The increasing private and community forests are presently managed unsustainably concerning profitability and preservation of the resource productivity.
The obvious lack of knowledge of the private forest owners and community users concerning sustainable forest management has its roots in a loss of traditions of forest management during the socialist period and a lack of information and communication between the state forestry services (SFS) and the PFO. The interest to learn more about forest management is also limited because often the PFO are not really aware of their responsibilities and their role. This in turn is often a function of unclear ownership pattern of forest land and unknown or legally unclear defined rights and duties for PFO. Too complicated, restrictive and over-regulating laws and regulations are another reason for de-motivation concerning private / community forest management.
The PFO often are not conscious about the capital value of forests which contributes to the trend that they are losing interest in their forest ownership. This is enforced by the fact that many PFO do not have the financial means to pay for the required machinery, equipment and transport for making use of their forest capital. The very small forest holdings of 1 to 2 ha or even below make the management operations also rather costly and reduces profitability. The low profitability is increased by the difficulties of the small holders with marketing of their forest products. With their small quantities they have a very weak bargaining position towards traders and the wood industry.
The system of compensating for legal restrictions in forest utilisation for environmental reasons is still under-developed or non-existent which contributes to the difficult financial situation of forest owners.
The participating countries have an advanced technical capacity in forest management but are struggling to adapt to changing situations and demands. The level of forest management in the former centrally planned economies was modern in the biological and environmental fields but was conservative, economically inefficient and inflexible. The SFS are not used to involve PFO in forest management decisions and expect the PFO to carry out what they have planned and decided. The forest management plans for the private / communities forests are made by the SFS without really consulting or involving the PFO. There are no adequate working methods available within the SFS such as participatory approaches to cope with the new situation. The SFS staff has no training in communication skills. There are only little skills and mechanisms available within the SFS to solve the inevitable conflicts between the SFS and PFO and even among PFO. One of the roots for such conflicts is the lack of confidence of PFO to the SFS. Parallel to this, often the forest administration has been down-sized, while the number of PFO is still increasing. Due to the very large number of PFO, in most of the Central and East European countries it is virtually impossible that the SFS staff is able to contact each PFO individually. New extension methods are needed to increase the work efficiency of foresters.
As a result of the problem mentioned above, in most countries the PFO are relatively unmotivated and the private forests tend to be either unmanaged or over-utilised. This is often in combination with uncontrolled and / or illegal logging activities. In addition unmanaged forests become less productive.
Consequently the forest resources are not optimally utilised and this has a negative effect on the net balance on wood import and export. Therefore the forestry sector does not contribute as significantly as it could to the GDP and opportunities for job creation are lost.
Finally unsustainable managed forests influence negatively forest eco-systems (reduced bio-diversity, water regulating capacity) with all consequences on soil fertility, natural water resources and wildlife.
The basic focus of the Project is the establishment of a supportive institutional framework for private forest owners and community users in the participating countries. One part of the institutional framework is an adequate institutional infrastructure which in turn consists mainly of adapted state forestry services and a network of associations of forest owners. After Project duration both kinds of institutions will be able to continue the development of private / community forestry in a self-sustaining process and to cope with change. The institutional framework consists further of a forestry policy which, after Project implementation, will be supportive for private forest owners and community users through established mechanisms for a participatory policy formulation process with all important stakeholders. The third part of the institutional framework is the legislation which will be adapted in view of achieving the forestry policy objectives including the needs of the private forest owners and community users.
Under the condition that the Project has succeeded, as described, in establishing essential requirements for a supportive institutional framework in the participating countries, it is expected that a self-sustaining development of the private / community forestry sector takes place. The work of the SFS and the associations of forest owners will have gained sufficient momentum to further develop without any external support. They will receive sufficient budgets from the governments or generate sufficient own income to effectively carry out their development work and no further project support is expected to be needed any more. After end of Project the forest owner associations will continue to benefit from the cooperation links which were established during Project implementation.
The Project responds to actually existing and clearly expressed needs of the governments, the SFS and the forest owners in the participating countries. Therefore not only the Project objective is very likely to be achieved but the social sustainability is addressed. The Project relies on the involvement and direct participation of forest owners and community users in SFM mainly through their associations, providing the support and building the capacities for their spontaneous mobilisation, and commitment in the long term. Local knowledge, aspirations and concerns are therefore integrated in the whole project implementation as they have been in the process of project formulation.
