Reasons for Technology Change
Anticipated Developments in Forestry
Factors Facilitating Technology Changes
During the last fifteen years the forestry sector of the Asia-Pacific Region has been influenced by a number of developments that will continue to shape it into the next century. In the absence of interventions to increase forest productivity and to promote end-use efficiency, wood consumption has exceeded the sustainable supply capacity of the Region's forests. Increasing wood shortages have stimulated the discussion on introducing changes in policies, management and technologies. In addition, environmental concerns and the discussion about timber certification schemes have raised the awareness of the need for sustainable forest management. This raises the question of how the forestry sector will respond to societies' demands.
It would be superficial to view the widening supply and demand gap as well as environmental concerns as the only determinants of current and future change. Though the developments in the various countries are far from uniform, a transformation from an agricultural economy to an economy based on manufacturing is currently shaping the rural landscape, industrialization and labour availability. Modernization and commercialization have particularly influenced the use of NTFPs leading in many cases to over-exploitation. Urbanization, improved educational standards and a growing middle class does not only translate into higher consumption rates. It also means a transformation in values, the realization that forests have more to offer than just wood, and an environment potentially conducive to technology changes. Market liberalization in former centrally planned economies have opened opportunities in tree growing and downstream processing. It has lead to an increasing involvement of the private sector in forestry which is also experienced in other countries. The plantation sector is especially affected by the diminishing role of the public sector. This has furthermore influenced research where the private sector is also replacing public research as the latter suffers from inadequate funding. And last, but not least, forestry in the Region is affected by globalization of production and trade which have influenced the flow of capital to areas of comparative advantage in terms of prices and government regulations.
Natural Forest Management
Plantation Management
Wood Processing Industry
The review focused on developments in natural forest management, plantation management, the wood processing industries, agroforestry, and the use and management of non-timber forest products. Of these five sub-sectors the last two have hardly been influenced by technology changes. Only few technology changes have affected the management of the Regions natural forests whereas most changes have been recorded in the plantation and the processing sub-sectors.
Economic growth and industrialization have created employment and income generating opportunities in non-land based activities, which has reduced the dependence on the agricultural sector paralleled by a labour shortage in the rural areas. It is perhaps the last two factors, that account for the rather insignificant technology changes in agroforestry and NTFP related activities. The opportunity costs of remaining in labour intensive activities are too high in comparison to benefits that can be achieved in other sectors. Particularly in agroforestry the emphasis has been and, to a large extent still is today, on resource conservation and long-term benefits, whereas many farmers are looking for means to increase production in the short-term. New agroforestry technologies have only partially responded to this need. Diverse agroforestry systems will remain in existence in many countries but in those limited cases where farmers maintain agroforestry, simple systems (e.g., fruit orchards in many upland environments and poplar and annual crops in India) with their financial attractiveness are the norm.
With few exceptions, the NTFP sub-sector has suffered from a lack of incentives for resource management, further value-adding and downstream processing. Harvesting of NTFP is often unsustainable, particularly for commercial products. Conflicts over resource ownership have fuelled over-exploitation and increased the risk of investing in any processing industry based on naturally occurring products. Many people view NTFP collection as a backward activity and many products themselves as primitive or old-fashioned, and replace them with more "western" products. With few exceptions, investments in new technologies have been and will remain unattractive.
As denoted above natural forest and plantation management as well as wood processing have experienced technology changes particularly in recent years due to various push and pull factors of primary and secondary importance. They include:
· increasing demand;· decreasing supply particularly of large diameter trees in easily accessible and environmentally less sensitive areas;
· environmental pressures, in general, and stricter forest policies in particular;
· export restrictions of unprocessed or semi-processed products;
· government incentives for developing domestic wood-based industries;
· increasing involvement of the private sector;
· urbanization and labour shortages in rural areas;
· supply shortages during unfavourable climatic conditions;
· market liberalization;
· real and expected prize increases; and
· availability of formerly under-utilized raw materials (e.g., rubber and oil palm).
Natural forest management has been particularly affected by increasing consumption and a dwindling supply of raw materials. The main wood suppliers, Malaysia and Indonesia, had to expand harvesting activities to more mountainous environments for which the conventional logging systems are less suitable. This has led to the introduction of skyline cable systems and helicopter logging. However, both systems have been introduced only recently, to a very limited extent and for operations in environmentally sensitive areas.
