Analysis of State Forest Institutions in the Republic of Moldova, Using a Causative Model

Economic viability of forestry is one of the key pillars of sustainable forest management and a basis for maintaining forests and their multiple benefits for the society. It may be achieved by, inter alia, diversification of sources of income in forest management. The aim of the article is to analyse sources of revenues of state-owned forest enterprises (holdings) in selected European countries and ongoing changes in this respect in recent years. In the paper, we analyse the structure of revenues of state forest enterprises in Poland, Germany (with the examples of Bavaria and Lower Saxony) and Austria; however, particular attention is paid to the State Forests National Forest Holding in Poland, which is the largest state-owned forest holding in the European Union (EU) in terms of area of forests. The study is based on document content analysis methodology (desk research), including annual reports published by forest enterprises, statistical data and also legal regulations. The analysis shows that while revenues from the sale of wood are the main source of income of forest enterprises, some of them are seeking to diversify their sources of revenues. The Austrian Federal Forests can serve as an example of a good development strategy based on diversified sources of income. Also, the Lower Saxony State Forest company, which is approximately 60% dependent on the sale of wood, undertakes other activities, including real estate management, hunting and recreational services. Our study shows that both the State Forests National Forest Holding and the Bavarian State Forests Enterprise are based on timber harvest and sale to a large extent. We conclude that as regards the State Forests Holding in Poland, the possibility of expanding and diversifying commercial activities should become a subject of discussion among foresters, decision makers and politicians.

An empirical analysis of China's state-owned forests

PROTOCOL: Incentives for climate mitigation in the land use sector: a mixed-methods systematic review of the effectiveness of payment for environment services (PES) on environmental and socio-economic outcomes in low- and middle-income countries.

This study evaluated forest management institutions and their initiatives in the rainforest communities of Cross River State. Data were collected through questionnaire survey and participatory research methodologies. Data generated were analyzed using descriptive statistics and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The result of the analysis reveals that community forest management institutions and their initiatives have significant influence on forest ecosystem management than other institutions such as government and non-governmental organizations. The study discovered that community forest management institutions were rated very high in terms of sustainable harvesting techniques, encouragement of forest reservation and monitoring of forest management programmes among others. The other institutions were rated low in their influence on forest management. Based on these findings, the study suggested some remedial measures that will ensure sustainable forest management in the area, such as partnership forest management, alternative income generation opportunities and holistic consideration of the forest lands during management.

The relation between public and forest changes during the time. Public opinion and interests has considerable influence on decision making regarding forestry. Half of Lithuania’s forests (circa 1.1 mill. ha) has state forest status and are managed by state forest enterprises (SFEs) under confidence rights. One of the most important strategic aims for SFEs is to meet public needs. Yet, public opinion and forestry facts mismatches. Therefore, this study aims to analyse prevailing opinion on forestry practices in state forests managed by Kaišiadorių SFE that are located in Kaišiadoriai municipality. The sociological survey methodology was applied that was conducted involving respondents representing inhabitants over 18th years old. Data was analysed by conducting frequency analysis. Results showed incorrect public opinion concerning with increase of forest coverage, sustainable cutting intensity and increasing environmental consideration. According to opinion of the respondents, the quality of the forests, afforestation and forest sanitary was well improved by Kaišiadorių SFE. It was determined the demand to develop more recreation infrastructure objects in Kaišiadorys municipality forests. The comparison between surveys conducted in 2007 and 2014 showed increasing amount of public that was quite well informed on forestry issues. Also, it determined changes in information sources concerning forestry. Results of the research stressed the necessity of the long-term strategy for the information dissemination.

