1. INTRODUCTION
As in any country, forests and forestry in Hungary play an integral role in the life of its people. Managing forests requires a substantial body of information on forest resources, their natural environment, as well as the economic, social and legal systems in which the forests are managed. This paper summarizes the latest information available on these issues.
2. FOREST RESOURCES
2.1 Forest area
Hungary used to be a country of great forest cover. In the seventeenth century, however, the forested area started to decrease following the European pattern. Besides the increase in population and the extension of agriculture, the decrease was mainly caused by the industrialization process of the nineteenth century.
At the turn of the century, however, Hungary still had 7.4 million ha of forests. In 1930, as a consequence of the country's territorial losses after the treaties of the First World War, the amount of forests dramatically decreased to 1.1 million ha, i.e., to 12 percent.
After the Second World War, the primary goal of the forestry policy in Hungary was to increase wood supply. To cope with the shortage of wood and to decrease its import, forestry had to focus on the quantity of wood production. Later - as a result of large scale, still ongoing national afforestations - this area has been increased to 600 000 ha and reached the present rate of 18.4 percent or 1.7 million ha (Table 1).
Table 1
Time (year) |
1930 |
1950 |
1960 |
1970 |
1980 |
1985 |
1990 |
1993 | |
Forest area in 1 000 ha |
1 091 |
1 167 |
1 306 |
1 471 |
1 587 |
1 631 |
1 674 |
1 708 | |
Ratio (ha) |
11.8 |
12.5 |
14.0 |
15.8 |
17.1 |
17.5 |
18.0 |
18.4 | |
As the latest figures show, the total area under forest management in Hungary is 1.838 million ha This area includes the stocked forests, the temporarily unstocked areas, as well as roads, alleys, rides, clearings, fields, water surfaces and buildings, which are all integrated parts of forest holdings. The total area of forests (stocked and temporarily unstocked) is 1.708 million ha, of which the stocked area amounts to 1.590 million ha. The distribution of this area by land use and by primary management objectives is shown in Tables 2 and 3.
Table 2
Time (year) |
1950 |
1970 |
1980 |
1990 |
Forest |
12.5 |
15.8 |
17.3 |
18.2 |
Agricultural land |
79.3 |
73.9 |
71.2 |
69.6 |
Other |
8.2 |
10.3 |
11.5 |
12.2 |
Table 3
Time (year) |
1980 |
1985 |
1993 |
1993 |
Primary objective: |
1 000 ha |
% | ||
Productive forest |
1 287.3 |
1 306.5 |
1 348.4 |
78.9 |
Seed crop stands |
2.8 |
3.1 |
5.6 |
0.3 |
Game management |
1.9 |
34.1 |
25.0 |
1.5 |
Protection forest |
174.3 |
183.8 |
186.1 |
10.9 |
Nature conserv. |
24.0 |
40.5 |
59.0 |
3.5 |
Recreation |
54.9 |
56.5 |
45.6 |
2.7 |
Other forest |
33.6 |
40.6 |
39.0 |
2.2 |
Total |
1 578.8 |
1 665.1 |
1 708.7 |
100.0 |
Various studies on future agriculture in Hungary suggest that about 500 000-l 000 000 ha of currently agricultural land has to be converted to other land use, and that the majority of the non-profitable agricultural land should be afforested.
Besides its apparent economical and environmental impacts, this extensive afforestation is expected to solve many problems of the rural population and help decrease unemployment, which is one of the major concerns in Hungary.
Historically, the utilization of forests in Hungary follows the European pattern. Conflicts of interests of hunters, foresters, conservationists and citizens are similar to those in neighbouring countries. The challenges for forestry and reactions by various groups of society to recent issues are also very similar.
2.2 Growing conditions
Hungary is situated in the Carpathian basis. It is dominated by lowlands (67 %) and hilly regions 200-400 m high (29 %). The "mountainous" area (above 400 m) is only 4 percent. The highest peak in the country is 1 015 m above sea level in the Matra Mountains.
The dominant climate is continental, but the sub-Atlantic and sub-Mediterranean influence also bring about rapid changes and considerable differences in the various parts of the country.
About 25 percent of Hungarian forests are situated in the dry continental climate area where the relative air humidity in July is less than 50 percent. Water is the major factor in these areas, i.e., it determines forest conditions and limits tree growth.