The second innovation in natural forest management, the introduction of reduced-impact logging, is a response to environmental concerns over the negative impacts of destructive logging. Research into reduced-impact logging has been stimulated by the move towards sustainable forest management, timber certification and interest in carbon sequestration.
In comparison to the plantation and wood processing sub-sector, technology change in natural forest management is in its infancies. The main reason for this is that there are still ample opportunities for conventional logging. Larger-scale corporations have relocated some of their operations to other countries. Thus, from a corporate perspective there has been little pressure to innovate.
The recent developments, particularly the involvement of the private sector, in plantation management, have their origin also in the widening supply and demand gap. Even many of the earlier state plantations were originally established in response to perceived supply shortages. Many such reforestation projects had, however, also conservation objectives. Area coverage of plantations appears to have been a more important indicator of success than growth and yield. This explains the use of poor planting material and low expenditures on maintenance.
With the involvement of the private players in the plantation sector the objective of reforestation has changed from protecting the environment towards producing for downstream industries. Government incentives have assisted the integration of wood fibre production with processing facilities. This is particularly the case in Indonesia and Malaysia. In order to produce to full capacity corporate investors have to ensure that sufficient raw material is produced. This has stimulated the use of improved planting stock (especially clonal material), higher expenditures for fire protection and research, and recently higher mechanization, particularly in timber harvesting. The latter development is also a response to labour shortages and the need for continuous industrial supplies. Tree improvement has also been assisted by the demand of small-scale investors. Private nurseries have been set up to cater to the demands of individual tree growers more flexibly. In the former centrally planned economies of China and Vietnam, plantation establishment has been boosted by market liberalization. Farmers have intensified plantation management (this includes also NTFPs such as bamboo) and the demand for quality planting stock is increasing.
The timber industry is currently undergoing a structural change with a gradual shift from the use of large diameter trees to smaller diameters, including fast growing plantation wood. The restructuring is a response to a mixture of emerging constraints and opportunities that have existed for a much longer time. Advanced machinery and technologies for more efficient wood use have existed in industrial countries for decades. Until recently, their adoption has been slow in the Region (predominantly in the tropical countries) because limits to harvesting large-sized timber were not expected so soon. Dwindling wood supplies have stimulated an entry into the reconstituted wood-panel industry.
Changes in the wood processing sector have their origin also in government policies to develop domestic wood-based industries. Not only did many governments, here again particularly in Indonesia and Malaysia, provide incentives they also restricted the export of unprocessed or semi-processed products. The result of such policies was and still is massive investment in wood processing industries. Wood-panel products with their advantages, in terms of cost and technical properties, have developed from plywood to particleboard and MDF, through an evolution from using basically solid wood to using fibres of a variety of products. This development has produced more homogenous products and increased recovery rates.
The impact of diminishing supplies of large diameter wood was less significant in the sawmilling industry, though investments in new machinery has raised recovery rates to some extent. More dramatic have been the developments in using formerly under-utilized and discarded raw materials. Logging waste and rubberwood fall into this category. While the former is still neglected because of high transportation costs, the latter is in high demand and fuels multi-million dollar industries. In fact, the first supply shortages have been reported, to which the industry is responding. First, harvesting is slowly mechanized. Second, investments are channelled towards rubber replanting programmes with the main focus on wood and not on latex production. Third, research has been initiated to look at alternative raw materials. Oil palm is viewed as another potential supplier.
The decrease in supplies has also stimulated vertical and horizontal integration in the wood processing sector. This has decreased the amount of waste produced by the industry and increased recovery rates.
Natural Forest Management
Plantation Management
Wood Processing
Non-Timber Forest Products Use And Management
Agroforestry
With few exceptions, the technologies that have shaped the forestry sector in recent years and that will most likely affect it in the future are not new. Most technologies have been transferred from the temperate countries to the Asia-Pacific Region. Improved road construction, better planning and directional felling techniques, all components of reduced-impact logging, have their origin in Europe. Skyline systems and helicopter logging have been in operations, particularly in North America. The degree of mechanization in plantation management, the production of high quality planting stock and clonal material, high recovery rates, and vertical and horizontal integration in the wood processing industries are also not recent developments in the temperate countries. The adoption of such existing technologies in the Asia-Pacific Region will depend on the perceptions about the supply situation and prices, the provision of incentives and the degree of enforcement of regulations. They changes that we anticipate will be far from uniform. The main reason for the heterogeneity is that the countries of the Region are at different in terms of degree of industrialization (indicated by the per capita energy consumption), population density, extent of forest resources, recent economic growth and population growth in the rural areas (Table 1).
