Metla Project 3458

Family forestry and policy

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Duration: 2007-2011   Keywords: forest management behavior, forest owner characteristics, forest policy, income and wealth, new forest owners, nonindustrial private forestry, ownership objectives, small-scale forestry, timber supply
Research project group: Family forestry and forest policy

Objectives

Policy studies concern the assessment of the policy objectives, their coordination and compatibility with policy means and the effects of policy means in forest and related environmental and business policy. Also, the effects of forest owner characteristics, ownership objectives, roundwood prices and growing stock on private timber supply and forestry investments are analyzed. In particular, the effects of the new sales tax system on timber supply are investigated In the study, the Finnish monitoring system for private forestry is developed. The system produces periodical information concerning forest holding and ownership characteristics, forest owners’ objectives and forest management behavior. The system provides data for various studies concerning forest and environmental policy. The collection and calculation of forest owners’ income and wealth information are also to be developed in order to be published as a part of forest statistical service in Metla. The study topics include also the description of new forthcoming generation of forest owners and the analysis of new forms of forest ownership (institutional investors such as insurance companies)
1) to analyze the clarity and contradiction of the objectives for forest policy and forest-related environmental and business policies, to assess their compatibility with policy instruments and the effects of these instruments
2) to develop monitoring system for private forestry, which produces basic information on the characteristics and behaviors of non-industrial private forest owners and provides with empirical data for specific studies on environmental and forest policy
3) to develop a process to produce annual statistics concerning forest owners' income and wealth
4) to describe the forthcoming generation of forest owners, their forest values and ownership objectives and their needs for forestry services

Results

Future forest owners: descendants of the post-war baby boom generation

The mean age of small-scale forest owners is rather high in Finland. For instance, the post-war baby boom generation born in 1945-50, own one fifth of the non-industrial private forests. In 15-20 years, these owners who have lived on their estates during their childhood and adolescence give up their forest ownerships in favor of younger, more urban generations mainly via inheritance system. This may cause major changes in values, objectives and behaviors of forest owners.

This study examined these new, future forest owners, descendants of the post-war baby boom generation, their general values, objectives of forest ownership, forestry knowledge, and their interest in forestry as well as their needs for forestry extension and labor services. Values were examined using Schwartz's universal value measure. A thematic interview data were collected in two regions in Finland (n=22).

The study results suggest that future owners can be described using a typology based on landowner objectives, which is very similar to the one presented in the earlier literature: multiobjective owners, recreationists, self-employed owners, investors and indifferent owners. These owner categories could also be connected to general value types presented by Schwartz. Future forest owners preferred personal technical assistance provided by forestry extension organizations as well as internet services as sources of information.

Lectures

2011
Karppinen, H. 4.4.2011: Changing forest owners: A challenge to forestry extension in Finland (pdf, 870kb)

2010
Leppänen, J. 22.5.2010: Finnish Family Forest Owner 2010 (pdf, 195 kb)

2009
Karppinen, H. 9.6.2009: Family forest owners under the spotlight: the Finnish monitoring system (pdf, 1.3 Mb)

Articles

2010
Leppänen, J. 2010: Finnish family forest owner 2010 survey. Scandinavian Forest Economics No. 43: 184-195


Project leader: Karppinen, Heimo
The Finnish Forest Research Institute, Vantaa Unit, PL 18, FI-01301 VANTAA, FINLAND
Phone: +358 10 211 2238 Telefax: +358 10 211 2103
E-mail: heimo.karppinen@metla.fi

Other researchers: Hytönen, Marjatta, VA (2010-11), Hänninen, Harri, VA (2007-11), Kumela, Hanna, JO (2010-11), Leppänen, Jussi, VA (2007-11), Ovaskainen, Ville, VA (2007-11), Uotila, Esa, VA (2008-11), Uusivuori, Jussi, VA (2008-11), Viitala, Esa-Jussi, VA (2007-11)


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Updated 24.05.2012
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