A Multiobjective Planning System for Forest Resource Management in Taiwan: A Case Study on Hui-Sun Forest Station

Abstract

With the worldwide decline in timber exports, there has been recognition that Taiwan will eventually have to increase its own timber production, which currently supplies less than 1% of its total timber need. To prepare for this coming change, there is a need for Taiwan to estimate the potential level of timber production from its national forests as a base for the development of a plan to increase local timber supply. Instead of using the conventional approach to timber-production estimation in Taiwan (i.e., identifying the forestland suitable for timber harvest, then using forest-inventory data and volume-control methods to make the estimation), this study develops a planning system capitalizing on the strength of the LP-based forest-planning models to accomplish the task. It not only identifies the timberlands for harvesting but also directly portrays the preferred forest land-use layout as a long-term land-use management strategy, under which a timber-harvest program and potential level of timber production are determined. This planning system was applied to a case study on Hui-Sun, an experimental forest-station located in central Taiwan. Finally, it discusses whether this type of planning system can be readily applied throughout Taiwan, focusing on a more organizational aspect of the issues.