Birger Vennesland

Avdelingsleder/forskningssjef

(+47) 482 42 988
birger.vennesland@nibio.no

Sted
Ås - Bygg O43

Besøksadresse
Oluf Thesens vei 43, 1433 Ås (Varelevering: Elizabeth Stephansens vei 23)

Sammendrag

Det er 69 fjellkommunar i Noreg og 29 tilliggjande fjellkommunar. Som fjellområde reknast areal som ligg over 700 m o.h. i Sør-Noreg og over 600 m o.h. i Trøndelag. Utmark dekker ein stor del av landarealet i Noreg, og mykje areal i fjellområda er utmark. Utmarka har mange ressursar og brukarar. Den viktigaste produksjonen i utmarka i fjellet er husdyrbeite, med lang tradisjon for mangesidig bruk i stort omfang, mellom anna knytt til seterdrift. I tillegg kjem haustingsbruk i form av jakt, fiske og sanking som og har ei lang historie. Lang tids bruk har skapt særeigne landskap, med kulturhistoriske, estetiske og biologiske kvalitetar. Ei form for bruk som dreg veksel på desse kvalitetane er reiselivet. Reiselivet i Noreg har etter kvart og ei lang historie, frå engelsk adel kom for å fiske i norske vassdrag på 1800-talet til dagens bubilturistar frå mange land. I tillegg til desse langvegsfarande som oppheld seg i landskapet i kort tid, kjem hyttefolket. Hyttebygginga har med tida lagt beslag på store areal, og nokre plassar diskuterast det om det er på tide å stanse denne utviklinga. Sjølv om hyttebygging og hyttefolk kan bidra med ressursar og aktivitet lokalt, kan det og bli ei belastning, mellom anna på naturen. Å tenke om ein berekraftig utnytting av ressursane i fjella reiser soleis ei rekke spørsmål. I denne rapporten har me samla eksisterande kunnskap, basert på forsking og anna formidling, om ulike utfordringar og moglegheiter. Målet har vært å leggje eit grunnlag for tankar om utforming av ein politikk som skal fremme ei utvikling av ressursbruken som tek omsyn til berekraft i økonomisk, sosial og miljømessig forstand.

Sammendrag

Agroforestry can be defined as sustainable and multifunctional land-use systems where trees are managed together with agricultural crops or livestock on the same piece of land. This definition fits with how the outfield has been managed in generations in Norway. The Norwegian outfields are a multifunctional land-use system. In the northern periphery area, agroforestry has a long history with woodland grazing, reindeer husbandry and gathering of different non-wood forest resources as herbs, mushrooms, and berries. Traditional agroforestry has gradually disappeared during the 20th century with the intensification of agriculture and forestry. Currently agroforestry systems are gaining new interest, not only from farmers but also from politicians, as this practice can possibly contribute to a more sustainable way of agricultural production. In the northern periphery area, the benefits of agroforestry practices can be manifold not only promoting traditional practices, but also novel systems with the use of new technology. In addition, agroforestry has environmental benefits as a method for conservation and enhancement of biodiversity, improved nutrient cycling, and water quality. Soil humus layer will also increase with several agroforestry systems leading to carbon sequestration. The Norwegian population of 5.3 mill populate an area of 323805 km2. The mainland of Norway is 323805 km2 while Svalbard and Jan Mayen represent 61022 and 377 km2, respectively. Number of persons per km2 are 14, however, as much as 82% of the Norwegian population inhabits cities/densely populated areas. These figures tell us that Norway have a large outfield with forests and mountains. The biggest owner of Norwegian outfield1 is the Norwegian state by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food. The state-owned enterprise Statskog SF is set to administer the property, that alone consist of about 23% of the total outfield-area of Norway. Almost 80% of the state-owned property is above the treeline and covers mountains and alpine grassland who are valuable grazing resources for reindeer herders and local farmers. Most of the forests are also used as grazing areas for local farmers and reindeer herders. The state-owned property in the southern Norway are managed as commons, where locals have rights in commons, typically this is right to graze, hunt and fish on the state ground. In the northern part of Norway, the grazing-rights are defined as user-rights and technically not rights in commons while the right to hunt, fish and gathering of berries and herbs etc. is an “all-mans-right”.

