8 yuan, being 98.08% of the total.     

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.

How much are wood-based cellulosic biofuels worth in the Pacific Northwest? Ex-ante and ex-post analysis of local people's willingness to pay

The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) provided a grant to establish a wood-based cellulosic biofuels industry in the US Pacific Northwest. Whether the industry will be sustainable depends largely on social acceptability in general and market acceptability of the biofuels among the public in particular. We conducted contingent valuation surveys of general public in the US states of Oregon and Washington to determine people's willingness to pay (WTP) for wood-based cellulosic biofuels and the factors that influence their WTP decisions. Oregon has an existing cellulosic biorefinery, while Washington's biorefineries are only being planned, allowing us to conduct an ex-ante (Washington) versus ex-post (Oregon) WTP comparison. We sent out mail surveys to 2828 valid mailing addresses between May and July of 2015 and received 757 completed surveys. We used the distribution-free Turnbull estimator to estimate the expected WTP and logistic regression to determine the relative strength of predictors on WTP. About one fifth (18.8%) of the respondents were willing to pay some premium for wood-based cellulosic biofuels. The mean WTP amount was $0.19 ± $0.03/gal. (95% confidence interval: $0.17 to $0.21), which equates to a 6.4% price premium on top of the market price for gasoline. Logistic regression results showed that the offered bid price, knowledge on biofuels, age and religious affiliation of respondents were statistically significant predictors of WTP decisions. No significant differences in ex-ante versus ex-post WTP were observed. We also discussed the policy implications of these results for sustainable management of the wood-based cellulosic biofuels industry.     

How to move companies to source responsibly? German implementation of the European Timber Regulation between persuasion and coercion

Mitigating international trade in illegally harvested wood (products) is an international priority. To support this priority, the European Timber Regulation prohibits placing illegally harvested or traded timber on the EU market, requiring companies to undertake due diligence in sourcing wood (products). To take effect, this regulation needs to be implemented in all European member states.Although Germany is one of the first member states to transpose and enact the regulation's provisions, its implementation has recently been portrayed as “weak” and ineffective. This article aims to answer why this perception emerged. It scrutinizes implementation performance of the EUTR in Germany.Based on rich empirical data from stakeholder interviews, documents, and participant observation, this study argues that EUTR performance in Germany is not generally perceived as ineffective. Instead, stakeholder perceptions vary. As stakeholders face major uncertainties connected to market structure and company behaviour, they tend to base their assumptions about the implementation process on two major heuristics. Both focus on the question how to change company behaviour. One stresses the need to pursuade companies to comply, the other stresses the need to coerce them. These heuristics are based on the two larger objectives pursued by different stakeholder groups during policy making of the EUTR: (1) global sustainable forest management and (2) image improvement of the EU wood importing industry.Based on these different policy objectives, the EUTR does not provide clear guidance on which policy instruments should be given priority. As a consequence, national implementation is turned into a policy-making process. The outcome of this struggle will likely affect the future trajectory of EUTR implementation in other EU member states and in countries exporting wood into the EU.     

Attending to the Needs of Local People in Nature Reserves-An Important Measure in the Establishment and Protection of Nature Reserves

ＡｔｔｅｎｄｉｎｇｔｏｔｈｅＮｅｅｄｓｏｆＬｏｃａｌＰｅｏｐｌｅｉｎＮａｔｕｒｅＲｅｓｅｒｖｅｓ－ＡｎＩｍｐｏｒｔａｎｔＭｅａｓｕｒｅｉｎｔｈｅＥｓｔａｂｌｉｓｈｍｅｎｔａｎｄＰｒｏｔｅｃｔｉｏｎｏｆＮａｔｕｒｅＲｅｓｅｒｖｅｓTXＡｔｔｅｎｄｉｎｇｔ...     

