Forest Policy and Economics最新文献

{"title":"Reality gaps in formalisation of wooden furniture microenterprises in Kenya","authors":"Rattiya Suddeephong Lippe ,&nbsp;Stephen Maina Kiama ,&nbsp;Veronica Alonso ,&nbsp;Thomas Buchholz ,&nbsp;Jörg Schweinle","doi":"10.1016/j.forpol.2025.103534","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forpol.2025.103534","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The informal wooden furniture microenterprises, Jua Kali-WFMEs, play a crucial role in job creation and securing livelihoods across Kenya. Due to their informal status, however, Jua Kali-WFMEs face numerous social and economic difficulties. Formalisation, which involves bringing enterprises under regulations, is a crucial approach to address these challenges. To enable an effective formalisation strategy, this study applies a mixed method research design to characterise Jua Kali-WFMEs in Nairobi and examine key factors influencing formalisation. Findings show that Jua Kali-WFMEs operate along the formality continuum, exhibiting a dualistic structure of lower- and upper-tier informality. The upper tier consists of Jua Kali-WFMEs that achieve higher profits and labour productivity, while demonstrating better adoption of formal business practices. Underlying factors influencing formalisation include business premises, access to affordable credit, revenue and profit. Additionally, unofficial financial transactions and rising timber prices, partly driven by supply shortages and the COVID-19 pandemic, hinder formalisation by reducing business profitability. Findings reveal that formalisation strategies need to be tailored to the specific needs of Jua Kali-WFMEs. For the lower tier, interventions need to emphasise the provision of business premises and facilitation of affordable credit. By contrast, adequate high-value market access to promote business growth, coupled with fair enforcement, can enable upper-tier microenterprises to fully formalise their business. For social security compliance, schemes aligned with entrepreneurs' financial capacity and sustained dialogue with relevant authorities are crucial for microenterprises in both segments. Future studies require the explicit assessment of the impact of environmental policy on enterprise formalisation and vice versa.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12451,"journal":{"name":"Forest Policy and Economics","volume":"178 ","pages":"Article 103534"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144330491","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Workload in wood harvesting and among transportation professionals — A study based on survey research in Finland","authors":"Marja K. Kallioniemi ,&nbsp;Hanna-Riitta Kymäläinen ,&nbsp;Janne Kaseva ,&nbsp;Esa Katajamäki","doi":"10.1016/j.forpol.2025.103530","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forpol.2025.103530","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study focused on workload in forest harvesting and among transportation professionals and included all professional groups of the occupational sector: timber truck drivers, plant drivers, loggers and timber workers, officers, and other workers. A postal and Internet survey (<em>N</em> = 1282, response rate 32 %) comprised five variables indicating workload: stress, sense of control, mental load, working hours per week, and harmful factors at work. A random sampling (<em>N</em> = 4000), adjusted to professional groups, was carried out based on different databases and a register including information about forestry professionals. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated the associated variables of stress. Over half of the sample respondents (59 %) reported stress and nearly half (47 %) assessed their work as mentally straining. Poor recovery from work was especially associated with stress. The average number of working hours per week (44.9 h) was large, and several respondent groups worked over 50 h per week. The most common harmful factors at work were sitting for a long time, similar, repetitive work movements, working alone, vibration, and coldness or draft. Vulnerable groups to workload were those with higher education levels, officers, women, and employers. Cooperation between stakeholders is needed to alleviate the heavy workload in this work sector, which includes a lot of small enterprises and self-employed persons working in a changing operational environment.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12451,"journal":{"name":"Forest Policy and Economics","volume":"178 ","pages":"Article 103530"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144322720","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Unlocking a transition to alternative forest management in intensive management contexts: Stakeholder perceptions of constraints and opportunities in Sweden","authors":"Lucas Dawson ,&nbsp;Jayne Glass ,&nbsp;Ulrika Widman ,&nbsp;Jenny Friman ,&nbsp;Sara Holmgren","doi":"10.1016/j.forpol.2025.103560","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forpol.2025.103560","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Forests are increasingly recognized as providing key nature-based solutions for societal challenges related to climate change, biodiversity loss, and sustainable development. This is driving a shift towards greater consideration of alternative forest management (AFM) approaches that promote ecological integrity and social values alongside economic viability. This study investigates constraints and opportunities influencing the adoption of AFM practices in contexts dominated by intensive management. Using a case study of Sweden, we conducted a literature review and a workshop with 53 expert participants to identify 26 topic clusters related to the transition from intensive management to AFM. Key