In the context of forest management intensification, European countries are attempting to promote the sustainable management of forest landscapes. The aim of this study was to determine the structural dynamics of managed state forest landscapes in the context of changing forest policy. Four landscapes in the North Vidzeme Biosphere Reserve of northern Latvia were studied for the period between 1988 and 2011. The spatial patterns of clearcuts, regenerating stands and uncut stands were analysed using landscape metrics at the class level. For more comprehensive structural analysis, we additionally analysed the stand age structures and spatial pattern characteristics of over-mature stands and woodland key habitats (small voluntarily set-aside forest stands with high biodiversity values in Nordic and Baltic countries) that existed in 2011. The results indicated a substantial increase in the overall landscape structure complexity (measured by the number of patches, edge density and patch isolation at the class level) in three of the four analysed landscapes. At the class level, clearcut harvesting intensity increased after 2000, with the establishment of a new forest policy and management system in state forests combined with an abundance of timber available for felling. Significant increase in clearcut edge density and aggregation, with a corresponding decline of matrix connectivity, coincided with an increase in allowed felling volume by 4 million m3 for the period between 2009 and 2010 (increase in felling by about 60 % in state forests). Management reform and the introduction of a concentrated felling strategy in state forests also contributed to management intensification. Relatively higher WKH isolation, compared to that of over-mature stands, in all landscapes suggested that setting aside part of these stands could be a means of improving connectivity in the future. We suggest that the integration of landscape ecological principles, such as inclusion of ecological networks or retaining clusters of older stands, into Latvia’s forest management plans is needed and would contribute to more sustainable forest management.

MEASURING FOREST RESOURCE VALUES: AN ASSESSMENT OF CHOICE EXPERIMENTS AND PREFERENCE CONSTRUCTION METHODS AS PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT TOOLS

This study analyzes the impact of the Indonesian government’s decentralization policy and movement on the state forest community involvement program on the island of Java from 2000 to 2014. For more than 30 years, approximately 76 percent of the state-owned forests in Java, covering 2.4 mio. hectares (5.9 mio. acres or 9,266 square miles), or 42 percent of the forests in Java, were exclusively managed by the State Forest Company (SFC). The general perception was, and largely still is, that the decentralization era reforms had little or no effects in Java, simply because the national decentralization regulations essentially maintained this dominant role. Thus, possible effects were hardly examined. This study aims to fill this gap by analyzing whether the national decentralization movement and policy affected and changed the policies and practices of involving local actors and communities in Java’s state forest governance and management. Our analytical framework follows the Policy Arrangement Approach (PAA), comprising four main analytical dimensions for assessing change and stability: The actors involved; the distribution of power and resources; the existing and applied rules; and discourses concerning the topic of research. The analysis is based on an extensive review of scholarly literature and policy documents, as well as 73 in-depth interviews with actors, from the national to the local levels, of two districts in Central Java. Overall, our findings show that the nationwide decentralization movement significantly affects the modes of collaborative forest management in Java, much more than one would expect if only looking at changes in the respective legal texts. The movement fueled changes, inter alia, by promoting discourses on sustainable forest management for local development, and triggering the revival of grassroots movements further empowered by local non-governmental organizations (NGOs), as well as by triggering the formal institutionalization of the informal norms and practices of local communities. New actors entered the arena, and the distribution of power, resources and benefits drawn from state forest management has changed in favor of district authorities and local communities at the expense of the State Forest Company.

Guizhou Province is one of the most expansive and important forest regions in China. Traditional Miao people have inhabited the mountains and managed the forest resources of this region for more than 1000 years. In the 1980s, the Chinese government transferred many collectively owned forests to individual household control. Since then, there have been 3 forest tenure types in Miao areas: state forests, collective forests, and household forests. The Collective Forest Tenure Reform was implemented nationwide starting in 2005, and in Guizhou in 2007, to develop and stabilize the forest tenure institutions. To investigate the effect of tenure type on the floristic composition and size structure of local forests, we conducted inventories in replicate forests under each type of tenure in 3 traditional Miao villages in Leishan County. Results showed that tree species richness and diversity were significantly higher in state and collective forests than in household forests; no significant differences were detected among villages. Cunninghamia lanceolata, an important local timber species, was most abundant in household forests, while higher proportions of associated broadleaf and pine species were recorded in state and collective forests. The lack of significant differences between state and collective forests for most measurement variables suggests that the inherent similarities between these 2 tenure types created by long-term use and management by the Miao have largely overshadowed the effects of more recent management efforts by the state. Each tenure regime offers different benefits, and a portfolio including all 3 tenure types would best provide the ecosystem services and economic opportunities required by forest-dependent communities.

