Value from Supporting Local Forestry Businesses: A Scoping Study

Value from Supporting Local Forestry Businesses: A Scoping Study

This study, carried out by EFTEC, reviews existing literature on valuing ecosystem services produced by Britain's forests, identifies gaps in the evidence base and suggests future research priorities whilst highlighting key challenges and uncertainties that could arise from the valuation of ecosystem services. There is also a case study which considers practical market opportunities for forest ecosystem services. 

Across Scotland, dozens of initiatives have developed into a dynamic sector: local small and medium sized businesses and community initiatives which own, manage and use woodlands and their produce. This sector encompasses: locally based woodland owners (mainly community and private); local enterprises that either use timber or other woodland produce; businesses that locate their activities in local woodlands; and the suppliers and contractors that contribute to management of local/small woodlands.

The study brings together two elements that distinguish forestry businesses in this sector:

• Local control - with control, activity and benefits occurring locally.

• Small-scale – most forestry businesses of this type are micro-scale and woodlands are small (though land holdings in the case of community woodlands can be larger).


File Name

local-small-forestry-report.pdf

Category

Economic impacts

File Size

1.51 MB

File Type

application/pdf

Version

4


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