地域林業の振興と森林組合の役割

抄録

The economic environment surrounding forestry households and a mountain village has been a tense situation. The private ownership forest mainly used to be managed by family farms. In the process of economic development inhabitants in mountain villages have spilt over, the amount of imported timber has burst out increasing. The 70% of timber consumption is fulfilled by the foreign timber. The internal rate of return of forestry production has fallen from 6% in 1960 to 2% in the 1980's, so forestry has intensified the tendency to come apart from management.
The government expected that forestry cooperatives became leaders not only in forest management but also in the rural community. Since the later half of the 1970's, the government has shifted its policy to one which gives priority to strengthening the forest cooperatives rather than forest households. The forest cooperatives have equipped machine and secured labor to conduct afforestation, thinning, and cutting. Therefore, they have been built up as the most important leaders of the Japanese forestry.
In spite of the significant role and the established reputation of the forestry cooperatives, they face the troublesome problems, such as a decrease of number of forest workers and the skill deterioration due to the increasing ratio of aged workers.