In addition since the SFS exist and only need to be reorganised to a certain extent and trained in specific aspects (with Project support) no additional budgets are required for the SFS from the governments or associations after Project lifetime. Practice with participatory methods has shown that the risk of not achieving this situation is relatively low, provided the project strategy, as explained below, is consequently implemented.
Direct recipients of the Project are the state forestry services or the forestry extension services provided by associations as well as all persons and institutions which influence forestry policy and legislation in the participating countries. Within these services special attention has to be taken on the recruitment and training of women as a specific direct recipient target group.
Direct recipients can also be forest owners who want to, or have already, established a forest owner association (for enabling and encouraging activities). Direct Project activities with this target groups, however, will happen only in specific cases. For most of the activities with this target group, the Project will train the staff of the SFS or other forestry services which in turn is contacting the forest owners and associations.
The ultimate (mainly indirect) beneficiaries of the Project are the private forest owners and community users. The Project objective is to create a supportive environment for this target group and to give them the possibility to manage their forests profitably and sustainably.
Most of the CEE countries have similar problems, although not the same, in the adaptation of their forestry service structure to the new ownership pattern. Therefore, a regional approach has been chosen as the most cost effective answer for solving the problems in the participating countries. This has in addition the positive effect that the cooperation among the forestry services of the various countries can be enhanced and cooperation links with West European countries can be established more easily.
To support the development of profitable and sustainable private / community forestry the Project will encompass three main aspects.
First, the interest and motivation of the private forest owners and community users to manage their forests in a sustainable manner has to increase. To achieve this aim, forest owners must have more knowledge in technical matters and about opportunities to improve their forestry work and its profitability. This can be achieved by enabling the state or association based forestry services (SFS) to meet the needs of the private / community forestry sector concerning training, advisory and management support services.
Second, the private forest owners and community users have to increase their profit (on the basis of sustainable and efficient forest management techniques) and other benefits from forest management according to their own management objectives. This can be achieved by promoting forest owner associations. The promotion of such associations should be again the task of the SFS which will be prepared for this task by the Project.
Third, the institutional framework has to be influenced to become supportive of private forest owners and community users through participatory formulation of forestry policy and legislation as well as participatory preparation of forest management plans.
If by these measures the private forest owners and community users are interested and motivated to manage their forests profitably and sustainably, uncontrolled / illegal logging will be marginalised, the forest resources will be increased or at least maintained, the wood production will increase with the effect of more exports and less imports of wood and wood products.
By using participatory forest management, constructive cooperation among stakeholders is expected as well as widely accepted and respected results for practical forest management. This will contribute to the social sustainability of the project. Moreover participatory forest management methods will produce in most cases the most cost-efficient solution for problems because the costs for "policing" can be saved. Since the interests of the main stakeholders are included, participatory processes most of the time lead also to the best economic and social compromise, particularly because it leads to a clear common understanding of who has to do what. And most of the time the specific capacities of the participants are utilised close to an optimum.
The project deals mainly with private forests, but for example in Albania, the percentage of community forests is significant. The project strategy will not be affected very much as a result of the different types of ownership, since the project aims to enable the SFS, through the use of participatory approaches, tools and methods, to identify analyse and respond to diverse needs and target audiences.
The difference in forest ownership might correspond to different needs, motivations and expectations of the forest owners and forest users (e.g production oriented vs. service oriented) and different interlocutors (individual forest owners, forest owner associations, elected representatives of the communities etc). This diversity has to be clearly identified and acknowledged in the design of national work-plans and during the implementation. At this stage it can be recognised that the SFS might be facing different realities between and inside the same country. For this reason the project will not propose any universal solution, but will support the SFS to design and reorganise their services on the basis of the needs and requirements of their target audience that might vary, besides the others, according to the ownership. This will include the identification of the appropriate interlocutors, the methodology and the choice of tools.
The Project will support national projects in the participating countries. Implementing agencies for the national projects are the state forestry services of the countries.
In general the SFS have proven in the last decades that they are well able to manage the forests with their available staff, their working pattern and their organisational structure. However, due to changed forest ownership structures the work of the SFS has to be changed in direction of establishing an education and extension system which is able to reach the nowadays numerous small holders, to jointly develop with the private owners management plans, management abilities and to encourage them to create associations.
Such an advisory system needs that at least certain staff members of the SFS are trained in appropriate methods and use these methods in adapted work routine. In most cases, however, it will be necessary to establish an own department for extension / advisory services.
