Land for agriculture and forestry in the Nordic countries

Abstract

The forest industries are among the more important industrial sectors in Europe. They are the customers for the bulk of the wood produced in Europe's forests. The sale of wood to them is the source of the major part of the revenue that forest owners derive from their forests. Even though the non-wood goods and services of the forest are of increasing importance, it is inevitable that wood production will continue to figure prominently in most management plans. Consequently, the maintenance of a healthy forest industry is a key element in achieving the economic, social and environmental sustainability of Europe's forests. This paper is in two parts. The first describes in broad terms the role of the forest as source of industrial raw material, the use of the raw material by the wood-processing industries and their place in national economies. This will serve to highlight the inter-dependency between the forest resource and the wood-processing industries. The second part will consider the policy implications of this inter-dependency, particularly from the point of view of the relative importance of the wood-producing function of the forest and in the context of the economic, social and environmental sustainability of forest management under European conditions. The hypothesis will be explored that in a region such as Europe, with a high density and economically advanced population, the maintenance of a healthy forest–industries sector is a key element in achieving sustainability of Europe's forests.