Farmers’ perceptions and attitudes toward forest watershed conservation of the North Selangor Peat Swamp Forest

Over the past several decades, the management of forest ecosystem functions through policies such as “command and control” has not been successful, largely because existing policies and legislation for natural resource management are inadequate and often formulated without consulting local communities such as farmers. However, farmers’ decisions to participate in natural resource conservation or watershed conservation more particularly are generally influenced by their knowledge of the problems and perceived benefits of conservation. This study focuses on farmers’ perceptions and attitudes toward forest watershed conservation in the North West Selangor Peat Swamp forest of Malaysia. A survey questionnaire was administered to 380 paddy farmers at the North West Selangor irrigation scheme. Dates were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and the theory of value and social psychology constructs. The study concludes that farmers have generally positive attitudes toward forest watershed conservation. Therefore, we recommend farmers’ involvement in the conservation and management of the North Selangor Peat Swamp Forest (NSPSF).     

How does economic research contribute to the management of forest ecosystem services?

Key message

More and more environmental and resource economists are taking a particular interest in research on forest ecosystem services (FES), especially in a context of climate change. Spatial and temporal issues are crucial to economic analyses and for the design of conservation policies. Interdisciplinary research involving ecological and economic disciplines is a prerequisite for the more effective management of forest ecosystems.

Context

Economists define non-market ecosystem services (ES) as public or common goods due to their characteristics of non-rivalry in terms of consumption and/or non-excludability. Just because they do not have a price does not mean that ES have no economic value because their social benefits are undoubtedly considerable. These features, associated with the market demand for timber and a poor climate risk assessment, may lead to the under-provision of non-market forest ES and the over-harvesting of timber.

Aims

In this article, we review research questions that are central to the enhancement of FES provision. Beyond the economic modelling of the joint provision of FES, we focus on issues related to the design of public policies to guide forest management. The objective is to provide crucial insights concerning the importance of a spatial and sustainable provision of FES.

Results

First, we provide an economic interpretation of the FES concept and a review of economic models of forest management. Second, we explain how spatial and temporal dimensions of FES can have major implications on their supply and demand. Both dimensions explain why FESs have to be taken into account in production decisions and public policies (including the design of payment for environmental services (PESs)).

Conclusion

A better understanding of FES provision and public policies to be enhanced is not possible without accounting for spatial and temporal dimensions. This helps to analyse the impact of intervention on FES and the cost-effectiveness of economic instruments, implying a coordinated effort to bring together ecological and economic data and models.

     

Comparative analyses on the cycle time,productivity, and cost between commercial thinning and clear-cutting operations in Nasu-machi Forest Owners’ Co-operative,Tochigi Prefecture,Japan

This study investigates clear-cutting operations on moderately and gently sloping sites. Cycle times, productivities, and costs of those operations are analyzed and compared with those of commercial thinning operations, to enable logging contractors to easily find trends of those three variables. Felling cycle times of clear-cutting were lower than those of commercial thinning operations. Processing cycle times of clear-cutting on the gently sloping site were lower than those of clear-cutting on the moderately sloping site and commercial thinning. However, processing cycle times of clear-cutting on the moderately sloping site were similar to those of commercial thinning. Forwarding cycle times of clear-cutting on the moderately sloping site were the lowest among the estimated forwarding cycle times. Costs of operation systems were the lowest with clear-cutting on the gently sloping site, followed by clear-cutting on the moderately sloping site, and then commercial thinning with mechanized and current operation systems according to forwarding distance, with extracted volume 0.5 m³/stem. Costs of the current thinning operation system were less than those with a mechanized thinning system below extracted volume 0.3 m³/stem, because of smaller machinery expenses.     

Why Certify? Motivations,Outcomes and the Importance of Facilitating Organizations in Certification of Community-Based Forestry Initiatives

Despite documented challenges, many community-based forestry (CBF) initiatives pursue forest certification. This study asked community-based forestry practitioners in Vermont what influenced their decisions to seek or not seek certification and what outcomes were realized from certification. Relationships, public image, value alignment and feedback on management practices were most commonly cited as both motivations for and results of certification. Expectations for economic benefits were low and price premiums for products were only occasionally realized. Informants complained of the increasing cost, complexity and time commitment required of certification. Overall, however, certified CBF informants felt certification was worth the expense. Group certificates and external funding significantly reduced certification costs to grassroots CBF initiatives. This study highlights the importance of facilitating organizations that can provide outreach, secure funding, understand the rules, handle documentation and develop markets for certified products.     