The most common bedrocks in Hungary are loess, sand, limestone, dolomite, andesite and basalt. As a consequence of the great variety of bedrocks and the variable climatic conditions, a wide range of soil types developed.
Forest areas are dominated by brown and dark forest soils, as well as by sandy soils with low humus content, but soils vary from alcalic soils on lowlands to podzolic and acidic soils in hilly regions. Sites in the flooded belts along the two large rivers (the Danube and the Theis) or with a high water table represent favourable conditions for forests, but are strongly affected by water management activities.
2.3 Tree species composition, origin and age structure
Unlike most countries in Europe, an overwhelming majority of forests is covered by broadleaved species in Hungary (Table 4). Conifers are mainly considered as introduced species, but a fairly high proportion of the broadleaved forests also consists of introduced species, such as black locust and improved poplars.
The most characteristic feature of the Hungarian forests is the large variety of mixed, sometimes multi-storied stands of broadleaved species.
Almost all forests in Hungary are considered as even-aged and established artificially. Some experts try to differentiate between plantations and natural types of forests, others are investigating the existence of virgin forests.
Table 4
Tree species |
Area | |
ha |
% | |
Oaks (sessile and pedunculate) |
360 524 |
23 |
Turkey oak |
178 075 |
11 |
Beech |
102 343 |
6 |
Hornbeam |
96 179 |
6 |
Black locust |
307 020 |
19 |
Other hard broadeaved |
58 340 |
4 |
Poplars |
152 184 |
10 |
Other soft broadleaved |
86 756 |
6 |
Scots pine |
149 546 |
9 |
Other conifers |
98 791 |
6 |
Total |
1 589 758 |
100 |
As for origin, stands of coppice origin represent 40 percent of the area. After felling, the natural regeneration process is preferred wherever practicable. The rate of stands regenerated in a natural way (coppice and regeneration cuts) amounts to about 50 percent. The age structure of Hungarian forests has been improving as a result of regulations to achieve sustained yield. The distribution of the forest area by age classes is shown in Table 5.
Table 5
Age class |
% of area in year | |
(year) |
1972 |
1990 |
1 - 10 |
22.5 |
13.9 |
11 - 20 |
20.5 |
18.2 |
21 - 30 |
16.5 |
15.3 |
31 - 40 |
11.3 |
13.8 |
41 - 60 |
16.3 |
16.6 |
61 - 80 |
8.9 |
12.6 |
81 - 100 |
2.8 |
7.2 |
- 100 |
1.1 |
2.4 |
2.4 Wood production capacity
The total growing stock of the productive forests is 237 million m³, and the majority of the current increment, 9 851 thousand m³, is also being produced in these forests. The net specific current increment is quite high as compared to the European average. It amounts to 6.2 m3/ha, whereas the European average is only 4.3 m³/ha (as of 1990). This can be ascribed partly to the relatively favourable site and climate conditions and partly to the relatively high proportion of tree species of short rotation period. About 27 percent of the forests, i.e., 430 000 ha, are covered with fast growing species providing 30 percent of the total current increment.
3. FOREST OWNERSHIP STRUCTURE
Since 1938, there have been extensive changes in the different ownership categories (Table 6). There is clear evidence of the collectivization process which took place in the last four decades. Currently, the ownership structure of forests in Hungary is a very critical issue and is again undergoing dramatic changes. Forests are also included in the privatization process. Forests under nature protection are, however, not to be privatized.
Table 6
Ownership |
in year | |||||
1938 |
1950 |
1960 |
1980 |
1990 |
1993 | |
Public |
262 |
1 068 |
1 163 |
1 134 |
1 150 |
1 153 |
- State forest enterprises |
48 |
1 039 |
951 |
1 036 |
1 043 |
1 048 |
- State farms |
20 |
6 |
27 |
70 |
78 |
82 |
- Other state |
- |
- |
9 |
- |
- |
- |
- Communities |
194 |
23 |
176 |
- |
- |
- |
- Other public |
194 |
- |
185 |
28 |
29 |
23 |
Cooperatives |
- |
2 |
100 |
442 |
514 |
535 |
Private |
844 |
96 |
44 |
11 |
9 |
10 |
Total |
1 562 |
1 166 |
2 655 |
1 587 |
1 673 |
2 851 |
The majority of the forest area, 979 000 ha is owned by 19 state forest companies, now under the control of the State Assets Handling Joint-Stock Company. This company is responsible for managing state properties. About 80 000 ha of forests belong to other ministries, such as the Ministry of Environment and Regional Policy, Ministry of Defence, and Ministry of Transport, Telecommunication and Construction.
