Decisions nonindustrial forest landowners make: an empirical examination

Our purpose is to estimate a model of non-industrial forest landowner behavior that considers certain types of behavior that have escaped discussion and rigorous investigation in the literature, yet which are critical to future policy making. Our focus on the many different but related decisions landowners make broadens the typical understanding of landowner behavior to show how bequest motives, debt and participation in non-timber activities, and harvesting decisions are interrelated and dependent on landowner preferences, market, and land characteristics.     

Small forest landowner preferences for working forest conservation contract attributes: A case of Washington State,USA

In Washington State, small forest landowners (SFLO) play an important role in maintaining forest cover on the landscape as well as associated ecosystem services. This paper examines landowner preferences for the attributes of working forest conservation contracts (WFCC) using a choice experiment. The attributes examined are contract duration (from 10 years to perpetuity), forest management requirements, and the extent of forestland covered under the contract. We find that contract attributes are valued very differently depending on landowner objectives and harvesting behavior. Landowner characteristics and forestland spatial characteristics including distances to development and large public forestlands were found to significantly influence the likelihood of contract acceptance. While a significant portion of preference heterogeneity remains unobserved, we identify several key sources of landowner preference heterogeneity which allows for a better understanding of which landowners are likely to enroll in voluntary forest conservation contracts and may have implications for improved targeting of contracts.     

An institutional evaluation of sustainable forest management in Flanders

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the existing Flemish institutional framework of sustainable forest management (SFM). The evaluation was performed using criteria and indicators that were based on the four-dimensional structure (discourse, rules, power and actors) of the policy arrangement approach. The data collection and analysis were done using a single representative case. The conclusions of the evaluation are mixed. The introduction of sustainable forest management is hampered by different perspectives on SFM and a fragmented network of many different owners with a clear asymmetrical distribution of trust and power. It is, however, enabled by the way that the most powerful and trusted actors in the network – the forest group and the forest service – have the same perspective on SFM perspective as the government. We expect that SFM can be achieved in the near future, although it remains a vulnerable situation.     

Analysis of individual private forestry in northern Spain according to economic factors related to management

In addition to being motivated by profit, the management decisions taken by non-industrial private forest (NIPF) owners involve other considerations beyond timber, such as non-timber goods and services, as well as factors that affect the level of timber output from the land. Ensuring and improving forest profitability to make NIPF management viable is one of the main challenges faced by this type of landowner. This study empirically explores and assesses management by NIPF owners, through analysing attributes of forest economics (investment in holdings, expenditure on planting and silviculture, public subsidies, along with timber and non-timber incomes). With the aim of predicting outcomes, a multiple regression model was also constructed to investigate and quantify the relationship between socioeconomic and holding factors, and the planting activities carried out by NIPF owners. For this, 103 resident forest landowners in a forest region in northern Spain were interviewed in person, during March 2004, about their commitment to and involvement in land management during the period 1999–2003. The results mainly revealed that attractive forest returns and favourable market conditions for timber production are significant factors for investment in and development of forestry, with personal and family conditions also being important factors in explaining the type of land management carried out. In particular, the multiple linear regression model for forest planting activity correctly explained 84.5% of the variability observed in the study population, indicating that both the investments in and the incomes from forestry play an important role in the activity, as does the size of the holding. The findings may be of interest in promoting public measures related to timber markets and economic incentives for forest management, which will allow landowners to develop economically viable practices, as well as enabling fulfilment of social and environmental demands for sustainable forestry and rural development.     

Factors associated with landowner involvement in forest conservation programs in the U.S.: Implications for policy design and outreach

One-third of the forestland in the U.S. is owned by 10.4 million family forest owners. Their collective decisions have a great impact on the sustainability of forest landscape across the country. Public policies and programs for encouraging landowners to properly manage their land include cost-share, forest certification, and conservation easements. However, to date, less than 6% of the family forest owners have participated in a cost-share program, less than 1% have certified their land, and less than 2% have an easement. By analyzing data from USDA Forest Service's National Woodland Owner Survey, we examined the characteristics of family forest owners who had participated in these programs and identified strategies to capitalize on these landowner characteristics to improve current programs and attract a wider range of participants. We found that family forest owners with larger land holdings were more likely to participate in all three types of programs. Obtaining forest management information or advice was important for program participation; however, the effects differed depending on the types of programs and the sources of information. Income was not significant in predicting participation in cost-share programs, implying family forest owners from lower-income strata were not more likely to use cost-share program. The results also suggest the importance of targeting the right audience when promoting forest certification programs, namely those who are participants of cost-share programs, own forestland for reasons other than farming or ranching, and plan to harvest sawlogs or pulpwood in the future. Age was not significant in any of the empirical models. This result is particularly intriguing in the context of conservation easement, considering recent discussions about the high cost of dying unprepared and the potential for promoting conservation easement as part of estate planning among older family forest owners. Finally, few variables were significant in the model predicting landowner decision about donating or selling an easement, suggesting the easement decision is very different from cost-share and forest certification decisions and further efforts are needed to understand the dynamics of this increasingly popular conservation policy tool. In summary, this study provides a better understanding of the relationship between program participation and the demographics, attitudes and behaviors of family forest owners. This understanding contributes to the development of outreach strategies for improving landowner interest in forest conservation programs.     

