Governments‘ Role in Wood Promotion

Governments‘ Role in Wood Promotion

• by Ingwald Gschwandtl Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management Vienna/Austria

Content

• Why should a government promote wood?

• What can a government do to promote wood?

• Austria as a case

• forests and wood
• research and education
• representation, lobbying and communication
• business co-operations and networks
• legislation and standardisation
• SFM
• rural development
• political agreements and strategies

• Conclusions

Why should a government promote wood?

• limited resources

• renewability and long term supply

• economic, ecologic, social values of forests

• employment and income

• rural areas

• carbon storage

• sustainable development

• competition and substitution

What can a government do to promote wood?

• develop the economy

• protect the environment

• provide fair market conditions

• correct socially or environmentally undesired market results, respecting market conformity

• areas for activities and interventions are numerous

• legislation, research, education and training, institutional capacities, economic and sustainable development strategies, natural resource management policies e. a.

• seek country specific solutions

Austria as a Case

Austria

• population 8 mio

• total area 8,4 mio ha

• forests 3,9 mio ha 47%

• 80% privately owned

• 170.000 holdings, average size 15 ha

• growing stock 2 bio cbm

• 70% coniferous species

• increment 8,7 cbm/ha/y

Forests and Wood in Austria

Austrian Wood Industries

Austrian Wood Industries

Forests and Wood in Austria

• Research and Education

• co-financed by public and private funds, complemented by commissioned projects
• Wood Research Austria (Holzforschung Austria)
• research projects, tests and experiments, representation in national and international standards committees, information and know-how transfer.
• special research focus ‘Wood Construction’
• Centre of Competency in Wood Technology’
• ‘HolzCert Austria’ specialised in chain of custody certification

Forests and Wood in Austria

• Research and Education

• Wood Technicum Kuchl (Holztechnikum Kuchl)
• ‘Specialised School for Saw Millers’
• ‘Technical High School’ with education branches in
• ‘Wood Technology’, ‘Wood Design and Product Management’ and ‘Wood Construction’
• Universities
• ‘University of Agricultural Sciences in Vienna (Universität für Bodenkultur Wien)’ has ‘Institute for Wood Technology’ and branch of study in wood management
• ‘Technical Universities of Vienna and Graz (Technische Universität Wien, Technische Universität Graz)’,special programmes on wood construction for Structural Engineering

Forests and Wood in Austria

• Representation, Lobbying and Communication

• establish or support institutions and mechanisms
• legal or private basis
• financial support minor, focus on know how transfer
• representations of interest in forestry
• Provincial Chambers of Agriculture
• (Landes-Landwirtschaftskammern)
• Federal Association of Agricultural and Forestry Enterprises (Hauptverband der Land- und Forstwirtschaftsbetriebe Österreichs)
• Farm Foresters Associations (Waldbauernverbände)
• Austrian Forest Association (Österreichischer Forstverein)

Forests and Wood in Austria

• Representation, Lobbying and Communication

• representations of interest in wood based industries
• ‘Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (Bundeswirtschaftskammer)’ including ‘Austrian Wood Industries Association (Fachverband der Holzindustrie’
• ‘Association of Austrian Paper Industries (Austropapier – Vereinigung der österreichischen Papierindustrie)’
• co-operations of forestry and wood based industries
• ‘proHolz Austria’
• co-operation between ‘Austrian Wood Industries Association’ and the ‘Standing Committee of the Presidents of the Austrian Chambers of Agriculture (Präsidentenkonferenz der Landwirtschaftskammern Österreichs)’
• marketing and communications organisation for wood, running campaigns regarding information, public relations and advertising within the sector and for a wider public, nationally and internationally

Forests and Wood in Austria

• Representation, Lobbying and Communication

• co-operations of forestry and wood based industries
• Co-operation Agreement Forest-Boards-Paper (Kooperationsabkommen Forst-Platte-Papier, FPP)
• formed by
• Standing Committee of the Presidents of the Austrian Chambers of Agriculture,
• Chip- and Fibreboard branch of the Wood Industries Association,
• Association of Austrian Paper Industries (Austropapier)
• platform
• common approaches for the efficient use of forests and market continuity
• public relations concerning sustainable forest management and sound use of wood

Forests and Wood in Austria

• Business co-operations and networks

• wood clusters
• ‘Holzcluster Salzburg’
• ‘Holzclaster Steiermark’
• ‘Holzcluster Niederösterreich’
• ‘Holzcluster Oberösterreich’
• regional co-operation
• small and medium size enterprises
• increase competitiveness
• through creating synergies, sharing of know how, information and resources
• some provincial governments have set up specific subsidies

Forests and Wood in Austria

• Legislation and Standardisation

• direct or indirect influences
• building and fire prevention regulations
• waste management regulations
• water protection regulations
• transport regulations
• international standards

Forests and Wood in Austria

• Sustainable Forest Management

• balance economic, environmental and social dimensions
• wide acceptance
• long term supply with goods and services
• well established legal, institutional, financial framework
• continuously adapted to changing requirements
• international commitments (MCPFE, IPF, IFF, CBD)
• Austrian Forest Dialogue to develop forest programme through participatory, transparent, cross-sectoral approach
• certification

Forests and Wood in Austria

• Rural Development

• National Rural Development Programme
• based on (EC)1257/1999 regulation
• better utilise potential of Austrian forests
• access roads
• forest owners co-operatives and networks
• innovation
• chain of production

Forests and Wood in Austria

• Political Agreements and Strategies

• Austrian Strategy for Sustainable Development
• adopted in April 2002
• prepared by working group of various governmental and nongovernmental stakeholders
• calls inter alia for
• promoting renewable materials and sources of energy
• ecologically oriented taxreform
• international level
• Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe – in particular Resolutions L1, Vienna 2 e.a.
• UNFF, UN-CBD, UN-FCCC

Conclusions

• for economic,social and environmental reasons, governments have a role in wood promotion

• legal, institutional, financial framework is needed

• SFM
• research, education, training, innovation
• legislation, taxes, subsidies
• industrial, rural and sustainable development policies

• international agreements and processes could help

• public investment needs a clear focus

• comprehensive approaches, long term orientation

• no universal concept – country specific approaches

Thank you!