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.     

What to do with mushroom pickers in my forest? Policy tools from the landowners’ perspective

Wild mushroom picking is a growing recreational and commercial activity. In Spain, wild mushrooms legally belong to the landowner, who seldom benefits from trade in mushrooms or from their recreational value. Cultural aspects (tradition, picker-related harms) and economic aspects (costly forestry works, income opportunities) constitute elements of the debate on how to deal with mushroom picking. Through a survey of private forest owners in Catalonia (north-eastern Spain), this paper examines their experiences with mushroom pickers, the factors shaping their related policy preferences and their willingness to engage in mushroom reserves.The results show broad support for introducing mushroom picking norms. A regulation would allow outsider pickers to enter private land, but only under certain conditions, i.e. to comply with socio-ecological rules of the area. Among respondents who support the regulation, active land owners who report instances of picker-related harm (both tangible and intangible) tend to support the establishment of a fee system which could be reinvested into forest management. That is also the position of the respondents who perceive mushrooms as a private right, i.e. they believe to have a legitimate right to exclude outsider pickers and, eventually, to raise revenues from that asset. On the contrary, forest owners who conceive mushroom picking as a free-access activity prefer neither to regulate it nor to charge fees. The option to establish a mushroom picking reserve depends on the landholder being a fee-supporter and perceiving instances of harm. Harm, instead, is mainly determined by the perception of congestion of pickers, which in turn is determined by the mushroom productivity of their forest, their level of privacy protection and their involvement to the primary sector. These findings help policymakers to better understand the logic and sensitivities of forest owners in view of designing mushroom picking policies that can effectively solve picker-landowner conflicts.     

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.     

Scale of harvesting by non-industrial private forest landowners

We examine the intensity of harvesting decision by non-industrial landowners at the lowest price offer they deem acceptable, using a multiple bounded discrete choice stated preference approach that draws upon and connects two subfields of forestry, one identifying characteristics of landowners important to past harvesting or reforestation decisions, and another proposing how landowners evaluate price offers for forest harvesting decisions. Variables important to harvest intensity choices when the landowners find an acceptable price have only been considered for those landowners who actually have participated in harvesting markets, whereas here we examine the behavior of these individuals as well as those who are on the margin (i.e., have not harvested at prevailing current or past market prices). We show that harvest intensity depends critically on the extent of urbanization, indicated by the presence of structures on a parcel as well as forested tract size, along with landowner characteristics such as absenteeism and length of ownership. The results are useful for understanding the timber management behavior for a majority of landowners who may not harvest at prevailing prices, but may participate should prices reach a level acceptable to them, where this level is determined by individual preferences for standing timber resources.     

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.     

森林健康评价国内外相关研究

森林健康是森林生态系统健康和恢复的简称。对林业而言,森林健康是一个新的术语。现有文献对森林健康的理解和阐述有着本质的不同。文章着重从森林健康的内涵、评价指标以及评价方法3个方面梳理了国内外相关研究内容。认为欧州更多强调与空气污染有关的森林损害,美国更多强调火灾和病虫害对森林健康的影响。目前研究主要集中在评价技术和森林健康监测指标方法,而对于如何维持和调控森林健康,还只是处于经验总结阶段。     

森林生态税的政策设计

森林作为陆地生态系统的主体 ,对改善生态环境、保护生态平衡起着决定性的作用。但由于森林生态效益的外在性 ,使得其价值补偿无法实现 ,从而成为我国森林生态建设的根本性制约因素。为此 ,本文分析了森林生态税政策设计的前提 ,进行了诸种主要生态经济政策利弊的比较 ,认为森林生态税是一种兼有公正和效率的生态经济政策。以此为基础 ,本文进一步探讨了森林生态税要素的设计 ,税收的归属 ,并对森林生态税制定的政策效应等问题 ,进行了较为系统的探讨。     

Faustmann vs. real options theory – An experimental investigation of foresters’ harvesting decisions

