Cluster Wald, Forst- und Holzwirtschaft - Clusteranalyse und -management auf verschiedenen räumlichen Bezugsebenen

Alfeld

2005

S. 239-243

25 Lit. Ang.

Artikel aus einer ZeitschriftUnselbständiges Werk

200123953

Forest and wood-processing industries in Germany face continued economic and political challenges. Cluster organization - the integrated view of all branches of forest and wood-processing industries - can support economic development and the interaction with policy and society. The forest and wood-processing industry cluster includes five categories: forestry (forest owners, forest companies and forestry consultants); wood-processing industry (e.g. sawmill, veneer and wood-based panel industries); wood manufacturing (e.g. furniture, wood craft, wood construction and wood based packaging industries); other wood-based industries (e.g. pulp and paper, printing and publishing, fuelwood and timber trade industries) and non-timber forest use (e.g. protective forest functions, forest conservation, hunting, tourism, environmental education). Cluster analysis can provide relevant information on important socioeconomic and poltical aspects of forest management and timber utilization at different levels (e.g. local, regional, national). Such an analysis can include forest potentials (e.g. timber resources) and basic cluster parameters (e.g. number of companies, number of employees, revenue), as well as advanced cluster parameters and framework conditions (e.g. specific trends, potentials and problems). Cluster management allows for optimization of production processes, and improves self-organization and representation to policy and society for mobilizing increased support. For Germany, an increasing number of case studies is becoming available, most notably the study of the forest and wood-processing industry cluster of North-Rhine/Westphalia. Cluster analysis and management for forest and wood-processing industries can support regional economies in their sustainable development, specifically in rural areas.