Department of forest resources

DEPARTMENT OF [FOREST RESOURCES

The

aswell as

multiple ^useandruraldevelopment. ^Thebasicforest sciences, statistical and socialsciences formthemainstay ^ofthe

department's methodology. Cooperation ^{with otherresearch} institutions, both domestic and international, ^ispartofthedaily routine.

Continuous Monitoring ^of Export ^Markets

The Finnish economy remains de

pendent upontheexport^offorestin dustry products, ^{hence continuous}

monitoring ^ofexportmarketsand spe

cific studies_onrelatedmattersis_one

ofthemain_concerns ofthe Depart ment. A model of the international

trade in forest products, developed withinternational co-operation, ^offers

a tool for simulating alternative fu tures for the forest industries. The

model has also been employed ^to

evaluateeconomic impacts ^of pollu tion-inducedforest damage. ^Evalua tionof European Integration, ^fromthe

forestry-related point ^of view, ^{is of}

great^{currentinterest.}

Modelling ^the Domestic Roundwood Market

The domestic roundwood market is

logically ^anothermain subject area.

Traded quantities ^{and unit} prices ^of

roundwood are monitored, and im

provements ^{in demand and} supply modelsare sought. ^{Duetothecentral}

position ^thenonindustrial private ^for

ests play ^{in wood} supply, ^structural changes ^offorest ownership ^andtheir possible impacts ^areunder investiga tion.

Research on Economics of theForest Enterprise

Research _on economics of the forest

enterprise ^{followsseveral} approaches:

a comprehensive planning ^modelcon taining ^{alltheelementsof}a forestry enterprise ^hasbeen developed; ^the profitability ^of nonindustrial private forestry ^is being ^{monitoredandthe} profitability ^{ofdifferentforestinvest} ments_are being ^evaluated.

Forest Sector's Role in Development

Through ^its investigations, ^{the De}

partment^examines agricultural ^and

forestry policies ^{whichwouldcontrib}

ute to the maintenance of social and

economic vitality ^{in rural} areas. A

multi-discipline investigation ^{in this} field has contacts to European re search institutions also involved with

the diversification of rural livelihoods

and withthe development ^of multiple activities in agriculture ^and forestry.

The Department ^is investigating deforestationand policies supporting

the sustainable development ^{of for}

estryⁱⁿ developing countries, ^withcase studies being ^{undertaken in} Chile, Ethiopia andthe Philippines.

Surveys of Finland's ^Forests

Department ^{of Forest Resources is} obliged by ^lawto continuously ^moni tor Finland's forest _resources. The Ist

NationalForest Inventory was com

pleted ^in1924. Today, ^{theBthNational} Forest Inventory ^{is under}way. The results indicate_an increaseingrow

ing ^{timberstock. Inadditionto}syste maticdatacollection onthe ground,

satellite imagery ^and digital map-data

are techniques regularly employed.

The production ^of information_con

cerning ^{smallerareas thanearlieris} thereforefeasible. Promising experi

ments have been made _even at the

level of individual stands. Parallel stud

iesonwood consumption, ^also dating

| ^{back to} 1920'5, ^have produced ^accu rate information concerning ^incre- I, ^ment/drain relationships ^of growing

stock.

TimberProduction Planning

Tomeettheneedsoftimber produc tion planning ^for large areas, a plan

ning ^{model and the} corresponding software package ^{have been devel}

oped. ^{Ithas been} particularly ^useful for calculating ^timber production ^al ternatives for national programmes

concerning long-term forestry ^devel

opment. ^Thesoftware package ^isca

pable ^of simulating ^{thefuturedevel}

opment^of forests, ^{and itcanbeused} alsofor up-dating informationonfor-

est _resources. Of _{course, a} great

amount of tree andstand modelling workisbehindthe package.

Forest Statistics

The forest statistics information serv

ice annually compiles ^{the Yearbook} of Forest Statistics, which provides data concerning ^recent developments in forestry ^{andthe forest}industries.

In addition, theinformationservice

produces statisticalbulletins monthly covering, e.g.roundwood sales, prices, fellings ^andexports^offorest industry products. ^{Some 100 bulletins were} published ^{in 1992.In"theForestSec}

torAnnual Review", published ^inNo vember, ^{recenttrendsintheFinnish} forest sector are summarized and

analyzed. ^Theprognosesoffuturede velopments are supported by enquir iestotheforestindustriesand private forest

THE FINNISH FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE

M ETLA

Unioninkatu 40 A

00170 Helsinki, Finland phone +358-0-857 051

fax +358-0-625 308

Director General Eljas ^Pohtila

Administrative DirectorTero Oksa Head of Communications Unit

Marja Ruutu

DEPARTMENT OF ^FOREST RESOURCES

TheDepartment^isled by ^{ProfessorRisto} Seppälä, ^{ResearchDirector}

■ demandforforest industry products

■ econometric model for roundwood market

■ structural changes ^of private forestry

■planning^modelsforaforestryenterprise

■ profitability ^of forestry investments

■ forestsector'srole inruraldevelopment

■ nationalforest inventory

■ timber production planning

METLA/Communications Unit 1993