Among the most complex decisions in forestry is the decision of when to harvest a stand. Many investment theories have been established and adjusted to maximize profit, yet limited knowledge is available regarding the predictive power of theories. Understanding foresters’ harvesting behavior, however, is important for forest management and policy support. Thus, the question arises as to what extent risky harvesting decisions comply with economic theories. Therefore, we conduct an incentive-based economic experiment with 107 forestry decision makers in order to analyze this research question. This approach is well-established in the field of behavioral economics since it has the advantage of analyzing certain economic parameters isolated from further aspects of the decision situation. We use the Faustmann–Pressler–Ohlin theorem and a real options approach as normative benchmarks. The present study provides evidence that none of the examined theories fully comply with the observed behavior. However, the harvesting behavior coincides significantly more with the real options theory than with the Faustmann–Pressler–Ohlin theorem. It can thus be stated that a higher degree of education leads to decisions that are more in accordance with the real options theory.     

组合赋权法在土地集约利用评价中的应用

在开发区集约评价过程中,指标权重的确定方法是否合理,权重结果是否完全反映指标的重要性,直接影响评价的最终结果。本研究选取层次分析法和变异系数法分别确定开发区土地集约利用评价体系各指标权重,再利用组合赋权法将两种方法确定的权重进行组合计算,得到开发区土地集约利用评价指标体系的最终权重值,结果表明组合权重兼顾了主观信息和客观现状,权重结果合理。     

私有林与中国林业发展

发达国家和经济转型国家的私有林具有以下特征:木材生产大多由采伐公司承担,集约经营程度和竞争力与它的规模有较强的正相关性,公共品或准公共品性质趋强,以及非农林主增多、老龄林主增多、林地平均规模趋小等。根据国际经验判断,私有林也应成为中国林业发展的选择。在现阶段发展私有林,需要改进林木采伐管制,确保采伐指标的公平分配,削弱森林部门征收税费的能力,相信农民的能力,并规范政府的行为。     

德国巴伐利亚州小规模私有林管理及其借鉴

目前我国集体林改革正向纵深发展,林业发达国家管理私有林好的经验和做法对完善我国私有林管理制度有重要借鉴意义。文章从政府如何管理私有林的角度考察了德国巴伐利亚州林业部门管理小规模私有林的体制、直接和间接两种不同管理方式、管理的三方面内容等,并结合我国私有林发展实际提出了相关政策建议。     

私有林补贴制度是深化林业产权制度改革的现实选择

评价和分析了私有林补贴制度的输入补贴与循环补贴的两种模式,通过施行服务型补贴制度,或者附加条件地施行激励补贴制度,有助于私有林补贴制度有效性的发挥。私有林补贴政策制度的有效实施将推动林业产权制度改革总体效益的提高,是深化林业产权制度改革的现实选择。     

苇河林区企业产权改革和制度建设情况的调查

通过对苇河林区国有企业产权制度改革实践及运行现状的调研,剖析现状,分析问题,讨论产权结构对企业经济效率的影响,依据国家相关法规政策,参照先进经验,规范职工持有企业股权的基本思路,提出自己对完善苇河林区中小企业产权制度改革制度建议,更好更快地推动林区经济发展和经济转型升级。     

Forest management plan as a policy instrument: Carrot, stick or sermon?

Technical aspects of forest management planning as decision-support have been addressed in numerous scientific studies. However, forest management plans (FMPs) also play a significant, but largely neglected, role as forest policy instruments. We have examined the policy context and planning practices in two contrasting case countries, revealing striking differences in policy instrumentation. In Sweden, FMPs mainly serve for informational steering, with under-utilised potential for providing individualised advice. In Lithuania, the plans are primarily regulatory, serving for effective control but with several deficiencies, notably excessive costs and institutionalised corruption. The study demonstrates that policy analyses can be fruitfully grounded in the empirics of planning practices.