There are about 22 000 ha of forests that are owned by the State, but managed by various bodies, such as state agencies and companies, like railways, mines, etc. Out of this, about 9 000 ha of municipal forest, formerly owned by county, city, and village councils of the socialist system, are already owned by the local municipalities, so they are no longer considered as state properties. Some additional 13 000 ha are partly owned by state companies, partly by companies under transition. The legal status of these forests is yet to be clarified.
The 125 state farms own 82 000 ha of forests; 25 of them belong to the State Assets Handling Co., while the rest, owning three-fourths of the 82 000 ha, will soon be privatized.
The former cooperatives and their successors own 534 000 ha of forest, and there are about 10 000 ha of forests held as private properties. This latter figure is increasing on a day-to-day basis as privatization and compensation proceed, and the forests owned by cooperatives are now being distributed among those who owned them before collectivization of the agricultural fields following the Second World War.
It is clear from the above that the present processes will substantially change the ownership structure in the near future. A considerable proportion, 100-150 thousand ha of state forests, will be privatized.
Most foresters, however, still insist on retaining a relatively high proportion of state owned forests. According to this idea, the proportion of state-owned forests would drop to 55-60 percent but would not decrease to less than 50 percent due to new afforestations on private lands.
Furthermore, large forest units should be kept in blocks as they are now; the ecologically valuable forests and the strictly protected forests would be under state management. The course of privatization is subject to further investigations and analyses.
4. THE FOREST INDUSTRY
4.1 Wood production and consumption
As stated above, Hungary's present domestic use of wood products is greater than its forest wood production capacity. Therefore, Hungary is reduced to importing (Table 7). The trends in roundwood consumption by assortments are shown in Table 8.
Table 7
Trade/production |
in year | |||
1975 |
1980 |
1985 |
1990 | |
Import |
5 645 |
4 726 |
4 610 |
3 274 |
Export |
1 451 |
1 369 |
2 048 |
2 374 |
Domestic roundwood production |
5 384 |
6 161 |
6 262 |
5 973 |
Balance (domestic use) |
9 578 |
9 518 |
8 824 |
6 873 |
Table 8
Assortments |
in year | |||||
1975 |
1980 |
1985 |
1990 |
1991 |
1992 | |
Saw and veneer logs |
1 524 |
1 820 |
1 930 |
2 046 |
1 786 |
1 427 |
Pulp and fibre wood |
1 065 |
1 146 |
1 221 |
1 079 |
1 110 |
824 |
Other industrial wood |
547 |
714 |
581 |
393 |
313 |
663 |
Fuel wood |
2 248 |
2 481 |
3 030 |
2 455 |
2 583 |
2 430 |
Total |
5 384 |
6 161 |
6 762 |
5 973 |
5 792 |
5 344 |
Foreign trade in the forestry sector is shown in Table 9. As can be seen, the balance of foreign trade improved during this period mainly because of the development in the field of wood processing and a sharp decline in domestic consumption.
Table 9
Products (Import/Export) |
in year | |||
1975 |
1980 |
1985 |
1990 | |
Primary wood products |
1 796 |
1 478 |
1 329 |
620 |
846 |
767 |
1 303 |
1 341 | |
Sawn wood products |
1 833 |
1 214 |
1 254 |
1 038 |
331 |
221 |
302 |
586 | |
Panels and veneer sheets |
245 |
188 |
225 |
121 |
47 |
50 |
90 |
120 | |
Pulp and paper products |
1 771 |
1 845 |
1 803 |
1 495 |
227 |
331 |
353 |
327 | |
Total |
5 645 |
4 725 |
4 611 |
3 274 |
1 451 |
1 369 |
2 048 |
2 374 | |
Domestic roundwood production |
5 384 |
6 161 |
6 262 |
5 973 |
4.2 Structure of the wood industry
The 19 state forest companies (now in transition and under the control of the State Assets Handling Joint-Stock Company) are responsible for about 65 percent of the total forest land.
A decisive part of the enterprises oriented to primary wood processing has belonged to the state forest companies since 1968. This structure now is under division. Wood processing plants are gradually being separated from the forest companies and are subjects of privatization.
