Skógræktarritið - 15.05.2001, Page 202

urban areas. From 1990to 1995
too, peripheral areas increased
their share of employment in the
wood and wood products indus-
try, but this time at the expense
of densely populated areas. The
pulp and paper industry is
almost equally distributed
between the large urban areas
and densely populated areas.
There have been only minor
changes in this distribution since
1980.
Conclusions
The forest industries in Norway
are, to a much greater degree
than most other activities,
localised in the rural areas and
have the largest share of total
employment in the forest areas
of Eastern Norway and
Trondelag.
One fundamental question is
whether or not there has been a
regional restructuring of the for-
est-based industries, i.e. if the
peripheral areas have lost or
gained market shares to the cen-
tral areas in the form of jobs.
Although the dramatic recession
in the wood and wood products
industry has had a larger nega-
tive impact on the total employ-
ment situation in rural Norway
than in central areas, our analy-
sis shows that there is no overall
reason to conclude that any cen-
tralisation as such has occurred.
It is not necessarily access to
natural resources that is crucial
to a region's progress. An exam-
ple of this is the growth in the
wood and wood products indus-
try in the Egersund and Farsund
regions, which lie in an area of
Norway with few forest resources.
The explanation of their progress
may be that the local business
network has been successfully
utilised, in combination with for-
malised knowledge.
in recent years, a number of
"value-chain" projects have been
carried out in Norway. A joint
conclusion from these is that
there is large potential for
income generation in traditional
standard production through e.g.
having a better overview of raw
material bases, changed timber
type specifications, and better
communication throughout the
value chain.
In further developing the role
of the forest-based industries as
employer and income generator
in the rural areas, however, this
will be of limited importance. In
order to maintain and develop
the role of forest-based indus-
tries, these industries them-
selves and public authorities
must work together to combine
formalised knowledge with local
skills and traditions. A steady
increase in the standard of living
will bring with it a growing
demand for individualised, niche
products. Meeting and adapting
to this trend will probably be the
greatest challenge facing the for-
est-based industries in rural
Norway.
HEIflURSÁSKRIFEMOUR SKDGRÆKTARFÉLABSSIAIS
SELFOSS EWARBAKKI
Búnaðarfélagið Villingaholt Búnaðarfélag Eyrarbakkahrepps
Guðjón Stefán Kristinsson
Hótel Geysir ehf LAUGARVATN
Mjólkurbú Flóamanna Verslunin H-Sel
Prentsmiðja Suðurlands ehf FLÚÐIR
Sorpstöð Suðurlands
Umhverfisdeild Árborg Flúðafiskur hf
Verkfræðistofa Guðjóns Þ.S. ehf Hrunamannahreppur
Ölur, gróðrarstöð Hvolsvöllur Anna og Árni á Akri
HVERAGERÐI
Ecoline ehf KIRKJUBÆJARKLAUSTUR
Garðyrkjuskóli ríkisins Skaftárhreppur
Hveragerðisbær Tjaldstæðið Kirkjubæ
ÞORLÁKSHÖFN VESTMANNAEYJAR
Garðyrkjustjóri Ölfushrepps Vestm an n aeyj abær
Jarðefnaiðnaður hf Þróunarfélag Vestmannaeyja
200
SKÓGRÆKTARRITIÐ 2001 l.tbl.