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Sammendrag

I dette prosjektet har vi studert sammenhengen mellom aktive støler og øvrig næringsliv i Nordre Buskerud. Kommunene Nesbyen, Nore og Uvdal, Hemsedal, Hol, Gol og Ål inngår i regionen Nordre Buskerud. Vi setter søkelys på samfunnsverdien ved at det støles i regionen og at det produseres felles goder. Det er gjennomført en survey til alle næringsaktører i regionen med søkelys på økt verdiskaping ved å samhandle med aktive stølsbedrifter. Med bakgrunn i spørreundersøkelsen inviterte vi til en digital Workshop med deltakelse fra næringslivet generelt og stølsmiljøet spesielt...

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Sammendrag

This report is part of the research project called Farm-based day care services for people With dementia: quality development through interdisciplinary collaboration. We have studied farmers who are offering these services and the municipalities who buy the services on behalf of their citizens, and how these actors collaborate.

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Sammendrag

In the last two decades, attention on forests and ownership rights has increased in different domains of international policy, particularly in relation to achieving the global sustainable development goals. This paper looks at the changes in forest-specific legislation applicable to regular productive forests, across 28 European countries. We compare the legal framework applicable in the mid-1990s with that applicable in 2015, using the Property Rights Index in Forestry (PRIF) to measure changes across time and space. The paper shows that forest owners in most western European countries already had high decision-making power in the mid-1990s, following deregulation trends from the 1980s; and for the next two decades, distribution of rights remained largely stable. For these countries, the content and direction of changes indicate that the main pressure on forest-focused legislation comes from environmental discourses (e.g. biodiversity and climate change policies). In contrast, former socialist countries in the mid-1990s gave lower decision-making powers to forest owners than in any of the Western Europe countries; over the next 20 years these show remarkable changes in management, exclusion and withdrawal rights. As a result of these changes, there is no longer a clear line between western and former socialist countries with respect to the national governance systems used to address private forest ownership. Nevertheless, with the exception of Baltic countries which have moved towards the western forest governance system, most of the former socialist countries still maintain a state-centred approach in private forest management. Overall, most of the changes we identified in the last two decades across Europe were recorded in the categories of management rights and exclusion rights. These changes reflect the general trend in European forest policies to expand and reinforce the landowners’ individual rights, while preserving minimal rights for other categories of forest users; and to promote the use of financial instruments when targeting policy goals related to the environmental discourse.

Sammendrag

Formålet med dette prosjektet var å samanlikne investeringsbehov og dekningsbidrag (DB) ved utedrift og konvensjonell innedrift, begge med kombinert produksjon. Samanlikningane er baserte på kalkylar. Investeringsbehov er knytt til eit produksjonsomfang nær konsesjonsgrensa for svin. Investeringsbehovet ved utedrift er kalkulert til 10 prosent av investeringsbehovet i driftsbygning for innedrift, 1,5 millionar kroner mot ca. 15 millionar kroner. DB per årspurke er kalkulert til kr 23 354 for konvensjonell innedrift og kr 6 701 for utedrift i basisalternativet. Betydeleg færre slaktegrisar per årspurke ved utedrift er den viktigaste årsaka til skilnaden. Større fôrforbruk per purke og per kg slaktevekt er den nest viktigaste faktoren. Alternativ verdi av arealet som utegrisane nyttar, og større kostnader til strø (halm) betyr mindre. Omrekna til kg kjøt produsert er kapitalkostnaden kr 5,30 større for innegris enn innegris. Skilnaden i DB per årspurke svarar til kr 10,17 per kg kjøt i disfavør av utedrift. Nettoskilnaden er såleis nær kr 5 per kg kjøt for heile perioden. Mange av føresetnadene er usikre, og det er vist korleis endring av føresetnaden vil påverke resultatet. Ein del faktorar som kan vere viktige, er drøfta kort, men ikkje kvantifiserte. Det er heller ikkje vurdert kva klima og jordmonn som høver best for utedrift.