Table 1 - Main Categories of Countries in the Asia-Pacific Region
|
|
Recent economic growth |
Forest/capita |
Energy consumption/capita |
Population growth in rural areas |
|
Category 1 |
4-5% |
< 0.15 ha |
very low to low |
medium to high |
|
Category 2 |
about 10% |
0.15 to 0.2 ha |
medium |
low |
|
Category 3 |
3-6% |
1 to 3.5 ha |
very low |
medium to high |
|
Category 4 |
6-10% |
0.17 to 0.32 ha |
low to medium |
low to medium |
|
Category 5 |
8-10% |
0.9 to 2.4 ha |
medium to high |
low |
|
Category 6 |
< 3% |
> 5 ha |
medium |
medium |
|
Category 7 |
very low to very high |
low to high |
very high |
very low to negative |
While other factors such as the degree of market liberalization and the capacity for sustainable forest management and for enforcing forestry regulations will also determine the scenarios for the next fifteen years, major developments will follow according along the lines of the main variables defining individual categories.
Category 1 consists mainly of the countries in Southeast Asia that are characterized by high population pressures and a low forest cover. Furthermore, industrial development has not been as strong as in most other categories. China is the sole representative of category 2, with very high economic growth rates and declining population pressure in the rural areas. In the next category we find countries such as Laos and Cambodia which belong to the least developed country but whose forest resources are still substantial. Representatives of category 4 are Thailand and Philippines. Both had high deforestation rates during the last three decades. Today they are rapidly industrializing and have very high growth rates. Malaysia and Indonesia in category 5 have also been able to developed rapidly but in contrast to the pervious countries, vast areas of their territories remain under forest cover. Some of the Pacific islands belong to category 6, characterized predominantly by extensive forest resources but with currently weak economies. Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Japan make up the last category. They are the most developed countries of the region and do not experience the population pressure of the other countries. Furthermore, they are able to restrict harvesting in their natural forest because they can rely on imports or plantation grown timber.
The picture regarding current natural forest management in the Region is not very clear, but with minor exceptions, today's management is basically limited to timber harvesting operations with only little attention paid to enrichment planting and liberation thinning and other silvicultural measures. Intensive forest management plays an insignificant role. The two most common systems are different mainly in terms of logging intensity (Table 2). The fast, the low intensity harvesting system, is common in the countries of the first four categories, whereas high and capital intensity systems are in place in many countries of category 5 and 6, especially in those areas earmarked for conversion.
Table 2 - Technology-related Scenarios for the Management of Natural Forests
|
Logging intensity |
Yield, ha |
Damage |
Mechanization |
Status of operators |
Management intensity |
|
Low |
< 25 cum |
medium |
low to medium |
private/public |
low |
|
High |
25 to > 150 cum |
high |
high |
private |
very low |
|
Medium (RIL) |
25 to 100 cum |
medium/low |
high |
private/public |
low/medium |
|
Very low |
< 10 cum |
low |
high |
private |
high |
|
None (protected forest) |
none |
none |
none |
none |
none |
With the exception of Thailand, where the logging ban can be expected to remain in place in the medium term future, low intensity logging will continue in those countries characterized by low forest cover. The countries in category three will experience a change to high intensity logging with the commencement of timber harvesting by private, mainly foreign, companies. This development is already evident in Cambodia, where the forest department does not have the capacity to enforce forest regulations. Similar developments can be expected in the overseas concessions in Latin America and Africa.
The natural forests of the countries in category 5 and 6 will continue to be harvested intensively. Stagnating economic growth on the timber rich Pacific islands will dictate the continuance of such activities. In countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia, developments will not be uniform. These two countries have undertaken serious steps towards sustainable forest management and reducing the impacts of logging. However, change will only be slowly in the majority of concessions and by the end of this century the area affected by improved harvesting practices will probably be no more than 10,000 ha.
