Forest resources and the development of mountain areas

Abstract

The new approach on rural development purposes different responsibilities of the forest resources: from the traditional timber production to a multi functional role, combining the forest economic potentialities together with its important social and environmental actions. This multi functional role suggests more constraints regarding the forest management but also offers important opportunities for the relaunching of many less favoured areas like, first of all, the mountain Italian territory. For the future, the management of forest resources and the evolution of the mountain areas will be considered in a global local development. In this new challenge it will be very important to emphasize some market trends: in particular the increase of quality demand and the recreational demand. This evolution offers the opportunity to define development models, like the endogenous one, able to combine public and private interests towards the same territorial and economic resource.