Sammendrag

Agroforestry can be defined as sustainable and multifunctional land-use systems where trees are managed together with agricultural crops or livestock on the same piece of land. In the northern periphery area, agroforestry has a long history with woodland grazing, reindeer husbandry and gathering of different non-wood forest resources as herbs, mushrooms and berries. Traditional agroforestry has gradually disappeared during the 20th century with the intensification of agriculture and forestry. Currently agroforestry systems are gaining new interest, not only from farmers but also from politicians, as this practice can possibly contribute to a more sustainable way of agricultural production. In the northern periphery area, the benefits of agroforestry practices can be manifold not only promoting traditional practices, but also novel systems with the use of new technology. In addition, agroforestry has environmental benefits as a method for conservation and enhancement of biodiversity, improved nutrient cycling, and water quality. Soil humus layer will also increase with several agroforestry systems leading to carbon sequestration. Here we present an overview of agroforestry practices in the Nordic countries and the use of non-wood forest resources with the emphasis on wild berries.

Sammendrag

Utredningens hovedmål har vært å kvantifisere de økonomiske konsekvensene av flaskehalser for tømmertransport i det kommunale veinettet i Sogn og Fjordane. Hovedmålet ble delt i to delmål. Det første delmålet var å vurdere ulike metoder for beregning av potensiell transportgevinst pr. kommune ved oppskriving til 19,5 m/50 t. Det andre delmålet var å beregne den samlede transportgevinsten for dagens transporter og presentere en prognose for utviklingen 20 år fremover. Med dagens avtalte kippe-tillegg (30 kr/m3) er transportgevinsten for skogeierene i Sogn og Fjordane beregnet til ca. 1 mill. kr/år. Dagens prisavtaler for tømmertransport indikerer i tillegg en mulig indirekte dekning av kippekostnader gjennom et forhøyet fastledd i transporttariffene. Økningen i fastleddet betales på hele transportvolumet, og dekkes av transportkjøper. De faktiske merkostnadene med kipping er beregnet til over 60 kr/m3 (ved 3 km kippeavstand). Med forventet økning i hogstklasse 5 og økt hogst framover, stiger de beregnede merkostnadene fra 2,1 mill. kr/år i 2015-2020 til 2,6 og 2,9 mill. kr/år i periodene 2021-2030 og 2031-2040. De kommunene som har og vil få størst kippekostnader er Stryn (1449), Eid (1443), Gaular (1430) og Førde (1432). Resultatene forutsetter samme kippeandel framover som det har vært i analyseperioden 2016-2018, dvs. ca. 29 %. Det er sannsynlig at mye av hogsten de siste årene har foregått i de områder hvor det er minst kipping. Uten opprusting av det kommunale veinettet er det derfor sannsynlig at kippeandelen vil øke i fremtiden. De beregnede merkostnader reflekterer skogsektorens transportgevinst. I tillegg vil oppgradering til 19,5 m/50 t også komme andre sektorer til gode.

Sammendrag

Østfold er i ulvesonen, og en stor del av saueholdet er på arealer som er inngjerda med rovdyravvisende gjerder. Dette er ofte ravineområder som har betydelig landskapsverdi. Sau på inngjerda arealer hele sommeren medfører spesielle utfordringer. I dette prosjektet er det samlet og formidlet kunnskap om det å drive med sau på inngjerda arealer. Slik kunnskap kan føre til at sauebøndene lykkes med driftsopplegget, og dette kan dempe konflikter mellom sauehold og rovdyr. I Østfold er det hovedsakelig arealer som er klassifisert som innmarksbeite som er aktuelle for sauehold på inngjerda arealer. Det er noe slikt areal som ikke er i bruk i dag, og det kan derfor være rom for å øke saueholdet noe. Saueholdet foregår ofte på relativt små arealer, og det går mye tid til flytting av dyr. Også snylterbehandling av sauene krever en god del arbeid. Sambeiting mellom flere dyreslag og veksling mellom beiting med sau og andre dyreslag har sine fordeler, men er lite vanlig.