In the environmentally more sensitive areas, in the future the single objective of natural forest management will be the production of high value timber as suggested by Johnson and Sarre (1995). The "utilization of wooden diamonds" will require a more intensive management, particularly liberation thinning. Because of its capital intensity it will probably be limited to countries in category 5. These countries at the same time will progressively extend their protected areas where commercial harvesting will cease. The speed with which these changes will take place, will depend on the success of the plantation programmes. Increasing raw material supplies from plantations will replace wood from natural forests. However, any plantation failure will slow down to progress towards better forest management.
There are no changes envisioned in the countries of category 7. Their countries are affected by harvesting operations only to a limited extent and they will continue to provide environmental service functions.
Accordingly, in terms of area coverage, technological change towards reducing impacts in natural forest management will be very slow. Locally, recurrence of traditional silvicultural treatments and the adoption of reduced-impact logging practices will mitigate the destructive impacts. On the other hand, in some countries first entries into formerly unlogged stands will be ecologically damaging.
The plantation sector in the Region will assume increasing importance with rising raw material demands. A review of past experiences shows some success, particularly in simple plantation forestry but numerous examples also demonstrate a significant extent of poor results. Notwithstanding earlier problems, the interest in plantation establishment by the private sector will grow, fuelled by the need to feed the growing capacities of the wood processing industries as well as supported by government incentives. In general, land use conflicts between private companies and the rural population will decrease. In place of earlier conflicts, farmers and other land owners will increasingly get involved in growing trees in most countries of the Region.
In contrast to natural forest management, the plantation sector will continue its transformation from less to more intensive management. Most interest will focus on monocultures of species for which high quality planting stock is available, though the more specific developments will amongst countries (Table 3).
Table 3 - Technology-related Scenarios in the Plantation Sector
|
Scale |
Management |
Purpose |
Complexity |
Ownership |
Former Landuse |
|
Medium to large |
extensive |
undefined/multipurpose |
simple, single species |
public |
degraded lands shifting cultivation areas |
|
Large |
intensive |
clearly defined end |
simple, single species |
private |
degraded lands |
|
Small |
semi-intensive |
clearly defined end |
simple, single species |
private |
degraded lands idle |
|
Large |
semi-intensive |
multi purpose |
species diverse |
private public |
former agricultural land |
|
Small |
semi-intensive |
multipurpose |
species diverse |
private |
former agricultural land |
The significance of state run plantations that frequently had undefined objectives and were in general not very successful, will decline. Private investors will assume to traditional role of the state and production will follow along the lines of end user needs. Large scale plantations will dominate the landscape in those countries where land is available in the rural areas. This situation is found more commonly in the last three categories. In the first four categories of countries, it will be predominantly small-scale investors establishing plantations as is already the case in India and Thailand. Management and species choice will not depend very much on scale, but larger plantations will probably be established extensively on degraded forest land whereas small plantations will be located on idle farm land and degraded sites. While the corporate investor will focus on wood production, farmers will establish agroforestry systems on better sites to increase early returns.
Two other plantation types will develop later and differ from the previous generation of plantations in that they make use of secondary forests. They will have multiple purposes and will be species diverse. On a large scale they will be found in countries that have extensive areas of logged over but poorly stocked secondary forest. Some of the systems adopted by farmers will be semi-natural and produce next to timber NTFPs for the market.
In general, site preparation will improve with a recognition of the environmental benefits of soil management. Labour shortages will affect the degree of mechanization in the rapidly developing economies of category 5. Here it is likely that, tree felling and bunching will be performed by light feller bunchers and log extraction by light rubber-tired skidders and forwarders in large-scale plantations with high labour costs.
Strengthened collaboration between wood producers and processors will increase plantation diversity. Initially, it will lead to simplicity in individual plantations geared towards the production of consistent raw materials with uniform properties. This trend will continue as long as there are no major setbacks (e.g., pest and disease infestations).
Maintaining naturally regenerating hardwoods in plantations will be a first step towards more complexity. Once the anatomy of indigenous species is better understood and becomes more acceptable to the processing industry, it will be possible to enrich logged-over and otherwise degraded forests with dipterocarps increasing plantation complexity. This development will not only be beneficial from an environmental perspective but may also be coupled with the intensive management of NTFPs such as rattan.
The wood processing sub-sectors in the Region have been severely affected by the diminishing supply of large diameter wood. The has particularly affected the traditional small-scale and labour intensive sawmills with low recovery rates. While they still exist in most countries of the Region they are slowly replaced by mills with advanced equipment in order to remain price competitive. This has increased recovery rates to some extent. However, with the diameters falling, wood processing has substantially diversified (Table 4).