This paper reveals the investigated effects of forest tenure and physical and socioeconomic correlates on conservation and management of forests in the Mpigi District, central Uganda. Tree diversity was surveyed in 156 nested plots of 20 m × 50 m. Tree density, mean diameter at breast height (dbh) and evidence of illegal forest use were used as indicators of forest conditions and the efficacy of forest management. The stand structure characteristics (i.e. tree density, mean dbh and basal area of trees) were higher in private forests than in Central Forest Reserves (CFRs) and Local Forest Reserves (LFRs) due to effective regulation and monitoring measures by private forest owners. Diameter size for all species combined followed the inverse J-shape, typical of mixed-age stands. Forests in close proximity to a dense human settlement and far from roads were heavily used, suggesting a high likelihood of population pressure on forest resources and limited capacity of forest owners and managers to effectively control and halt degradation in forests far away from agencies. A high proportion of plots in LFRs (81%) had signs of illegal forest use compared to CFRs (67%) and private forests (45%), even in LFRs and CFRs that were located closer to forest management institutions. Tenure alone did not ensure that forest condition is maintained but other factors such as distance to maintained roads and human pressure on the resource were also important. Management of forests in Mpigi needs to recognise and adequately address human impacts and improve the capacity of forest agencies and owners to monitor and regulate harvesting of forest produce.

The book contains the peer-reviewed, revised and edited invited keynote, overview and review papers presented at a IUFRO/CIFOR/FAO conference for each of the seven generic sustainability criteria for forest management. The sustainability criteria covered are: (i) social and economic functions and conditions; (ii) legal and institutional frameworks; (iii) productive capacity; (iv) ecosystem health and vitality; (v) soil and water protection; (vi) global carbon cycles; and (vii) biological diversity. Criteria and indicators (C&I) are a relatively new tool that have been developed to help better define sustainable forest management and assist with measuring change in forest condition and output of goods and services from forests. Application of C&I in forests has the following potential benefits: (i) raising awareness of, and political commitment for, Sustainable Forest Management; (ii) providing a tool for reporting, at a range of levels, on the state and trend in condition of forests; (iii) when forming part of an environmental management system, providing a way of assessing progress against management objectives, and thus supporting adaptive forest management; and (iv) providing an important plank for the certification of forests as sustainability management, and the associated green labelling of forest products.

Forest communities play a vital role in the conservation of forest resources. Understanding communities’ use, attitudes and perceptions of forests and management measures is significant in attaining conservation goals and reducing forest resource use conflicts. This study sought to assess local community’ forest resources use and their perception towards forest status, use and management. Data was collected through household surveys using semi-structured questionnaires, participant observation, Key Informant Interviews (KII), and Focus Group Discussions (FGD). A total of 112 respondents from three adjacent villages within 5 km from the forest boundary were randomly sampled for the household survey while descriptive statistics were used for data analysis. Most (94.6%) of the households reported using products from forests. These products formed an integral part of the households’ energy needs, construction materials, medicine, income generation and daily dietary needs. Firewood was the most collected product from the forest (76.4%) whereas bush meat was the least (4.7%). There were mixed views on the forest management with more than half (54.5%) expressing dissatisfaction with the current management regime citing insecure land tenure system, inadequate integration of the community in forest management and corruption. There was perceived forest degradation due to illegal logging, illegal grazing, forest fires, climate change and encroachment for farming. For sustainable forest management practice therefore, there is a need for incorporating Indigenous knowledge (IK) in forest management plans and putting in place grievance address mechanisms to cater for the needs of local communities when designing forest policies and implementing forest restoration programs.   Key words: Cherang’any hills, Community Forest Association, non-timber forest products, indigenous knowledge, sustainable forest management, forest restoration.

