Abstract
We investigated the situation regarding forest cutting and the intentions regarding forest management of the members of forest owners' cooperatives by a questionnaire. We received the answers to 1, 642 questionnaires. Through these answers, we found the following results: The major reason for forest cutting was "inducements by a forest owners' cooperative" (43% of the total). On the other hand, "rising timber prices" was the motivation for only 5%. These results showed that timber price was not the major factor in influencing forest cutting by forest owners, but rather the education and extension activities regarding forest cutting by the forest owners' cooperatives played a more important role. The conditions under which forest owners accepted inducements of forest cutting by the forest owners' cooperatives were "appropriate timber price, " "relations between forest owners and forest owners' cooperatives, " and "the need for planting seedlings after harvesting." In addition, we found that as the forest area owned by an individual became larger, the shortage of forestry laborers became more serious so that most forest owners expected a supply of forest laborers and the exploitation of forest products markets from and by their forest owners' cooperatives. A stable log-supply system should be established through more intensification of reliance by forest owners on their forest owners' cooperatives.