findings reveal that knowledge gaps, socio-cultural norms, and institutional support are perceived as the most significant factors affecting AFM adoption. Participants highlighted conservative traditions and inadequate advisory services as major constraints, while increasing interest among forest owners and potential regulatory support from the <span>European Union</span> were recognized as opportunities for change. Notably, economic and biophysical factors were ranked as less important than socio-cultural, institutional, and knowledge/technology themes. The results indicate that AFM has not yet gained sufficient traction in Sweden to challenge intensive practices, suggesting that incremental change is the most likely outcome in the short term. However, growing public awareness of the limitations of intensive management, societal demands for sustainability, and changes in ownership demographics may catalyse more substantial changes. These opportunities have received less attention in the reviewed literature and the findings therefore emphasize the need for enhanced knowledge dissemination, collaborative networks, and supportive policy and economic instruments to facilitate uptake of AFM. The Swedish case also offers insights for international efforts to support a transition away from intensive forest management.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12451,"journal":{"name":"Forest Policy and Economics","volume":"178 ","pages":"Article 103560"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144330490","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Current status of improved forest management carbon offset projects in the US voluntary market","authors":"Srijana Baral ,&nbsp;Sabhyata Lamichhane ,&nbsp;Anil Koirala","doi":"10.1016/j.forpol.2025.103567","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forpol.2025.103567","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The voluntary forest carbon market facilitates the purchase and trade of carbon credits from forest-based projects for emission offsetting. Improved forest management (IFM) carbon projects have gained considerable attention for their potential to boost net carbon stocks and lower greenhouse gas emissions by altering business-as-usual forest management practices. Despite the rapid expansion of IFM projects, a comprehensive analysis of their status in the voluntary market is lacking. This study examines registered IFM projects in the US by collecting data on these projects from three public carbon registries: American Carbon Registry, Climate Action Reserve, and Verra. Findings show that nearly 2 million acres of forestland have been enrolled across 24 states. More than half of these projects are located in the Northern region and are primarily managed by private companies. Although the issuance of credits by carbon registries has risen in recent years, credit retirement has decreased. These findings underscore the need to better understand the flow and impacts of credits from forest-based projects on emission offsetting.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12451,"journal":{"name":"Forest Policy and Economics","volume":"178 ","pages":"Article 103567"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144322718","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A comparative analysis of timber harvesting, timber supply, and tree planting across ownerships and regions of the United States","authors":"David N. Wear ,&nbsp;John W. Coulston","doi":"10.1016/j.forpol.2025.103542","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forpol.2025.103542","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Forests in the United States support the world's largest wood products sector while providing several other ecosystem services. Forest management in the form of timber harvesting and reforestation determines the overall sustainability of all service values. We use remeasured forest inventory plots to define harvest rates and intensities and estimate economic harvest choice and tree-planting models for subregions and ownership groups. Annual harvest rates range from near zero in the southern Rockies to 3.8 % of forest plots in the South-Central region. We find that harvest choices for all regions and ownerships except public ownerships in the Pacific Coast region are responsive to changes in timber prices. We estimate regional timber supply equations using Monte Carlo simulations of harvest choices applied to current inventory plots. This defines supply as a function of both quantity of standing biomass and the detailed composition of inventory. Timber supply is shown to be more responsive to sawtimber prices than pulpwood prices and is mostly inelastic; the exception is the Pacific Northwest, where supply is price elastic (∼1.5). Estimated tree-planting models indicate that tree planting on private land is also responsive to timber prices in the South, Northeast, Pacific Northwest, and Northern Rocky Mountains. Combining estimated harvest and tree-planting choice models with long-run inventory plot projections, we find no indications of unsustainable harvesting or increasing timber scarcity. Projected shifts in long-run timber supply indicate that nearly all potential for supply growth is in the eastern United States, especially in the South-Central region.