*2.1. Impacts of Forest Resources on Economic Growth*

There are many studies on forest resources and economic development. Whether forest resources can promote economic development is still inconclusive. Some scholars believe that abundant forest resources will promote economic development. The importance of natural capital to economic growth is increasingly recognized, and natural forest capital positively affects national economic growth [11]. Forest resources will contribute to the total economic value through direct use value, option value, existence value, negative externality, etc. [12]. The richer the forest resources, the better the forestry sector, and the more income from harvesting non-precious wood [13]. In addition, forest-rich areas can positively impact the national economy through employment and increased labor income [14]. Rents from forest resources, mineral resources, and oil extraction contribute significantly to economic growth. At the same time, it is necessary to consider the limited availability of natural resources and stimulate the economy by developing policies and utilizing the rents of natural resources to promote development of the business environment [15]. The existence of forest resources is closely related to poverty alleviation. Forest resources and tree systems maintain welfare levels mainly by helping households increase their income and provide food, health, and humanistic values [16]. Based on SWOT and AHP analysis methods, it was found that the rise and development of the Forest Recreation Industry have expanded the regional brand effect, increased income, and enhanced the competitiveness of the industry [17]. The benefits of forest tourism will benefit residents by more than 40%, but urban residents benefit more than rural residents. The infrastructure construction brought by forest resources can also optimize industrial and investment structures [18]. Rural communities that depend on forests experience population decline and economic prosperity often. Van Kooten et al. (2019) explored how communities with rich forest resources as their main economic source stimulate economic development by examining the potential of different forest management regimes to create more jobs and wealth [19].

There is a synergy between forests and sustainable development [20], and forests have a potential role in reducing carbon emissions and poverty [21,22]. There are two main modes in which forest resources can reduce poverty. First, good management patterns can improve the quality of forest resources, thereby improving local economic conditions. Second, increasing forest resources can effectively increase natural capital and ultimately

produce economical capital outcomes [23]. However, a review of 242 documents found that although the evidence of forest resource-based poverty reduction is increasing, the results are biased. More comprehensive and robust evidence is also needed to demonstrate and understand differences in outcomes across social backgrounds, social groups, and management objectives [24].

Some scholars believe that abundant forest resources will inhibit economic development. Dependence on forest resources will bring about an obvious resource curse effect [25], mainly because the forestry industry is inefficient and the industrial advantages are not obvious [26]. Another important reason is the existence of the Dutch disease effect. Areas with abundant forest resources mainly rely on the export of forest products to obtain income. However, when the international trade situation is not good, the income of exporting countries will be reduced. For countries with a single source of income, the economy will be greatly affected negatively [27]. Combining the data from 1980 to 2018, using the panel vector autoregression (PVAR) method, it was found that natural resources have an inhibitory effect on economic development in African countries. Economic growth is no longer driven solely by natural resource rents [28].