Sammendrag

Det er et stadig økende antall sau innenfor ulvesona i Norge. Likevel er skadeomfanget lite i disse områdene, mye takket være gjerder designet for å holde rovdyr ute. Innenfor gjerdet kan imidlertid parasitter bli et større problem.

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Sammendrag

Private forests are widespread in Europe providing a range of ecosystem services of significant value to society, and there are calls for novel policies to enhance their provision and to face the challenges of environmental changes. Such policies need to acknowledge the importance of private forests, and importantly they need to be based on a deep understanding of how property rights held by private forest owners vary across Europe. We collected and analysed data on the content of property rights based on formal legal requirements existing in 31 European jurisdictions. To allow a comparison across jurisdictions, we constructed an original Property Rights Index for Forestry encompassing five rights domains (access, withdrawal, management, exclusion and alienation). We documented substantial variation of the private forest owners’ rights, and notably to i) make decisions in operational management and the formulation of management goals, ii) withdraw timber resources from their forest, and iii) exclude others from the use of forest resources. We identified broad relations between the scope for decision making of private forest owners and jurisdictions’ former socio-political background and geographical distribution. The variation in the content of property rights has implications for the implementation of international environmental policies, and stresses the need for tailored policy instruments, when addressing European society’s rural development, the bioeconomy, climate change mitigation measures and nature protection strategies.

Sammendrag

Skogsentreprenører kan ha mye å hente på å være bevisst ved valg av finans-ieringsløsninger i egen bedrift. I dette faktaarket drøftes juridiske, praktiske og økonomiske forhold rundt leasing, banklån og andre faktorer som påvirker betingelsene ved finansiering av maskiner og utstyr.

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Sammendrag

Flere entreprenører i vår studie erkjener at de selv kan bli bedre når det gjelder ledelse og kommunikasjon. Men hva er god ledelse? Og hvordan bli en bedre leder? Vi vil trekke frem noen områder undersøkelsen viser at det er viktig å være bevisst på.

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Sammendrag

I vår næring med mye alenearbeid, håndtering av store maskiner og farlige arbeidsoperasjoner, er arbeidsmiljø, risikovurdering og sikkerhet noe de fleste tar på alvor. Og det er jo nettopp dette som er helse, miljø og sikkerhet (HMS). Likevel har mange et negativt forhold til HMS og ser på det som bare et papir i en skuff, og at det gjennomføres fordi de MÅ! Men hva er dette egentlig, og hva kan det brukes til?

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Sammendrag

I en kartlegging blant 50 av 250 kjente skogsmaskinentreprenører i 2011 fant Skogkurs at bare 1 av 5 bedrifter opererte med budsjetter. Omtrent samme andel fikk vi bekreftet i en dybdeundersøkelse i 2013. Dette betyr ikke nødvendigvis at 4 av 5 ikke har kontroll, men det kan tyde på at mange vil ha et forbedringspotensial for bedre økonomistyring i bedriften.