Table 4 - Technology-related Scenarios in the Wood Processing Sector
|
Diameter |
processing category |
recovery rate |
ownership |
source |
comments |
|
Large |
old sawmills old plywood mills |
low |
public and private |
natural forest, 1. cut |
few species used |
|
Medium to large |
new sawmills plywood pulp and paper |
low to medium |
private |
natural forest, 2. Cut some farm forestry |
species mix |
|
Small to medium |
boards reconstituted panels pulp and paper |
medium |
private |
2. Cut plantation farm forestry |
species mix fast growing rubber |
|
Small to medium |
pulp and paper |
high |
private |
short rot. plantations |
few species |
|
Medium |
new saw mills plywood mills |
high |
private |
long rot. plantations |
few species teak, dipterocarps |
The most dramatic developments in the wood processing industry have been in the reconstituted wood-panel industry in countries belonging to category 5 and 7. Special grades and properties, including moisture resistance, fire retardance and exterior grades will fuel growth rates in the future. The expected growth in ready-to-assemble furniture will increase the awareness of the special characteristics and advantages of wood-based panels, particularly MDF and OSB. In addition, new processing lines can be erected with relative ease.
The decreasing supply of large diameter logs has also affected the plywood industry. Depending on the success of marketing strategies for boards such as MDF or OSB, the tropical plywood sector may shrink faster than expected, at least in relative terms. Reconstituted panels will not be able to substitute all solid wood products but laminating technologies will assist in making them attractive to consumers. In addition, finger jointing technologies will allow manufacturers to arrive at desired length of final products.
Vertical and horizontal integration of productive units will also provide opportunities to increase employment and efficiency of wood use. Currently there are no incentive structures for reducing wood waste during harvesting operations in natural forests, or for transporting the waste to processing mills. The most logical way to overcome high extraction and transportation cost of wood waste is to pre-process timber at the logging site and the use of mobile chippers is predicted to increase once logging road construction has been improved. Mobile chippers will be particularly attractive for secondary forests where the mean diameter of trees can be expected to be far lower than in "primary" forests.
The more widespread application of sound and vigorous marketing will accompany the introduction of new technologies and exotic fibres. In addition, new technologies will achieve greater structural properties of panels and enable the manufacturing of environmentally friendly composites.
The most important changes that will affect pulp and paper production in the near future, are stricter environmental regulations regarding effluent discharge. Another important aspect for the pulp and paper industry is whether it will be able to satisfy its raw material demand. Most manufacturers are overly optimistic regarding plantation development and productivity. Non-wood fibres will play some role in production processes. However because of their drawbacks they will not replace wood as the most significant raw material in most countries.
The recent developments in wood processing will continue. However, the capital intensity of the advanced facilities will only lead in the more industrialized countries to more widespread application of new technologies.
Based on the changes that are currently taking place, the future of most NTFPs as raw materials from the natural forests appears bleak, which is not to say that NTFPs will lose their importance in subsistence economies. Destructive harvesting and an increase in opportunity cost to labour will make the raw material supply of many NTFPs from the natural forest more unreliable. The heterogeneity of NTFPs makes it impossible to provide any scenarios for the whole sector. Policy changes can have a positive effect on the production and processing of individual NTFPs. However, the increase in value will rather take place outside the natural forest and not inside. It can therefore be argued that NTFPs as "pillars of sustainable forestry" have only limited potential.
In general, it appears that the increased attention that NTFPs have received over the last fifteen years has not lead to the introduction of new technologies. While the future does not have to be a reflection of the past, technological change over the next fifteen years will be limited to only some selected products of commercial importance (e.g., rattan and bamboo). They will be managed more intensively, fuel a growing industry and may become viable substitute raw materials for the paper and panel industries.
As with NTFPs, the future developments in agroforestry will be very diverse. There will always be a place for traditional agroforestry systems for supporting subsistence-based economies. Home gardens can also be expected to prevail in those areas where rural economies are slowly changing from land-based to industrial activities. They will be maintained as remnants of former practices in the rural landscape as long as land prices remain low. In easily accessible areas, private forestry will be in direct conflict with agricultural systems. Depending on marketing opportunities and prices, farmers and even urban residents will intensify cash crop production. Continuing demand for fast-growing tree species by the wood fibre using industries will, on the other hand, open opportunities farmers to grow trees (see Table 2).