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12451,"journal":{"name":"Forest Policy and Economics","volume":"178 ","pages":"Article 103542"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144322719","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Forests are more than trees and communication is more than words: Inter- and transdisciplinary research about effective multi-stakeholder communication in Germany","authors":"Sandra Liebal ,&nbsp;Lena Riemann ,&nbsp;Josephine Köhler ,&nbsp;Norbert Weber","doi":"10.1016/j.forpol.2025.103562","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forpol.2025.103562","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This Special Issue presents a collection of current research contributions that examine the role of communication in the context of forest policy in Germany. Against the backdrop of increasing pressures on forests and evolving governance structures, the nine research articles and two commentaries included highlight how communication acts as both a shaping force and a strategic tool in the policy process. The contributions cover a range of empirical settings, including digital media, professional education, and deliberative fora, thereby offering multi-faceted insights into how communication practices vary across institutional, regional, and thematic contexts. By focusing on Germany, characterized by a federal structure and pluralistic democratic context, this volume offers a unique opportunity to explore how forest-related communication varies across political, ecological, and institutional settings, providing nuanced insights into the dynamics of forest policy and public discourse in a complex governance landscape. In doing so, it seeks to inform both academic discourse and practical approaches to communication in forest governance.</div><div>In our editorial, we outline how communication influences and constitutes the different stages of the policy-making process. As such, we illustrate how discourses, framing processes, and media performance influence e.g. agenda setting, policy formulation, and public engagement. Furthermore, we highlight the relevance of communication for participatory governance, stakeholder interaction, and the negotiation of societal expectations concerning forests and forestry. By pointing out that communication is linked to each stage of the policy cycle, this editorial contributes to a differentiated understanding of the functions and challenges of forest-related communication in policy processes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12451,"journal":{"name":"Forest Policy and Economics","volume":"178 ","pages":"Article 103562"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144297555","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Cities that breathe: Quantifying carbon emission reductions through forest city designation","authors":"Jianxian Wu","doi":"10.1016/j.forpol.2025.103541","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forpol.2025.103541","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Amid escalating global climate concerns, urban carbon reduction strategies have gained increasing significance for sustainable development. This study investigates the carbon abatement impact of China's forest city designation over the past two decades, utilizing a difference-in-differences model within a quasi-natural experimental framework. The baseline estimates indicate that, after the policy implementation, the treatment group experienced a reduction of 2.482 million metric tons in carbon emissions. Applying social cost of carbon and mortality cost of carbon, this reduction translates into economic benefits ranging from $76.94 million to $90.84 million, while potentially preventing 266 to 560 premature deaths associated with climate change. The effectiveness mechanisms include increased forest area, enhanced stock volume, expanded urban greening, improved carbon sequestration capacity, and heightened public environmental awareness as evidenced by rising environmental complaints. Furthermore, green finance initiatives and environmental legislation significantly amplify the decarbonization effects of forest city designation. Mayor characteristics also demonstrate moderating effects, with gender diversity, higher educational attainment, humanities and social sciences backgrounds, and hometown service appointments contributing to more effective climate change responses. This research provides empirical evidence that urban forestry policies can deliver quantifiable climate benefits, offering valuable insights for policymakers seeking nature-based solutions to address urban carbon challenges in an increasingly warming world.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12451,"journal":{"name":"Forest Policy and Economics","volume":"178 ","pages":"Article 103541"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144263019","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Navigating crowds: Reconsidering visitor recreational experience and crowding preference for a forest park in Taiwan","authors":"Wan-Yu Liu ,&nbsp;Chin-Chun Yen ,&nbsp;Rachel S.K. Lee ,&nbsp;Chun-Cheng Lin","doi":"10.1016/j.forpol.2025.103540","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forpol.2025.103540","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>As forest recreational activities gain popularity, the potential for crowding and activity-based conflicts to diminish sustainable recreational quality becomes a critical concern. Consequently, it is vital to understand the factors shaping recreational preferences and conflict perceptions in natural settings. This study selected Xitou Nature Education Area, Taiwan's most frequented forest park, as a case study to investigate complex relationships among visitor demographics, crowding perceptions, and recreational behaviors. Using a questionnaire and choice experiment, the study explored perceptions of crowding and recreational conflicts within Xitou, alongside visitors' willingness to travel further to avoid crowded conditions. The analysis showed that visitor preferences differed significantly across socioeconomic groups, with age playing a substantial role in shaping motivations and behaviors. While overall perceptions of crowding were moderate, visitors aged 65 and older demonstrated