Market and welfare implications of the reservation price strategy for forest harvest decisions

Previous studies have reported significant gains from adopting the adaptive harvest strategy under conditions of timber price uncertainty. For the final harvest decision in even-aged stand management, the adaptive strategy typically means that a stand is harvested when the timber price is sufficiently high, whereas low prices are avoided by postponing the harvest. Such a harvest behavior may have significant impacts on the future price process, which in turn affects the landowner's profits. Moreover, it would certainly affect the timber-based industry and consumers. This paper assesses these impacts in a hypothetical timber market, using the Faustmann rule (FR) as a benchmark. The results show that changing from the FR to the reservation price strategy (RPS) reduces the supply of timber, thereby pushes up the price level. The RPS significantly reduces the short-run random variation of timber price. In the long run, both the mean and the variance of the timber price tend to stabilize. Depending on the anticipated price variation underlying the RPS, the expected timber price may be close to, or much higher than, the benchmark level, and the variance of price can be very large or very small. The welfare effect of the RPS is small if the anticipated variance of timber price used to optimize the RPS is small. If the anticipated variance of price is large, then the RSP leads to significant increase in the landowners’ profits and at the same time reduces the consumer surplus by a much larger amount.     

Diversity of incentives for private forest landowners: An assessment of programs in Indiana, USA

 Many government and private programs provide incentives for non-industrial private forest (NIPF) owners. Due to the complexity of this web of programs, the incentives of the programs are unclear. We focus on four specific programs that represent different rule structures—a federal cost-share program, a state tax incentive program, a nationwide private stewardship program, and a local private conservation organization. We perform institutional analysis of the formal and informal rules of the programs based on literature review, discussions with officers, and formal guidelines of the programs. We classify different types of rule structures, and explain them in relation to goals and organizational structures of the programs.     

20 years of stated preference valuation of non-timber benefits from Fennoscandian forests: A meta-analysis

Stated preference (SP) surveys have been conducted to value non-timber benefits (NTBs) from forests in Norway, Sweden and Finland for about 20 years. The paper first reviews the literature and summarises methodological traditions in SP research in the three countries. Second, a meta-regression analysis is conducted explaining systematic variation in Willingness-to-Pay (WTP). Two important conclusions emerge, with relevance for future research: (1) WTP is found to be insensitive to the size of the forest, casting doubt on the use of simplified WTP/area measures for complex environmental goods; and (2) WTP tends to be higher if people are asked as individuals rather than on behalf of their household.     

Amenity values and payment schemes for free recreation services from non-industrial private forest properties: A French case study

Free-access recreation on private forest property is gaining in importance with the increasing social demand for forest-based recreation. The amended French Forest Law of 2001 provides for schemes with a voluntary contract, in terms of which private forest owners are paid to maintain an open-access forest for nature-based recreational activities, which are largely public goods. The main objective of this paper is to analyze private forest landowners’ commitment to free-access recreation services on their properties. We develop a framework to estimate their willingness-to-accept (WTA) values as a measure of the financial compensation that they expect in exchange of reduced forest amenity values due to a public recreation use management plan. Since forest holdings are permanently exposed to several types of risk, the willingness-to-accept measure is defined within a subjective expected utility modeling approach. Our empirical analysis draws on data from a contingent valuation design carried out in 2006 in the Landes district in France. The empirical distribution of the subjective probability of fire risk is deduced from the forest owners’ perception of fire risks due to free recreation use. We then introduce our measurements of the fire risk as explanatory variables of the forest owners’ financial compensation requirements.     

