Regional interpretations of forest sector development

Abstract

Recent changes in forest-related operating environment can be seen in the aspirations of national forest policy to promote forest sector. In Finland the historical position of the large industrial companies has maintained strong in forest policy, and path dependence based on forests has been seen as a problem for the development of rural areas. At the same time, the forest industry has been criticized for its inability to relapse and lack of alternatives with the use of forests, while new innovations and adaptation to changes in the operating environment have been seen as a prerequisite for the development of forest-based businesses.
With the document analysis made for the regional forest programmes, four parallel and interlaced development paths were identified: 1) the path of securing the traditional functions of the forest sector, 2) the path of a growing forest industry, 3) the path of strong regional companies, and 4) the path of new experiments. The emphasis on different paths varied between different regional forest programmes, and this was often influenced by the local company base, the forestry-related education and research available in the region, and the regional significance of the forest industry.