Significance of subsidies for private forestry

More than half the income generated by private forest and woodland management comes from subsidies.

Operating results for private forestry companies
	1999	2000	2001
	Euro per hectare forest/woodland
Revenue, total	178	192	164
Timber	51	45	42
Subsidies	90	111	88
of which Management Programme (or its predecessor)	56	67	71
other subsidies	34	44	16
Leases for hunting	11	12	11
Recreation	14	14	14
Other	12	10	9
Costs, total	225	251	220
Labour	38	38	36
Management and supervision	64	72	68
Work carried out by third parties	61	76	51
Tools, raw materials and auxiliary materials	20	21	18
Taxes/insurance	28	28	31
Other	15	16	16
Revenue : Costs (%)	79	76	75
Source: LEI-Informatienet.			LEI/NC/Oct02

Trends

Owners of forest and woodland are increasingly managing their property for the purpose of recreation or as a nature area. In doing so, they adapt their management methods to those objectives, open up the area concerned to the public, and conclude relevant management agreements. Private owners have now concluded such agreements for some 80% of the forest or woodland in private hands and more than half their income is in the form of subsidies.

The Management Programme run by the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries (previously the Functiebeloning scheme) is intended to ensure the long-term preservation and increase in the amount of land devoted to forests, woodland and nature areas and to promote private nature management. Three-quarters of the agreements that the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries has with private owners of forest and woodland involve the basic set of subsidies for "forest and woodland"; one fifth involve the extended set of subsidies for "forest and woodland with enhanced nature value". The provinces and municipalities also provide subsidies.

While the subsidies provided within the context of the Management Programme increased, in 2001 there was a fall in the work subsidised in accordance with the old Effectgerichte Maatregelen scheme. The associated labour costs, especially for work for third parties, were also much lower in 2001.

Changes in management have also led to a fall in the contribution of timber sales, from an average of 40% in the 1980s to 25% in 2001. Income from timber, which now amounts to 42 euro per hectare, has never been so low. Income is also generated by hunting leases and recreation.