Other implementing agencies and therefore counterpart organisations for the Project will be to a certain extent associations of forest owners which number will increase during Project implementation.
The Regional Project "Strengthening of Private and Community Forestry in CEE" (RP) will be managed by a Project Coordinator. (See Annex 4)
In each of the participating countries a National Project will be established. These National Projects (NP) will prepare a plan for restructuring the SFS and will appoint a Project Director and staff of the SFS for specific project tasks.
The National Project Directors will meet regularly in the Coordination Committee (CC) to discuss and decide with the Project Coordinator what activities the Regional Project will be carry out for supporting the National Projects, by whom these activities will be carried out and by what means. These meeting should be half-yearly. On the basis of the national plans of operations an annual plan of operations for the Regional Project will be prepared by the CC. This plan and the activities of the RP and the NP should be reviewed during each CC meeting. On a rotational basis, during one CC meeting the plan of operations for the RP will be established and on the next meeting the still valid plan would be reviewed and, if required, adapted.
The corresponding RP activities are coordinated and partly carried out by the Project Coordinator. He / she will steer also the activities of the international consultants, the national consultants and he / she plays a major role in establishing contacts between the NP and the various forest owner associations. In addition, he has to task to advise the NP in their restructuring process.
The NP Directors are fully responsible for the activities of their National Project. International Consultants will be used in case no adequate national consultants can be found. They would be always accompanied by potential national consultants who should step by step take over training and other consultancy work in their country and finally in other participating countries and become international consultants.
The staff of the SFS have the function of the interface to the forest owners. On the basis of an adequately structured forestry extension service they will gradually better understand the situation of forest owners, train them on a participatory basis and advise them.
FAO will have the backstopping function which comprises also to carry out the required review missions and to organise the evaluation missions (see Chapter H).
His / her main seat could be in the FAO Headquarters, Rome or preferably in the FAO Sub-Regional Office for Central and Eastern Europe located in Budapest (Hungary). The latter would facilitate the frequent travels to participating countries (Hungary bordering with Romania, Slovenia and Slovakia)..
The Coordination Committee will meet in the capitals of the participating countries on a rotational basis.
The National Projects will have their main seat in the capitals of the concerned country in the relevant forestry service.
The state forestry services and in the case of the Czech Republic the forestry service of the "Association of Municipal and Private Forest Owners" have recognised the need for adapting the service structure to the increasing number of private small forest holders. However, they have neither the knowledge for this necessary adaptation nor the financial means to carry out the associated in-service training measures. In addition, they would hardly be in a position to establish a supra-national information and cooperation network as it will be possible with FAO facilitation, particularly as it should comprise also associations of West European countries. This is important also in view of the wish of most of the participating CEE countries to join the EU.
The Project has a positive environmental impact, particularly on the forest eco-systems of the CEE countries due to improved use pattern.
Gender aspects need special attention during Project implementation. Traditionally, the forestry service staff is male. In the course of the training measures it needs to be ensured that more female staff is being trained and an adequate number of positions is reserved for them. This is important in order to reach female forest owners.
As already mentioned, special attention needs also the promotion of technical cooperation among the forest services and the forest owner associations of the various participating countries as an important aim of the Project. Technical cooperation with West European forest services and associations is part of it.
Public participation of forest management is another feature of the Project subject for special considerations as this means automatically to involve all stakeholders in the policy and legislation formulation process, including environmental and hunters' organisations. This is particularly critical because these organisations are traditionally in permanent conflict with forest owners and services.
Special cooperation arrangements have to be worked out and implemented with West European forest owner associations and the Confédération Européenne des Propriétaires Forestiers (CEPF) at European level. They have expressed their interest in further cooperating with the SFS or associations. There is also interest of the CEFP to support CEE associations in view of gaining membership in these countries. It is intended to involve the West European associations and their apex organisations further in all Project activities.
The cooperation with other organisation dealing with private/ community forest management in CEE is highly suitable. In particular the IUCN Regional Office for Europe should be considered a potential partner, having a long experience and being actively involved in similar tasks in the region.
All institutions and organisations which are already cooperating with the forestry services may play a role in the framework of the National Projects and the Regional Project as well. For example the forestry research institutions might need also to adapt part of their research programme to the needs of small forest holders. In this context the wood processing industry as commercial partners for the forest owner associations might be also target of the NP or the RP. During Programme implementation, according to arising needs, special arrangements might be required.