Abstract
In Taiwan, the high cost of afforestation discourages private forest landowners from
investing in forest management. As a result, negative impacts occur, such as forest
degradation and a downturn of economic output. To facilitate proper forest management
by private forest landowners, it is important to stimulate village economies, promote social
stability, and improve environmental quality. The goal of the study was to activate farmers’ resourcefulness in utilizing juvenile wood from forest thinning and growth operations such
as small-dimension wood as a more-stable source of income. This study investigated the
profitability of promoting the use of assembly kits of smalldimension wood as curricular
teaching resources in public elementary school classrooms. It was estimated that the
market would be worth NT$260 million, equivalent to 20 years of current afforestation
subsidies covering 8647 ha in Taiwan. In view of the estimated worth of NT$600,000/
ha for private forest landowners to manufacture assembly kits with forest thinning materials,
results of this research recommend this desirable practice to be used as an alternative for
ecological compensation approaches. In addition, this practice is expected to enhance
plantation management, facilitate effective public involvement, and increase forest
landowners’ income.