Capital management - the forests in countries in transition - welfare impacts.

Abstract

AbstractAccelerated destabilization of forest ecosystems was observed over large parts of Europe in the mid-1980s, with especially high amplitudes in Central-Eastern Europe. This new type of forest decline, induced or at least triggered by effects of human activities such as air pollution, helped to draw public and political attention to the need for environmentally sound management of natural resources. The forests in the former socialist countries of Central-Eastern Europe faced new challenges that had to be met under the constraints of the overall economic and social transition - a process by which the centrally planned economy was transformed into a market economy and private ownership was partially re-established in several fields, including forests and forestry. Forest protection and industry renewal had to be accomplished in an economic environment characterized by a sharp decline in production and consumption, social tension, unemployment and general indebtedness. Due to intensive forest policy and legal framework reform, new forest laws were enacted in almost all of the countries, followed by reforms to institutional frameworks. The state forest companies were also reformed in almost all of the countries and, after some difficult years, are now showing signs of recovery and development. It has become obvious that sustainable forest management (SFM) will only be practised if economic sustainability is ensured. The proper economic environment for SFM has yet to be established in the Central-Eastern European countries.