The state, private, cooperative and other wood processing plants alike have settled along the transportation lines, and as close as possible to the energy and raw material sources, as well as municipalities and markets.
The last country-wide survey on sawmills was carried out in 1979. Of the 654 plants registered at that time, about 33 percent were state-owned, while 67 percent - mainly very small ones with a processing capacity of less than 5 000 m³/year - were owned by agricultural cooperatives.
During the last decade, the structure of the state sawmill industry developed, and many small units were closed. The number of plants, their ownership and capacity is permanently changing as privatization proceeds.
The wood-based panel industry currently consists of four veneer producing plants, six plywood, two particle board, one flaxboard and one fibreboard plant, processing hardboards only. MDF production has yet to be established in Hungary.
The pulp and paper industry operates 30 paper machines in several plants. Their total production was 452 000 t in 1990. A medium-term plan for the pulp and paper industry has been developed in order to modernize machinery, and increase productivity and product quality.
The state of the pulp and paper industry has brought about intensive research and analyses recently because Hungary has great surpluses in pulpwood and a large negative trade balance in pulp and paper, which could be reduced by processing the available pulpwood surpluses.
Considering that the Hungarian paper consumption is far below the European average, it is assumed that the country's economic development in the future will involve a much greater paper consumption.
As far as the production technologies of forest industries are concerned, the mechanical wood processing is predominating. Apart from some small-scale distillation and conventional charcoal production, practically all industrial wood is used and processed mechanically.
4.3 Importance of the forest sector to national and local economies
Between 1988 and 1990, about 35 percent of the GDP was produced by industry; 7 percent by transport and telecommunications; 11 percent by trade; and 13.5 percent by agriculture. About 72 percent was used on consumption; 25 percent on investments; and 3 percent on net export.
The contribution of forestry to the GDP was about 2 percent. The sector's production showed a steady increase till the mid-1980s, but after this a period of decline ensued. Due to problems in silviculture, marketing of wood, etc., the annual cut began to decrease in 1989 and fell to the level of 1975 in 1990.
4.4 Employment in forestry
The state forest companies (now under the control of the State Assets Handling Joint-Stock Company) are responsible for about 65 percent of the total forest land. Their employment structure in the last decades is shown in Table 10.
Table 10
Operation |
in year | ||
1980 |
1985 |
1990 | |
Silviculture |
6 990 |
7 065 |
6 162 |
Logging |
8 430 |
8 185 |
6 443 |
Ancyllary activity |
1 714 |
2 027 |
1 313 |
Wood - processing |
10 911 |
9 651 |
8 736 |
Construction |
954 |
685 |
455 |
Machinery |
9 352 |
9 735 |
8 664 |
Services |
1 529 |
1 499 |
1 708 |
Office work |
2 112 |
2 281 |
2 142 |
Total |
41 992 |
41 128 |
35 623 |
As a consequence of the restructuring of the wood sector, the wood processing industry is slowly separated from the state forest companies; a larger proportion of logging is performed by entrepreneurs, so the number of employees - blue and white collar workers alike - has been decreasing since the beginning of the 1900s.
The state owned forest companies employed only 12 460 full-time forest workers in 1993. Parallel to this, the number of entrepreneurs in forestry has been increasing.
The average wage of forestry workers was 11 400 HUF in 1990; 13 700 in 1991; and 16 900 in 1992. This represents a 20 percent increase in 1991, and another 23 percent increase in 1992, while the consumer price index increased by 35 percent in 1991, and by 22 percent in 1992.
Forest income, especially for the non-wood products, is not satisfactorily assessed in surveys for the owner groups formed recently. Studies suggest that prices of wood products are increasing at a rate higher than inflation. The overall income, however, is not greater than before because of the decreasing volume of production. The rate of earnings from non-wood products may increase.
An example of price trends of several key products of the State Forest Companies are given in Table 11 for the quarters of 1993.
Table 11
Product |
quarter | |||
I. |
II. |
III. |
IV. | |
Sawlog spruce |
6 453 |
5 649 |
6 165 |
5 996 |
Sawnwood pine |
14 951 |
14 395 |
14 497 |
14 738 |
Sawlog oak |
8 044 |
8 122 |
7 819 |
9 224 |
Sawnwood oak |
20 935 |
27 689 |
27 367 |
27 388 |
Sawlog beech |
5 323 |
5 425 |
5 144 |
5 266 |
Sawnwood beech |
12 711 |
15 149 |
15 498 |
16 254 |
Hard fiber board |
20 579 |
22 824 |
23 006 |
25 753 |
5. FOREST POLICY AND LEGISLATION
5.1 Forest policy and the Forestry Law
After the Second World War the improvement of wood supply became the major goal of forestry policy in Hungary. Although forest policy has always aimed at improving the natural environment and recreational services, as well, the main emphasis was on increasing wood production and the extension of the forest area.