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Sammendrag

KlimaTre er et prosjekt i BioNær, hvor Norges Skogeierforbund er prosjekteier og kontraktspartner med Norges forskningsråd. KlimaTre består av tre delprosjekter: DP1 KlimaVerdi. Dokumentere de skogbaserte verdikjedene i Norge sin betydning for klima og verdiskaping. DP2 KlimaModell. Modellering av samlet klimaeffekt for de skogbaserte verdikjedene. DP3 FramTre. Framtidas trekonstruksjoner i et livsløpsperspektiv. Denne rapporten inngår i DP1 KlimaVerdi som omhandler både primærskogbruket, tremekanisk industri og celluloseindustrien. Skog og landskap har i DP1 KlimaVerdi ansvaret for energiforbruk og kostnadstall i primærskogbruket, samt for transport av virke fram til industritomt. I denne rapporten har vi strukturert og analysert de operasjonene som inngår som en del av primærskogbruket, samt transport av tømmer på vei, båt og jernbane. Forsyningskjeden fra skog til industri er hovedfokus i studien, og alle operasjoner i denne kjeden er inkludert, enten råvarene skal benyttes til industri- eller energiformål. Rapporten synliggjør de ulike operasjoner som skogbruket består av med tanke på forbruk av energi og hva det koster å utføre de ulike operasjonene. Operasjonene i skogbruket har vi delt i tre: skogkultur, avvirkning og transport. [...]

Sammendrag

Høsten 2006 publiserte Norsk institutt for skog og landskap et kunnskapsgrunnlag omkring de faktorer som påvirker avvirkningsnivået nasjonalt. I denne rapporten ble det avdekket ulike behov for å styrke den driftstekniske kompetansen nasjonalt. Spesielt for Norge er de utfordringer som ligger i regionale forskjeller, både når det gjelder ressursgrunnlag og demografiske forhold. Den formidable skogreisingen som fant sted i Norge etter annen verdenskrig bidrar nå til et betydelig potensiale for økt avvirkning. Spesielt er mulighetene for økt avvirkning store i Kyst-Norge. Men her er også utfordringene større, i forhold til mindre og mer utfordrende arealer, og en kort skoghistorikk blant grunneierne.

Sammendrag

Tourism is acknowledged to be an important business sector in rural areas. This paper argues that second-home owners constitute an important market segment for businesses that offer nature-based tourism activities. Previous research has shown that a number of factors influence tourist behaviour. This study examined how motivation and demographic variables affect second-home owners\" intention to purchase three different types of activity products: learning, adventure, and hunting products. We found substantial variations in the purchase intentions for these products among second-home owners. These intentions were influenced by push and pull motivations, age, income and educational level. Second-home owners with a high intention of purchasing nature-based tourism activity products tend to be young, high-income, and socially oriented risk takers. Businesses offering nature-based tourism activity products should use a combination of demographic and psychographic variables when they segment the second-home market. Highlights The second-home market is important for nature-based tourism businesses. Their intention to purchase such products are influenced by leisure motives and demographic variables. Recreation experience preferences and reasons for having a second-home in an area influence their purchase intentions. Age and education level have a negative effect on the intention to purchase. Income has a positive effect on the intention to purchase.

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Sammendrag

Tourism is acknowledged to be an important business sector in rural areas. This paper argues that second-home owners constitute an important market segment for businesses that offer nature-based tourism activities. Previous research has shown that a number of factors influence tourist behaviour. This study examined how motivation and demographic variables affect second-home owners’ intention to purchase three different types of activity products: learning, adventure, and hunting products.We found substantial variations in the purchase intentions for these products among second-home owners. These intentions were influenced by push and pull motivations, age, income and educational level. Secondhome owners with a high intention of purchasing nature-based tourism activity products tend to be young, high-income, and socially oriented risk takers. Businesses offering nature-based tourism activity products should use a combination of demographic and psychographic variables when they segment the second-home market.

