Introduction
We focus on sectoral and corporate economics and management in forestry and wood processing industry. Special attention is paid to profitability and efficiency of forest management, organisation and structure of the industry, price formation, and positive and negative management instruments. We also investigate issues of forestry and environmental policies, systems of certification in forestry and wood processing industry, evaluation of forests and other natural resources, and selected aspects of the environment protection.
Teaching
All courses in accredited bachelor and master study programs are taught by our Department staff (professors, associate professors and assistant professors). We also hire outside experts for selected topics. Apart from FFWS, we also teach economic subjects at the Faculty of Environmental Sciences.
The Department of Forestry and Wood Economics offers an accredited “Economic and Management” doctoral study program, specialization: “Management and Economics of an Enterprise”. The Department is also accredited to provide habilitation and professor appointment procedures in the field of Economics and Management of Forestry and Wood Processing.
Research
We have always pursued a wide range of topics. In particular, great attention is paid to evaluation of economic efficiency of forest production – especially economic effects of management decisions made by the owner, like the length of rotation period, target management, management method etc. We have also been seeking appropriate ways to calculate the economic impact of transformation of current management models to close-to-nature (or sustainable) forest management models. Our research teams investigate a complex area of evaluation of manifold forest functions. We have prepared a study (unique within the Czech Republic) of evaluation of wood (and non-wood) production forest functions, and we update the data regularly. The Department has extensive experience in monetary evaluation of socio-economic importance of principal non-wood forest services. And, last but not least, we carry out evaluation analyses in the area of economic and social impacts of farm-land and fallow-land afforestation.
Our research activities comprise wood-processing industry as well, especially in trading wood and wood-based products and their pricing, analyses of productive capacities, and the flow and consumer chain of wood and wood-based products. We also pay attention to certified management systems applicable in wood-processing industry.
International relations
Our Department can boast extensive international relations. We collaborate with numerous foreign institutions and keep seeking new contacts. Our colleagues take part in international projects and contribute to the resulting publications as co-authors.
We participated in projects in the EU-funded Fifth framework program, in projects of FAO in Rome, the European Forest Institute, COST etc.
Our Department collaborates with colleagues from University of Padova, Technische Universität München – Freising, University of Joensuu, UNIBOKU Wien, European Forest Institute Joensuu, Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College, Typsa Madrid, Universität Göttingen, University of Zagreb, Technical University in Zvolen, and WoodEMA i.a.
Other activities
We try hard to intensify co-operation with the industry sector and participate in projects with:
- Forests of the Czech Republic, state enterprise,
- Military Forests and Estates of the Czech Republic, state enterprise,
- Ministry of Agriculture,
- Forestry and Game Management Research Institute, public research institution,
- Forest Management Institute Brandýs nad Labem,
- PEFC Czech Republic,
- and with countless forest owners in evaluation of their forest property management standards.