The benefits of this policy included more than half million ha of new forests in the country since the Second World War. Over-dimensioned state companies, the disturbed balance of forestry and wildlife management and the difficulties to reforest certain areas, on the other hand, created yet unresolved problems.
The Forestry Law currently in force was enacted in 1961. The main objective of this law is to increase forest resources, to maintain and intensify special forest functions and to develop harmonized wildlife management. The Forestry Law regulates stocked forests, clearing roads, alleys, nurseries, open lands embraced by forests, i.e., all lands under forest management, but it ignores ownership.
The main items included in the Hungarian Forestry Law are the following:
- forests can be converted to other land use only after authorized approval;
- forest property exceeding 400 ha should employ a professional forester;
- forest management plans should be approved by the Minister of Agriculture;
- management plans are financed by the State and are provided free of charge;
- forest owners should follow the plan's recommendations, and the State inspects the owners' activities through State Forest Inspectorates;
- the forest owner/user must contribute a sum (determined by the logging involved) to a special Forest Maintenance Fund;
- logging sites must be reforested; the cost of regeneration is covered by the Forest Maintenance Fund on a normative basis; this subsidy is intended to include some profit to encourage faster regeneration;
- afforestation, as well as furnishing existing forests for welfare services, are considered as special investments of national interest and therefore are financed by the state budget;
- primary management objectives are defined by law; management of protective and nature conservation areas is controlled by the Minister of Environment and its local authorities;
- forests are open to the public for recreational purposes;
- hunting rights are controlled by the State, which is subject to renting, with the renter responsible for wildlife management and for damages caused by game;
- grazing domestic animals in forests is prohibited;
- forestry is subject to the Ministry of Agriculture.
The increasing public concern over the condition of forests, air pollution, and the threat of possible climate change has focused the public attention on forestry issues. The main emphasis is shifting towards the non-wood benefits of forests, while wood production is controlled by market conditions rather than central decisions. These, as well as the changing ownership structure, call for adjustments in forestry policy, which finally should result in a new Forestry Law.
The key issues of the new forest policy to be included in the new Forestry Law, with certain elements already in effect in lower level regulations, should define the following:
- priority given to a long-term interest for human health, nature conservation and the maintenance of forest resources;
- the role of forests in nature conservation, protection, welfare-oriented use and recreation;
- the role of forests in wood supply, and the necessary economic and institutional background;
- the prerequisites of sustainable management under a changing ownership structure, and the development of a system to guarantee forest heritage;
- the ownership structure (the share of state forests is expected to eventually exceed 50-55 percent);
- coordinating and controlling the role of the State in ensuring sustainable management;
- role of foresters, their education and training, and the conditions of their employment; and
- international relationships.
The degree of conformity with international agreements is intended to be as high as possible. Some coincidental contradiction might exist, and imperfect implementation may occur but these will be revised and corrected during the legislative procedure in the future.
In Hungary, the rights of local people, as declared in the Hungarian Constitution, are in accordance with international recommendations. Forests must be kept open and available to the public: locals are to be permitted to use forests for recreational purposes, to collect wild flowers, mushrooms and wild fruits free of charge for personal use; grazing in forests, however, is prohibited.
5.2 Other laws important to forestry
At the beginning of the transition of Hungary to the market economy, the Act on State Enterprises delegated the ownership rights to the enterprise councils in 1985, providing decentralization and privatization of the enterprise. The Company Act of 1988, and the Transformation Act of 1989 gave full autonomy to the enterprises in restructuring. The Foreign Investment Act of the same year permitted foreign capital in Hungary.
The Hungarian Parliament has passed a large number of laws since 1990, when the first free elections were held after the communist regime. However, several laws of outstanding importance have yet to be enacted in order to rule the wide spectrum of the economy. Some of them are essential to forestry, as well. These are the Law on Lands, the Nature Protection Law and the Wildlife Management Law.