How to Organize a Large-Scale Ecological Restoration Program? The Framework Developed by the Atlantic Forest Restoration Pact in Brazil

Large-scale ecological restoration programs across the world have begun to extensively transform degraded lands into young native ecosystems. However, more projects like these will be necessary in the coming years to fulfill the goal of restoring 150 million ha established by United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity. Here, we present and discuss the steps required for and the lessons learned from the organization of a large-scale ecological restoration program in Brazil, the Atlantic Forest Restoration Pact. These lessons are organized around 9 steps: (a) the presentation of the motivations driving the promotion of large-scale restoration, (b) the organization of the main stakeholders, (c) the definition of goals, (d) the organization of a database, (e) the indication of both available and priority areas for restoration, (f) the proposal of science-based and field-validated methods, (g) the establishment of a monitoring protocol, (h) the proposal of a communication program to unite members and interact with society, and (i) the strategies for promoting the establishment of public policies conducive to restoration. This framework may provide a template to help other initiatives to mainstream isolated restoration projects into a large and well-organized movement, which may increase the chances of successful restoration in the future.     

Future orientation and planning in forestry: a comparison of forest managers’ planning horizons in Germany and the Netherlands

Long range (or strategic) planning is an important tool for forest management to deal with the complex and unpredictable future. However, it is the ability to make meaningful predictions about the rapidly changing future that is questioned. What appears to be particularly neglected is the question of the length of time horizons and the limits (if any) to these horizons, despite being considered one of the most critical factors in strategic planning. As the future creation of values lies within individual responsibility, this research empirically explored the limits (if any) of individual foresters’ time horizons. To draw comparisons between countries with different traditions in forest management planning, data were collected through telephone surveys of forest managers in the state/national forest services of the Netherlands and Germany. In order to minimize other cultural differences, the research in Germany concentrated on the federal state of Nordrhein-Westfalen, which has considerable similarities with the Netherlands, e.g. in topography, forest types and forest functions. The results show that, in practice, 15 years appears to be the most distant horizon that foresters can identify with. This is in sharp contrast to the time horizons spanning decades and even generations that are always said to exist in forestry. The “doctrine of the long run”—the faith in the capacity of foresters to overcome the barriers of the uncertain future and look ahead and plan for long-range goals—which in many countries still underlies traditional forest management, can therefore be rejected.

How does organic matter affect the physical and mechanical properties of forest soil?

Determining the physical and mechanical properties of soil and its behavior for engineering projects is essential for road construction operations. One of the most important principles in forest road construction, which is usually neglected, is to avoid mixing organic matter with road materials during excavation and embankment construction. The current study aimed to assess the influence of organic matter on the physical properties and mechanical behaviors of forest soil and to analyze the relation between the amount of organic matter and the behavior of forest soil as road material. A typical soil sample from the study area was collected beside a newly constructed roadbed. The soil was mixed with different percentages of organic matter(control treatment, 5, 10, and 15% by mass) and different tests including Atterberg limits, standard compaction, and California bearing ratio(CBR) tests were conducted on these different soil mixtures. The results showed that soil plasticity increased linearly with increasing organic matter.Increasing the organic matter from 0%(control) to 15%resulted in an increase of 11.64% of the plastic limit and 15.22% of the liquid limit after drying at 110 ℃. Also,increasing the organic matter content reduced the soil maximum dry density and increased the optimum moisture content. Increasing the organic matter from 0 to 15% resulted in an increase of 11.0% of the optimum moisture content and a decrease of 0.29 g/cm~3 of the maximum dry density. Organic matter decreased the CBR, which is used as the index of road strength. Adding 15% organic matter to the soil resulted in a decrease of the CBR from 15.72 to 4.75%. There was a significant difference between the two drying temperatures(60 and 110 ℃) for the same organic matter mixtures with lower water content values after drying at 60 ℃. The results revealed the adverse influence of organic matter on soil engineering properties and showed the importance of organic matter removal before excavation and fill construction.