The Forest Sector is Key to Kenya’s social and economic well-being since most of the financial activities rely on environmental-based resources for their sustenance. The Forest Conservation and Management Act, of 2016, provides for the conservation and management of public, community, and private forests. This has brought a paradigm shift in forest management from central command to involving various stakeholders. Adequate stakeholders' engagement in the direction of forest resources, results in minimal conflicts. Local involvement promotes a sense of ownership to the Forest Adjacent Communities Consequently, reducing conflicts in the management of the forest resources. This dissertation focuses on the impacts of logging moratorium on Community Forest Associations in our state forests, with a focus of two CFAs in Meru County. It uses both quantitative and qualitative research design. An in-depth literature review was, used to enrich the research findings. Data was collected from 289 Mucheene and Ruthumbi CFA residents. Their views on the impacts of logging moratorium to the CFA were also documented. The study found out that forest conservation cannot be delinked from livelihood improvement by the Forest Adjacent Communities. There lie difficulties for the area population of the study area to support their life demands with the moratorium in place owing to the fact that they highly depended on the forest to support their livelihoods pre-moratorium. The study found that 93.4 % of the respondents believe that legal logging promotes job creation in the sawmill value chain circular economy. Findings are expected, to inform policy on forest conservation in collaboration with the FAC. The study recommends that the Government should adopt a regulation mechanism that safeguards logging in the extension forest of the community whenever there is an ongoing logging moratorium in the public forest. Communities, Forests, Logging, Moratorium, Livelihoods, Stakeholders engagement.

As tensions among diverse forest-use interests in Lithuania are on the rise, this study examines the actual resource availability, the underlying planning approaches and the pertinent policy arena. Two 5-year cycles of sampling-based forest inventory provide accurate data showing that the overall timber harvest/increment ratio (or utilization intensity) is 61%. Utilization intensity is similar in state and private forests. It could potentially be raised to 70-80%, with due account for environmental values. Such an increase is inhibited by rigid routines of forest management planning, involving inflexible rotation ages and cutting norms. Age-class analysis indicates that the current planning practice counters its underlying aim of achieving a long-term even flow of timber. According to a survey of key forest stakeholders, those who directly benefit from forest utilization have a weak position in the policy arena, the dominant powers being vested in the national forestry authorities. State forest enterprises have to follow restrictive plans from above, private forest owners are constrained by stern regulations and suffer from the bad image caused by the persistent myth of overuse in private forests. More rational management of Lithuanian forests is hardly possible without major shifts in the institutional set-up accompanied by transformation of the professional ideology.

Galicia is the most important forestry region of Spain, but its potential of producing the forest products is underdeveloped. A healthy and growing forestry sector could be an engine for regional and rural economic development, but forest management is impeded by forest ownership patterns. Most forests in Galicia are privately owned in small, scattered holdings that make it difficult to carry out the sustainable forest management required for forest sector development.A comprehensive sustainable forest management (SFM) strategy, based upon internationally recognized principles of sustainability, has been proposed as a means of rectifying the situation in Galicia. This strategy involves eight lines of actions that include such initiatives as improved legislation, increased public education and participation, and a new process for sustainable forest management that would be run by the government.This paper outlines the strategy, then goes on to describe new forest management processes and supporting technologies that are seen as necessary for promoting sustainable forest management in a region predominated by small forest ownerships. The new process will be based upon hierarchical and integrated forest management concepts, but will involve innovative approaches to regional and forest district management. The paper ends with a brief description of the initial steps that have been taken to implement the SFM Strategy of Galicia.