Sammendrag

Roundwood timber is raw material for numerous products. Wood based products are generally recognised as favourable regarding energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Several studies have shown that the net CO2 emissions can be reduced by using biofuels harvested from forests to substitute fossil fuels, and by using wood for building materials. Energy use and GHG emissions associated with producing roundwood can be influenced by a broad range of factors, such as silvicultural practice, topography, applied technology, forestland ownership, industrial structure, etc. This emphasizes the importance of using representative data for energy use and GHG emissions when calculating environmental impacts. The aim of this study was to investigate the embodied energy and life cycle GHG emissions of industrial softwood sawlogs in Norway, covering the production chain from tree seed to log yard. Analyses were based on activity data for the Norwegian forest sector for the year 2007. The results showed that the embodied energy and GHG emissions were low compared with the energy and CO2-equivalents stored in the roundwood (about 2%). The findings from this study can be used to inform future decisions on processes in forestry that should be focused on when planning actions to reduce energy consumption and GHG emissions. Additionally, as roundwood timber is raw material for numerous products the results can be useful when preparing documentation of environmental impacts, such as environmental product declarations, which are increasingly demanded by the market.

Sammendrag

Helgeland er i foreliggende rapport definert som kommunene Hattfjelldal, Grane, Vefsn, Bindal, Brønnøy, Hemnes og Rana. Det er 38 utredningsområder som skal vurderes for vern, hvilket tilsvarer 119 090 ha eller 7 % av Helgelands totale areal. De 38 utredningsområder utgjør et brutto produktivt skogareal på 8 916 ha, hvorav omkring 46 % (4 130 ha) er fradrag. Det er fradrag for nøkkelbiotoper, samt buffer mot vann og myr, som utgjør forskjellen mellom brutto og netto produktivt skogareal. De 8 916 ha produktiv skog som berøres av utredningsområdene utgjør 4 % av den produktive skogen på Helgeland, og 1 % av den produktive skogen i Nordland. Det totale brutto virkesvolumet på statens grunn på Helgeland er 2 978 094 m3, hvorav 17 % er berørt av de 38 utredningsområdene. Dette tilsvarer et berørt volum som utgjør omkring 3,5 % av Helgelands totale volum, og 1,5 % av Nordlands totale volum. Innenfor de 38 utredningsområdene er 46 % av det produktive skogareal dekket av nøkkelbiotoper, samt buffer mot vann og myr. Dette illustrerer at utredningsområdene har en stor naturverdi (andel viktige habitater) i forhold til det generelle landskapet på Helgeland og i hele Nordland. 19 av områdene er vurdert å ha regionalt unike naturkvaliteter, mens 16 områder tillegges nasjonalt unike kvaliteter. Et meget stort innhold av signal- og rødlistearter er knyttet til 9 av utredningsområdene, men rødlistearter er funnet i (minst) 29 av områdene. Kunnskaper om de observerte rødlisteartenes populasjonsstørrelse og utvikling i de ulike utredningsområdene er svært begrenset, og forekomst av moser, insekter og fugl er generelt lite undersøkt i de fleste av utredningsområdene. Dette innebærer at det ikke er mulig å foreta en kvantifisering av effekter på rødlisteartene ved å ikke verne. […]

Sammendrag

Hvordan blir verdidiskusjonene når økonomenes verdiskapingsbegrep benyttes også på ikke-økonomiske og normative verdier? Verdiskaping er et begrep som vi ser kobles til strategier for utvikling og framtidstro innenfor en rekke felt. For næringer som jordbruk og skogbruk som produserer «håndfaste» verdier som mat og fiber er slik begrepsbruk kanskje ikke så oppsiktsvekkende. Verdiskaping knyttes videre til produksjon av opplevelser - i hovedsak reiselivsrelatert - i utmark og i vernede områder. Mer uvant blir det når begrepet kobles til andre sektorer som etableringen av «Verdiskapingsprogrammet på kulturminneområdet».

Sammendrag

Rural communities in Norway have been under great economic stress in recent years. There has been an increasing debate about how to utilize the large potential in a growing tourism industry to promote rural employment and income. This study is based on the institutional view of innovation with a focus on institutions that are important for stimulating innovations. The objectives are: 1) to determine if networking is positively related to innovativeness and if innovativeness is positively related to performance in the nature-based tourism industry in Norway and 2) to develop an in-depth understanding of how different actors trigger a member of the industry to change, create, or otherwise innovate. An e-mail survey was conducted of companies across the country followed by a qualitative study in one Norwegian municipality. Results indicate that there is a positive connection between networking and innovativeness, and between innovativeness and performance. A qualitative case example illustrates the interaction among actors and the resulting impacts on the innovation process.

