Economics of Woodland Management
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291 MANAGEMENT OF WOODLAND IN BRITAIN Economics of Woodland Management. D.R. Helliwell. Packard publishing, Chichester, 1984, 63 pp., £4.50 (paperback), ISBN 0906527-07-4. This work is directed to British farmers, and others, with non-professional interests in forestry. The text is divided into 13 chapters of which those dealing with silvicultural systems, timber production, forestry practice, and ownership and management occupy more than half the space. A set of 18 tables, with two Appendices (the second of which is not referred to in the text), use typical or relative values for comparative purposes. These are presumably based on a critical digestion of a range of actual values for yield, costs and prices. In these the author uses man-hours as the basis for unit area comparison. This refreshing device overcomes problems associated with inflation. It can also theoretically improve manpower planning esti- mates. The lack of such a device detracts from classical texts on the subject (Hiley, 1930, 1954). The title of the work is somewhat misleading. This text does not seek to replace the earlier works of W.E. Hiley: The Economics of Forestry and Woodland Management. It is best described as a philosophical treatise, which attempts to set out the author's views on a number of topics, relating to the management of woodlands in Britain. It does not deal directly with the detail of practical problems which woodland owners or managers may encounter. It concentrates on drawing together a collection of factors that could be considered in planning an enterprise. In this sense the work should have value to neophytes who wish to consider carefully the options of profitability and posterity. Helliwell advocates that the skilled management input required be provided by a consultant. As this is apparently rare it would seem useful to suggest that subsidies could be tied in with use of a registered consultant. Taxation and profit undoubtedly affect the landscape of any highly regulated State. In Britain at present the key to woodland management would appear to be a rational accounting procedure designed to maximise subsidy payments and taxation relief. One and a half pages on grants and taxes is insufficient detail for the articulate beginner. In States .which require to import both food and fibre, land allocation between agriculture and forestry must rest on factors other than current marginal returns. Indeed it is becoming evident that forest investment may have its main value in social benefits. The author notes a tendency for investment in capital assets to become attractive when demand for those assets is rising, irrespective of the returns to the capital. He therefore advo- cates flexibility in selection of discount rates. It is not clear, however, how an arbitrarily chosen rent may be used to replace discounting procedures (p. 10) or how this can be used as a balancing item (p. 50). The author is particularly concerned to stress the importance of woodlands
Transcript of Economics of Woodland Management
291
MANAGEMENT OF WOODLAND IN BRITAIN
Economics of Woodland Management. D.R. Helliwell. Packard publishing, Chichester, 1984, 63 pp., £4.50 (paperback), ISBN 0906527-07-4.
This work is directed to British farmers, and others, with non-professional interests in forestry. The tex t is divided into 13 chapters of which those dealing with silvicultural systems, t imber production, forestry practice, and ownership and management occupy more than half the space. A set of 18 tables, with two Appendices (the second of which is not referred to in the text) , use typical or relative values for comparative purposes. These are presumably based on a critical digestion of a range of actual values for yield, costs and prices. In these the author uses man-hours as the basis for unit area comparison. This refreshing device overcomes problems associated with inflation. It can also theoretically improve manpower planning esti- mates. The lack of such a device detracts from classical texts on the subject (Hiley, 1930, 1954).
The title of the work is somewhat misleading. This tex t does not seek to replace the earlier works of W.E. Hiley: The Economics of Forestry and Woodland Management. It is best described as a philosophical treatise, which attempts to set out the author 's views on a number of topics, relating to the management of woodlands in Britain.
It does not deal directly with the detail of practical problems which woodland owners or managers may encounter. It concentrates on drawing together a collection of factors that could be considered in planning an enterprise. In this sense the work should have value to neophytes who wish to consider carefully the options of profitability and posterity. Helliwell advocates that the skilled management input required be provided by a consultant. As this is apparently rare it would seem useful to suggest that subsidies could be tied in with use of a registered consultant. Taxation and profit undoubtedly affect the landscape of any highly regulated State. In Britain at present the key to woodland management would appear to be a rational accounting procedure designed to maximise subsidy payments and taxation relief. One and a half pages on grants and taxes is insufficient detail for the articulate beginner.
In States .which require to import both food and fibre, land allocation between agriculture and forestry must rest on factors other than current marginal returns. Indeed it is becoming evident that forest investment may have its main value in social benefits. The author notes a tendency for investment in capital assets to become attractive when demand for those assets is rising, irrespective of the returns to the capital. He therefore advo- cates flexibility in selection of discount rates. It is not clear, however, how an arbitrarily chosen rent may be used to replace discounting procedures (p. 10) or how this can be used as a balancing item (p. 50).
The author is particularly concerned to stress the importance of woodlands
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to the community; the role of woodlands in conservation of nature, and in recreation; and to suggest changes to currently accepted dogma.
In doing so a number of conflicts arise. For example, while denigrating clear-felling, the author's analysis o f factors affecting t imber production points to definite advantages of this system. Selection systems axe said to provide higher nature conservation values, and may result in higher amenity values. However, there are few opportuni t ies to avoid planting in Britain, and, on windy sites, clear-felling appears to be mandatory . The notion of 'multiple use' appears to have little currency and the possible benefits from 'agroforesty' appear to be higher for those land areas of poorer value for agriculture.
The use of a valuation system for 'nature conservation' is advocated. The author notes that there is in existence a subsidy scheme for woodlands designated 'Sites of Special Scientific Interest". Despite difficulties in measuring components of both nature conservation and recreation values, there would seem to be a case for a detailed review of this particular sub- sidy scheme.
It is suggested that the propor t ion of Britain's land area dedicated to woodlands should be increased by some 30%. It is unclear how this could be accommodated with a 'relatively small loss of agricultural production ' . Such an undertaking would presumably be at considerable cost and would require careful marshalling of procedures for any tangible benefits to be assured.
Finally, it is noted that the author believes that the current taxation system favours clear-felling and short rotations. It is more than questionable that o ther things, such as economics, also favour clear-felling and short rotations. Is this n o t the best system for Britain? Could a taxation system cope with other silvicultural systems? What would the author advocate?
JOHN E.D. FOX School of Biology
Kent Street, Bentley W.A. 6102
Australia
REFERENCES
Hiley, W.E., 1930. The Economics of Forestry. Clarendon Press, Oxford, 256 pp. Hiley, W.E., 1954. Woodland Management. Faber and Faber, London, 463 pp.