In the present system, the sphere of authority is shared between the Law on Land and the Forestry Law. Every piece of land is under the authority of the Law on Land except for forest lands. Forests are exclusively under the competence of the Forestry Law.
The increasing importance of protective and welfare-oriented functions of forests is characteristic of non-forest areas, as well. Therefore, hierarchical adjustments are inevitable between these two laws in order to avoid overlapping. Experts agree that the Nature Protection Law, the Wildlife Management Law and the Forestry Law should be discussed at the same time by Parliament.
5.3 Protection of forested areas
In Hungary, there are 703 000 ha of protected area. The five national parks occupy 170 000 ha, and the area of protected landscape amounts to 474 000 ha. Of all protected areas, about 350 000 ha are in forests. This means that about 20 percent of all forests are under different levels of protection.
Hungary joined several international treaties, including the Ramsar Treaty, the Washington Treaty (CITES), the Bonn Treaty, the Bern Treaty and the treaties on biological diversity in Rio de Janeiro in l992.
6. INFRASTRUCTURE
6.1 Organizations
Forestry as a whole is under the authority of the Ministry of Agriculture. The Office of Forestry and its local authorities, the ten State Forest Inspectorates, control the management of forests, with the exception of strictly protected forests, where the Ministry of Environment and its local authorities are responsible.
Forest inspection does not consider ownership, so that decisions made by the inspectorates are compulsory for every forest owner.
Management plans, on which the inspection is based, are provided by a governmental institute, the Forest Management Planning Service, which has country-wide responsibilities. This institute is regulated by the Office of Forestry, and has 11 local bureaux and one headquarters.
During the transition process, the 19 state forest companies were attached to the State Assets Handling Joint-Stock Company, a 100 percent state holding responsible for managing state properties. That part of the wood processing industry which has already been privatized, is inspected by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. State farms to be privatized (and their forests) belong to the State Property Agency, a body which is responsible for privatization.
Although the Hungarian Association of Agricultural Producers provides different services for the agricultural cooperatives, these cooperatives, the private forests, as well as the forests of the local governments, are controlled by the Ministry of Agriculture through the Forest Management Planning Service and the Forest Inspectorates.
Forestry research is conducted in the Forest Research Institute (FRI), as well as the School of Forestry and Forest Industries. The FRI, as well as basic forestry education is also controlled by the Ministry of Agriculture through the office of Forestry and the Department of Education, but the School was just recently attached to the Ministry of Public Education.
Establishing regional bodies for private forest owners in order to ensure professional assistance is under consideration.
6.2 Forest Management Planning
Forest management planning (which includes periodical mapping, inventory and planning management of forests, in addition to supervising human activities in them) as a concept, as well as some kind of organization, has been operating in Hungary for more than 200 years. The basic philosophy, strategy and principles of management planning remained relatively unchanged through these many years and are based on the sustainable management theory. Naturally, the methods, intensity, concepts, funds, devices and principles, as well as the organizational structure, have been developing since without any serious setbacks.
The main characteristics of the present management planning is as follows:
- in accordance with the Forestry Law, the total forested area of the country, regardless of ownership, is under the regulation of management planning;
- while mapping, inventory, planning and yield regulation are done every ten years (i.e., one-tenth of the forest area is covered annually), the supervision of management is done on an annual basis;
- management planning as a whole is in the interests of society, thus 100 percent of the operational costs for all owner/user is covered by the state budget;
- the output, including maps, reports, plans and statistical tables, is supplied to owners, agencies and supervising bureaux free of charge;
- a dynamic approach is applied to process information on forests and forest management. This includes using data on stands and operations (cut, reforestation, thinning, etc.), and other matters. Through the use of sophisticated simulation programs, management planning is able to update the database, as well as plans (e.g., the allowable cut) for all Hungarian forests on an annual basis.
Both management planning and supervision are required to be objective. Therefore to avoid biased, unfeasible management plans, planning and supervision are made separately. The Forest Management Planning Service is responsible for nearly all aspects of forest management, excluding supervision. The latter is done by ten independent local State Inspectorates.
Human and financial resources of both institutes could meet the demands of the present system, but the increasing number of forest owners, and the increasing share of private properties, require reorganizing these institutes. Management planning procedures should be differentiated according to the size and type of forest property, and the level and intensity of control should also be adjusted accordingly.
Compiled by P. Csoka, revised by Z. Somogyi