Sammendrag

Rural communities in Norway have been under great economic stress in recent years. There has been an increasing debate about how to utilize the large potential in a growing tourism industry to promote rural employment and income. This study is based on the institutional view of innovation with a focus on institutions that are important for stimulating innovations. The objectives are: 1) to determine if networking is positively related to innovativeness and if innovativeness is positively related to performance in the nature-based tourism industry in Norway and 2) to develop an in-depth understanding of how different actors trigger a member of the industry to change, create, or otherwise innovate. An email survey was conducted of companies across the country followed by a qualitative study in one Norwegian municipality. Results indicate that there is a positive connection between networking and innovativeness, and between innovativeness and performance. A qualitative case example illustrates the interaction among actors and the resulting impacts on the innovation process.

Sammendrag

This article examines innovation processes in forest recreational services on the basis of case studies in five European countries with differing institutional backgrounds of forest ownership and access rights. The analysis reveals that forest-related recreation services are developed under varying institutional conditions and on public as well as private land. Ideas for innovations in recreational services may come from within but often outside the forestry sector. Financing is provided from public and private sources. Both public and private spheres have important roles in providing natural, human and financial resources and usually a network of public and private actors are involved in innovation processes. Of particular importance are cross-sectoral interactions between forestry and tourism. Greater institutional support is needed for the development of forest-related recreation services because the field is at an early stage of development. It is concluded that support should focus on providing ideas and financial resources for product development and on facilitating cross-sectoral interaction between forestry and tourism actors. A particular need is seen for development of models for durable interaction between land owners and tourism operators on a regional scale.

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Agricultural policy has in the last 50 years taken much of the risk and the initiative away from Norwegian farm forest owners. Subsidies in agriculture have guaranteed an acceptable income and there has been neither need nor incentives for starting up new activities at the farms. This situation is now gradually changing. The income both from agriculture and forestry is decreasing and farm forest owners have either to move, to find job opportunities outside the farm or to start up new activity at the farm using the farm's resources. Entrepreneurship theory is used to study the question why some farm forest owners choose to start up some new activity based on the forest resources they have. We identify two main elements of entrepreneurship; the ability to recognise business opportunities and the ability to take calculated risk. In a survey to 500 forest owners in southern Norway (response rate 45%), we included questions about opportunity recognition and risk aversion. From the answers, we were able to split the forest owners in two groups, those with entrepreneurial attitudes and those without. Using logistic regression we found a significantly higher probability for start-up of new activities in the group with entrepreneurial attitudes. This result has very interesting policy implications. Many studies show that entrepreneurial attitudes to a large degree can be learnt. The first way of learning about entrepreneurship is through the education system and through courses and training of forest owners. The other way is 'learning by doing', which is most probably the most efficient way to learn about entrepreneurship. Public policy should stimulate more owners to 'do', by that they will 'learn' and that will again lead to more entrepreneurial activities at the holdings. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sammendrag

The article investigates innovation processes in the field of recreational services of forests. It takes a close look on innovation cases from five European countries with different institutional backgrounds in terms of forest ownership and access rights to forest land. The analysis first of all shows that forest related recreation services are developed in different institutional conditions and on public as well as private land. Financing is provided from public and private sources. Ideas may come from within and outside the forestry sector, however, impulses from outside seems to be of primary importance. In sum it can be said that both public and private spheres have important roles in providing natural, financial and human resources and usually a network of public and private actors are involved in innovation processes. Of particular importance are cross-sectoral interactions between forestry and tourism. A greater institutional support is needed for the development of forest related recreation services as the field is at the beginning of its development. Support should focus on providing ideas and financial resources for product development and on facilitating cross-sectoral interaction between forestry and tourism actors. A particular need is seen to develop models for durable interaction between land-owners and tourism operators on a regional scale.

