Ingwald GSCHWANDTL Governments

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Governments Role in Wood Promotion

• byIngwald GschwandtlFederal Ministry of
  Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water
  Management Vienna/Austria

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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

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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

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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

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Austria as a Case
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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

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Forests and Wood in Austria
Enterprises Employees
Forestry 170.000 8.000
Saw mills 1.550 10.000
Furniture 90 10.500
Boards 10 3.000
Paper and Pulp 30 9.400
Card boards 100 9.000
Carpenters 6.200 42.000
Roof Construction 1.500 9.100
Construction 128 9.800
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Austrian Wood Industries
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Austrian Wood Industries
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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

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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

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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)

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Thank you!