Preface
Plantation forests have the potential to be a rich and sustainable source of wood and non-wood forest products. They can also provide social and environmental services, including the sequestration of carbon, combat desertification and rehabilitate degraded lands. Clear, consistent and stable policies and a favourable investment climate are essential ingredients in order to realise this potential and to promote the development of private sector forest plantations among large and small-scale growers.
An International Conference on Timber Plantation Development held in Manila, Philippines, 7-9 November 2000, concluded that plantation development is a key strategy to address problems relating to deforestation and to supplement diminishing supplies of timber from natural forests. The Conference recommended that governments, in partnership with the private sector and other stakeholders, formulate and implement appropriate policies and strategies, and create effective incentive systems to support plantation development.
In general, there is little agreement on what constitutes incentives and very little is known about the impact and effectiveness of incentives for plantation investments in the Asia-Pacific region. Against this background, and because several member countries considering the provision of incentives have requested relevant and detailed information on experiences elsewhere, the Asia-Pacific Forestry Commission (APFC) has undertaken a comprehensive multi-country study on the "Impact of incentives on the development of forest plantation resources in the Asia-Pacific region." The APFC is one of six FAO regional forestry commissions that cover the world’s major geographical regions. It provides an ideal forum for advising, and taking action on, key forestry issues in the region.
With support from FAO, the EC-FAO Partnership Programme, the Forest Service of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), the APFC is completing a review covering nine countries in the region (Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Thailand, and USA), founded upon national case studies.
Analysis of the country case studies identifies several common themes. The socio-economic environments explain much of the effectiveness of direct and indirect incentives and investors’ interest in plantation establishment. High interest rates, low wood prices, lack of suitable planting areas and the financial attractiveness of alternative land uses (e.g. oil palm) discourage interest in tree growing by the private sector. Good governance, clear land tenure arrangements, national security and market development attract and empower investors (small and large-scale). Such indirect or enabling incentives often have a greater influence than direct incentives such as free seedlings or cheap credit, and they have played a very important role in stimulating plantation development in New Zealand.
Social and economic environments are dynamic, especially in the Asia-Pacific region. An incentive that serves well for a particular time may easily outlive its usefulness under changed conditions. New Zealand, with its relatively long history of plantation development, provides a good illustration of how incentives have been modified over time to match the prevailing economic and social conditions, and political objectives, within the country, including evolving to the point where the removal of incentives was considered essential for the long-term sustainable development of the industry.
It is also important to ask why, in a number of cases, investors refrain from investing in forest plantations even though a variety of incentives have been made available. There are indications from the country studies that it may be more effective to eliminate the disincentives that prevent change and discourage investments than to try to counter these with incentives.
The New Zealand country study which appears here was presented at the nineteenth session of the APFC, convened in Mongolia during 26 - 30 August 2002 where there was an opportunity for participants to discuss experiences in their own countries and learn from others’ efforts. An overview paper summarising the findings of the APFC multi-country study is being developed and the results are expected to be presented at an international plantation forestry meeting being held in New Zealand in March 2003 (refer www.maf.govt.nz/mafnet/unff-planted-forestry-meeting/ ).
Figure 1. New Zealand’s indigenous and plantation forests by region
Source: Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
Contact for Enquiries
Policy Analyst - Forestry
Innovation and Research
MAF Policy
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
PO Box 2526
Wellington
NEW ZEALAND
Tel: +64 4 894 0100
Fax: +64 4 894 0741
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