Current issue: 58(4)
Silva Fennica issue 42 includes presentations held in professional development courses, arranged for foresters working in public administration in 1936. The presentations focus on practical issues in forest management and administration, especially in regional level. The education was arranged by Forest Service
This presentation discusses unemployment in Finland, and means to solve the problem. One of the sources of employment could be forest work.
The article comprises some of the principal results of the labour force material collected in connection with the 1950 census of Finland. It includes the basic tables in which are listed the calculated estimates of total number of rural male forest and floating labour force, their labour input to agriculture, forestry and floating in 1950. In addition, division of the labour force into farmers and not-farmers and by districts are presented. The unemployment time and relief work input of the rural population was also calculated.
Finland’s economic situation in 1950 was characterized by a slow recovery from depression of the previous year. The situation had not yet improved in such measure that would have relieved appreciably the rural unemployment that arose from shortage of work available in the forest.
The PDF includes a summary in English.
The article is a report of the ways the state forests could be used to improve employment, requested by the State Unemployment Council. Production of the state forests of Finland has been insufficient, because the fellings have not taken account silvicultural needs, and forest management has not previously received proper funding. For instance, the production and wood resources in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) dominated forests in Southern Finland were 2/3 of what they could be if the forests were in natural state. More efficient forest management is necessary to ensure the sustainable wood production of the state forests, and that could consequently offer work opportunities. The tasks needed to improve productivity of the state forests, and the work opportunities they can give are listed. Silviculture, drainage of peatlands, wood harvesting and transport, marking timber for fellings, floating, building forest roads and administrative and planning work could increase the supply of work to 8.6 million man-days and 1.6 horse-days in the state forests, mainly in wood harvesting and transport.
The PDF includes a summary in German.