Conservation and Management of Forest Genetic Resources in Macedonia

Abstract

Conservation of forest biological diversity, which includes forest genetic resources, is essential for sustaining the productive value of forests, and for maintaining the health and vitality of forest ecosystems and thereby maintaining their protective, environmental and cultural roles. The purpose of conserving of forest genetic resources is to maintain hereditary variation in species and local populations far into the future so that their viability and adaptability would be sufficient to cope with changing environmental conditions. Since forest genetic resources are essential part of the adaptation processes of populations and tree species in a changing environment, their conservation and appropriate management have a crucial importance for sustainable forest management. Thus, forests need to be managed in a way that ensures their sustainable utilization, safeguarding the ecological process and genetic diversity essential for the maintenance of the resource base. In this paper a general introduction is given to the state of forest genetic resources conservation in FYR Macedonia with comprehensive overview of policies with respect to their conservation and management. Based on the current situation of conservation of forest genetic resources, some strategic suggestions concerning the future development of genetic conservation is given, taking into consideration the conservation objectives and future trends of great impact on existing forest genetic resources. National policies and regulatory frameworks that target forest genetic resources in Macedonia are partial and inadequate. Most relevant policies neglect the importance of forest genetic resources, but rather use it in the context of biological diversity. Sound social and economic policies are needed at national level to ensure the integration of forest genetic resources into wider national forest policy frameworks and thereby promote the sustainable management of forest genetic resources.