Sammendrag

During the 1980s and the 1990s the tourism development in general increased rapidly. The term innovation has been used to describe this development. But how well can we adapt the traditional industrial understanding of innovation in the service sector? Especially it seems as we have to extend our understanding of innovation when comes to the development of nature based tourism. There is a need to discuss various definitions of innovation and look at a framework of understanding that distinguishes between various definitions of innovation in the service sector.

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Sammendrag

I 2005 kom Stortinget med en anmodning til Regjeringen om å legge fram nasjonale strategier for økt avvirkning. Landbruks- og matdepartementet (LMD) signaliserte i budsjettforslaget for 2006 at de ville komme tilbake til Stortinget med en slik strategi i forbindelse med statsbudsjettet for 2007. Norsk institutt for skogforskning (Skogforsk) og Norsk institutt for jord- og skogkartlegging (NIJOS) fi kk ansvaret med å utarbeide dette kunnskapsdokumentet med innspill fra skognæringen og skogforvaltningen. Institutt for naturforvaltning (INA) ved Universitetet for miljø- og biovitenskap (UMB) har vært en sentral bidragsyter i dette prosjektet. […]

Sammendrag

Up to ca. 1960, the forest sector was the largest export sector in Norway. Since then its importance has decreased, until in 2003 the export value totalled only 2,5 % of the export sector. The import of forest products constituted a relatively higher share of the total import value than the export (about 3,3%). Pulp and paper, mainly newsprint, is the most important export product. The annual cut has declined 30 per cent over the last decade and in 2003 totalled about 7.5 million cubic metres. The reasons for this decline are not fully understood, but changes in ownership structure, low unemployment rates and good job opportunities outside of the forest sector and the abolition of cost-share programs are certainly some of the explanation. Private non industrial owners own 78,5 % of the forest area and the average size of a forest property is 57 hectares. Almost all fellings are certified, and there is an intensive ongoing debate on the need for protection of a larger forest area. There is a large potential for developing non-wood products and services, and the forest owners association have companies and organisations dealing with this. There is a demand from both domestic and foreign customers for non-wood products and services but the cooperation with the domestic tourist industry still has to be improved to coordinate this effectively. There is a weak entrepreneurship culture in the forest products industry, with a few regional exceptions. The culture is mainly production oriented and market competence and international orientation is needed. Compared with other industries in Norway the level of education is low in the forest products industry. A large public program was started in 2002 to stimulate innovation and competence building activities in the forest products sector.

Sammendrag

During the 1980s Norway was troubled with overcapacity in the agricultural sector. The rural development support scheme (RDSS) was introduced. Farmers were encouraged to invest in forestry-related projects and rural business. More than 15 evaluations of the RDSS are undertaken, all of them having severe methodological weakness. The following study introduces a new tool, when analyzing a public support scheme like the RDSS in Norway. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is a multi-input, multi-output optimization model used to measure relative efficiency of the best practice counties. The analysis is a two-stage study. In step one, it is found that 13 of the 18 (72%) counties in Norway are generating less output in the form of employment from a given level of the RDSS-budget than technically possible. In step two, a reallocation of the budget is shown for the purpose of maximizing the output of job establishments in rural Norway. The DEA is seen as a useful tool in measuring the efficiency of the RDSS at regional level in Norway.

Sammendrag

The connection between rural economic development policy and forest policy in Norway during the past decades is discussed. Because of this connection it is debatable whether it is reasonable to maintain a strong focus on timber supply in Norwegian forest policy in the future. By analyzing studies related to forestry in the context of rural development, the lack of combined rural development research and forestry research is shown. It is argued that rural policy/research and forest policy/research should be combined in the future regarding topics related to forestry in the field of rural development.