For some years now, land consolidation is conducted in Germany in order to mitigate the disadvantages of small-scale private forest ownership structures. The aim is to improve added value in rural areas and to increase timber supply from private forests. The project “Waldneuordnung 2020“ is funded by the Fachagentur für Nachwachsende Rohstoffe e.V. (FNR) and aims to improve the land consolidation procedure. Up-to-date research on private forests as well as on inventory and valuation methods will be incorporated. In Rhineland-Palatinate, guidelines for land consolidation, which can be used in other regions with similar structure in forest ownership, are compiled. A main focus of the guidelines is to adhere more strongly to the interests of forest owners and improve the efficiency of their forest management.

• Survey of forest owners to determine individual goals for the forest.
• Development of an inventory and valuation method for forest strata.
• Demarcation of forest areas which fulfil certain types of goals by forest owners.
• Adaptation of the needed input for infrastructure depending on the types of goals.
• Facilitation of workshops.
• Compilation of the guidelines in a participative process with all stakeholders.