notable tolerance for crowds. Despite the park's high visitation, the incidence of recreational conflict was relatively low, with primary disturbances attributed to visitors resting in various locations, park staff, and group game participants. Contrary to expectations, visitors did not exhibit strong willingness to pay to avoid crowding. Instead, results surprisingly suggested a slight preference for increased social interaction within the park, challenging the general assumption that crowding is always viewed negatively. Drawing from visitor perceptions of overcrowding, we propose enhanced regulations and stricter monitoring for designated resting and picnicking areas to elevate the forest recreation experience. Crucially, this study highlights that effective park management must acknowledge and cater to diverse visitor motivations, whether they seek physical activity, social engagement, or solitude.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12451,"journal":{"name":"Forest Policy and Economics","volume":"178 ","pages":"Article 103540"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144221761","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A heuristic typology of mediator-centered power in land use conflicts: An actor centered analysis for developing countries","authors":"Muhammad Alif K. Sahide","doi":"10.1016/j.forpol.2025.103539","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forpol.2025.103539","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study advances a heuristic typology to analyze mediator-centered power in land-use conflicts, offering an actor-centered framework tailored to the socio-political complexities of developing countries. Moving beyond linear knowledge-transfer models, we reconceptualize mediators as power integrators who strategically convert between epistemic, structural, and agential power to shape conflict outcomes by bridging technical knowledge with political negotiation, mediators strategically position themselves within formal and informal governance arenas, negotiating between bureaucratic mandates, elite networks, and grassroots mobilization to reconfigure power dynamics. Through empirical analysis of Indonesian cases, we identify four mediator types: patronage mediators leverage elite networks to broker resolutions through informal politics; activism mediators mobilize grassroots resistance to counterbalance elite dominance; bridging mediators facilitate multi-stakeholder consensus while camouflaging partisan interests; and bureaucratic mediators instrumentalize formal mandates amid competing state priorities. Our findings reveal that sustainable resolutions require mediators to actively manage recursive power-knowledge exchanges, particularly in contexts where conflicts intersect legal systems, patronage networks, and competing knowledge claims. The typology provides practitioners with diagnostic tools to assess power imbalances and offers scholars a systematic approach to analyze mediation as a dynamic process of interest negotiation and structural adaptation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12451,"journal":{"name":"Forest Policy and Economics","volume":"178 ","pages":"Article 103539"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144203174","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A mathematical model for strategic management of the forest supply chain considering its products and energy generation","authors":"Salomé Rodriguez ,&nbsp;Diego Ricardo Broz ,&nbsp;Rodolfo Gabriel Dondo ,&nbsp;Luis Javier Zeballos","doi":"10.1016/j.forpol.2025.103535","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forpol.2025.103535","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Historically, forestry supply chains have operated in a disjointed manner, leading to insufficient coordination between forest management and wood processing in their planning and operations. In addition, generating energy using the available resources of the forestry activity has been largely considered a secondary activity, with slight synchronization with the remaining chain. However, currently, comprehensive supply chain integration is essential for guaranteeing the economic sustainability of forest supply chains. This article presents a multi-period mixed integer linear programming (MILP) model for forest resource management, covering everything from harvesting to energy generation. It considers supply chain planning, customer selection, and both internal and external raw material sources. The model considers transportation costs, production limits, and the use of specific equipment for processing biomass and industrial waste. Importantly, it includes bioenergy generation, highlighting its economic advantages and role in the overall management of forest supply chains. Analysis of a real-world case from Misiones, Argentina, reveals that meeting wood demand consistently necessitates the exploitation of external forest stands. Moreover, the integration of on-site waste processing equipment within the stands proves economic benefits for the supply chain, whereas incorporating units for processing pulpable logs yields a comparatively smaller economic return. Notably, the study indicates that satisfying potential increases in energy demand is largely contingent on the availability of waste from external sawmills. However, in instances where external sawmill waste is scarce, the plant maintains operational continuity by utilizing alternative byproducts, such as forest biomass chips, which are typically designated for sale.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12451,"journal":{"name":"Forest Policy and Economics","volume":"178 ","pages":"Article 103535"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144221762","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}