Small-scale tree growing enterprises will boom in places which can offer alternative non land-based employment opportunities, fair marketing agreements between tree growers and the processing industry, and sufficient support structures in terms of extension and regulations. Particularly, the provision of high quality planting stock will have a tremendous impact on small-scale investors' enthusiasm in producing wood. This means that agroforestry will not be the species diverse and extensively managed home gardens but will rather be intensively managed small-scale plantations with the objective of producing only one or two products. In terms of technologies they will be managed quite similar to large-scale plantations though the degree of mechanization will remain low.
The factors that have brought about changes in the forestry sector in the past will continue to affect the adoption or non-adoption of new technologies in the sub-sectors. In addition, a number of factors will facilitate technology transfer and motivate operators to innovate. Some of the issues such as land security, education and training, and research can be addressed within individual countries. Other changes with implications for the forestry sector cannot be influenced easily.
Changing prices and exchange rates affect imports and exports. As West and Hansen (1996) have pointed out, Singapore buyers of American hardwood are receiving their lumber today for 15 percent less than in 1986, while US suppliers receive 35 percent more in real terms. Thus, in this case the exchange rate fluctuations have been favourable for buyers and suppliers alike. At the same time, Asian suppliers are suffering from the opposite effect. Their timber has become more expensive. Besides wood products, equipment and machinery is also affected by price changes and may render the adoption of innovative technology in countries with weak currencies unattractive.
Currently investment opportunities overseas look promising, which accounts for the relocation of logging activities. This reduces the pressure on local resources but also delays the adoption of new technologies in the Region. Developments regarding further expansion into Africa and Latin America are difficult to predict. As indicated earlier, in Brazil opposition to the involvement of foreign companies in timber extraction is growing. Responding to environmental concerns, the Brazilian national congress has set up a special committee to look into the sale of vast rain forest areas to companies from Malaysia, China and South Korea (Anon, 1996f). Economically weaker countries will find it more difficult to regulate logging and monitor harvesting activities. In the long term, however, it can be expected that companies operating overseas will have to follow the same standards that apply in their countries of origin.
A most important issue for natural forest and plantation management is land security. Solving the problem of overlapping land claims will reduce land use conflicts among various stakeholders. Permanent demarcation of forests and the allocation of forest resources on a long-term basis will provide an incentive to invest in infrastructure and new technologies. Particularly in natural forest management, concessionaires have to be given assurances regarding long-term and exclusive access to concession areas. This also means that the issue of illegal logging needs to be addressed vigorously.
Without appropriate training and education the impact of most new technologies that are tested in pilot projects will remain insignificant. For widespread adoption, hands-on experiences are necessary. This requires the establishment of training centres and curriculum development designed for particular professions. Besides practical aspects of planning, road construction, tree felling and monitoring, awareness raising should be targeted. Numerous authors have argued that operators are not aware of the requirements of better forest management nor do they appreciate the value of proper planning and road construction. Hence, trainees should visit sites where new technologies have been adopted to enable them to assess their impact.
As plantation management and natural forest management are diverging more, the historical all-round forester becomes obsolete. Instead, educational facilities should focus on preparing graduates for the different requirements of plantation and natural forest management. Practical training as part of the degree requirements will allow students to become more familiar with the realities in the forest. Extension capacities will have to be developed to cater to the increasing involvement of small-scale investors in tree growing.
In many developing countries, governments should focus on policies for technology search and acquisition instead of original research on the grounds that adapting what is already available and known can be the most economical way to proceed (Contreras-Hermosilla and Gregersen, 1991). Accordingly, researchers should develop capabilities in reviewing available documentation and move away from problem-solving research. This requires that research institutions provide the appropriate facilities for information searches and exchanges. To institutionalize more forward looking demand-driven research furthermore demands closer collaboration between the public and the private sector which hitherto has been neglected.
Tree-growing by small-holders is flourishing in many countries despite state interventions and competition with subsidized supplies of wood from government sources. The main reasons are that the demand for wood fibres has increased and that the better quality planting stock increasing productivity is also available to farmers. However, in many countries considerable uncertainties remain regarding the legal ownership of trees on private land. Wood transport is also impeded by often outdated regulations. Therefore, forestry regulations should be revised to support private initiatives.
