UGA Bulletin

Course Description

An overview of existing forest resources, their management and utilization throughout the world's major forest regions. Introduction to the issues of globalization, trade, exchange rates, and foreign direct investment.

Athena Title

International Forest Business

Semester Course Offered

Offered spring

Grading System

A - F (Traditional)

Student learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will gain knowledge of forest resources, their management, and utilization across the world's major supply regions.
Students will understand how ownership, government policies, and social and environmental conditions affect forest management and wood product manufacturing.
Students will be able to appreciate how international trade, exchange rates, and foreign direct investment impact forest industries.
Students will be able to understand the strategy and operations in international forest business.
Students will understand how to evaluate the global competitiveness of forest industries.
Student will be able to identify effective policies needed to maintain and increase forest sector competitiveness.

Topical Outline

1. Global forest resource assessment Forest area, composition, use and protection
2. Forest ownership Property rights systems, tenure rights, public vs. private to forest management, management outcomes
3. Government policies and regulations Government approaches to forest management and regulation
4. Wood supply and the role of intensively managed plantations Supply of major forest products; intensively managed plantations, species, area, growth rates, ownership, returns
5. Wood product manufacturing Output of major wood products, industry structure, technologies
6. Wood demand/consumption Supply-demand conditions, consumption levels, growth prospects, recycling
7. Timberland investment TIMOS, management approaches, impact on wood supply, etc. Investments in the South and across the World.
8. International forest products trade/trade models
9. Exchange rates
10. Tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade/trade and the environment
11. Foreign direct investment
12. Strategy and structure of international forest business
13. Changing consumer preferences—forest management and product certification
14. Potential new forest products/services (Carbon storage, bio-refining, etc.)
15. Global competitiveness of the U.S. South—forest management
16. Global competitiveness of the U.S. South—wood product manufacturing

Institutional Competencies Learning Outcomes

Analytical Thinking

The ability to reason, interpret, analyze, and solve problems from a wide array of authentic contexts.

Critical Thinking

The ability to pursue and comprehensively evaluate information before accepting or establishing a conclusion, decision, or action.

Syllabus

Public CV

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