The impact of forest management plans on trees and carbon: Modeling a decade of harvesting data in Cameroon

By 2010, about 25% (180 million ha) of The International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) producer countries’ permanent forest estate was being managed using an approved forest management plan (FMP). While the existence of a FMP is often used as evidence of sustainable forest management (SFM), State officials mandated to monitor and verify FMPs’ implementation often lack the technical knowledge and political incentives to assess the changes that have been introduced, notably in terms of harvested volumes and species. Among tropical timber producers, Cameroon is considered to be exemplary for its progressive forest regulatory framework. Here we aim to estimate for the first time in sub-Saharan Africa the causal impact of the implementation of FMPs on harvested volumes, species and carbon stocks. We do so by using a 12-year (1998–2009) unbalanced longitudinal data set of a detailed, official harvesting inventory of 81 concessions in Cameroon. Results provide evidence to the theoretical expectations that for many years many practitioners have had on the implementation of SFM, i.e. that FMPs show a substantial opportunity to reduce carbon emissions from forest while presenting logging companies with acceptable financial trade-offs. We explore the technical and political reasons for our findings and conclude that these analyses are important for countries that are underwriting carbon-related schemes in which they propose to reduce their emissions through the effective implementation of SFM. We also demonstrate that producer countries do record useful information that, when effectively used, can help them to inform their policies and improve their sustainable development strategies.     

森林碳汇价值实现对林地效益影响的路径及机理分析

森林在应对气候变化中具有特殊的地位和重要作用,国际社会努力为实现森林碳汇价值提供途径,探讨森林碳汇价值实现对林地效益可能产生的影响具有重要的理论和现实意义。本文在阐述森林碳汇价值实现对林地效益影响路径的基础上,分析了在森林碳汇价值实现的情境下,森林最佳轮伐期的变化情况,以及木材收益和碳汇收益的变化,最后得出林地效益的变化情况。     

森林资源的资产化管理问题及对策

森林资源是国家最重要的自然资源,把森林资源作为资产纳入资产化管理,是适应市场经济发展的一项改革,也是科学合理开发利用森林资源、提高森林资源质量、保证森林资源可持续发展的优化高效的管理手段;结合当前我国的国情和林情,初步分析了森林资源资产化管理的必要性和问题,提出了加强森林资源资产化管理的具体措施和建议。     

生态公益林补偿资金补偿标准的探讨

对生态公益林进行补偿是生态公益林建设的一项重要内容,补偿标准的确定具有十分重要的理论和现实意义。根据目前国家经济发展水平,以经济效益损失补偿为出发点,阐述了生态补偿资金使用原则和影响补偿资金标准的因素,提出了生态补偿资金分阶段补偿标准。     

公法和私法上的林权概念比较

因林业法律、法规颁布时间的不同,导致林权概念及内容的不一致性,使林权无法完整地得到实现。《物权法》的颁布为我国林权体制改革提供了契机,《物权法》中明确规定了森林、林地、林木的所有权、用益物权的内涵,为林权体制改革奠定了基础。文章从公法和私法两方面对林权概念的内涵、主体、客体等方面进行对比,对现行林权概念的规定进行探究,以期为进一步完善林权概念和推进林权体制改革提供理论依据。     

森林公园游客环境行为管理模型之构建——以大熊山国家森林公园为例

游客环境行为对森林公园生态环境的影响日益凸显,一方面通过大熊山国家森林公园的实证分析,以问卷调查方式实地调研了该森林公园游客环境行为及其管理的现状,运用SPSS软件的相关性分析发现游客不良环境行为发生的频度和公园游客管理现状存在显著相关性;另一方面结合"刺激-反应"原理以及"破窗效应"的理论研究,尝试性的构建了森林公园游客环境行为管理模型,并以此为框架提出了大熊山国家森林公园游客环境行为管理的优化建议,如管理资源层面的突破,管理原则层面的提升等,以期为改进森林公园游客环境行为管理实践提供借鉴参考。     

中国原木进口量价齐增的原因及对策

中国原木产品的国际贸易依存度一直较高,特别是自2010年以来,中国原木进口出现了高价位上进口量激增的现象,以进口原木为主要原材料的中国家具出口也创下历史新高。这一现象不得不引起我们的注意,原木进口来源国集中限制了进口原木的定价话语权,旺盛的国内需求成为高进口价的重要拉动力量,分析原木进口量价齐增的原因,并找到相应的对策已经成为当务之急。     

泸水县50农户退耕还林社会经济效益调查监测

以滇西北泸水县的50户农户为例,论述农户退耕还林社会经济效益调查监测方法、监测指标以及50户农户调查监测结果。     

Economic indicators of sustainable forest management: theory versus practice

There appears to be a divergence between the conceptual literature in economics on forest sustainability indicators and the practical literature on economic indicators of sustainable forest management. The former focuses on forest resource accounts and issues related to measurement of integrated natural or forest capital accounts. The latter includes some elements of capital accounts but also contains a variety of other community level economic activity indicators. The divergence between these two bodies of literature is evaluated in this paper. Some explanations for the differences are offered as are some suggestions for improvement and investigation in the area of economic sustainability indicators.