Pan-European Criteria for Sustainable Forest Management - Attitudes of Forestry Professionals in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Climate change is recognized as a global threat that negatively impacts biodiversity and forest resources. The use of existing indicators for sustainable forest management (SFM) related to biodiversity and climate change, as well as the development of new indicators, will help assess how forest management practices impact biodiversity enhancement and climate change mitigation. A Pan-European set of criteria and indicators has been developed as a policy instrument for monitoring, evaluating, and reporting on the progress in implementing SFM. In Bosnia and Herzegovina and Western Balkans in general, the Pan-European set of criteria and indicators is an insufficiently researched topic and there is a lack of scientific research conducted regarding their development and implementation. Through the analysis of the current situation in forestry of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH), regarding the compliance and importance of the Pan-European criteria for SFM, this paper aims to explain how the international process of development and application of the Pan-European criteria for SFM can contribute to the improvement of the situation in forestry and the creation of a consistent forest policy in FBiH. The survey among forestry professionals (n=360), from the public forest administration and public forest companies in FBiH, included the sets of questions related to socio-demographic characteristics, assessment of compliance and importance of six criteria of SFM. Research results revealed that forestry professionals are mainly males, on average 41 years old, with 13 years of working experience. The majority of forestry professionals in FBiH are not familiar with Pan-European criteria for SFM, and have a low level of their understanding. On average, forestry professionals indicated that the Pan-European criteria for SFM were of high importance, while compliance with current forest management activities were rated lower on average. The large differences between responses regarding the average rating of compliance and importance of the Pan-European criteria for SFM indicate their low level of implementation in FBiH forest management activities. Accordingly, the results indicate that there is a need to organize educational lifelong learning programs in FBiH forestry sector, involving forestry professionals and other interested parties, to generate knowledge related to the Pan-European criteria for SFM and the concept of SFM in general

Readiness of Private Forest Owners in Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina to Cooperate in Forest Roads Construction and Maintenance

Zbog specifičnih društveno-političkih i socio-ekonomskih prilika u regiji, problematika udruživanja privatnih šumoposjednika u interesne udruge do sada nije bila predmetom šireg istraživanja. Na osnovi navedenoga, 2008. godine pokrenuto je istraživanje stanja privatnog šumoposjeda i formiranja udruga privatnih šumoposjednika u zemljama regije, u kojima se povijesno razvijao podjednak model vlasništva. U radu su analizirani stavovi privatnih šumoposjednika prema međusobnoj suradnji i udruživanju u svrhu boljeg gospodarenja svojim posjedom, s posebnim naglaskom na izgradnju šumskih cesta u Hrvatskoj, Srbiji i Bosni i Hercegovini. Provedeno istraživanje ukazuje spremnost privatnih šumoposjednika na suradnju u aktivnostima gospodarenja šumoposjedom, te ukazuje na željene usluge koje bi trebale pružiti udruge privatnih šumoposjednika.State of private forests and needs of private forest owners have not been in the focus of forest economics and policies research in the region of South-Eastern Europe so far. The past socio-political regime used to prioritize public property and management of private forest was therefore neglected for a long time resulting in degradation of forests. The present lack of forest roads is only one of the numerous consequences and sequentially has lead to lower degree of fulfilment of different activities in private forests (silvicultural treatments, planning, and protection). Nowadays, different processes (transition, restitution, and privatisation) present in region support the development of rural areas where private forests are an important part of rural economy and overall management of natural resources. Findings of this research show that financially more demanding activities like forest roads construction and maintainance present a motive strong enough to establish interests groups like forest owners associations aiming to reach common goals. Research data was collected as a part of PRIFORT project, financed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management of Republic of Austria. The main interest of the project was research of the state of private forests and establishment of private forest associations in countries of the South-Eastern Europe. Theoretical framework was set between the Pluralistic theory and the Theory of Collective Action through which the group behaviour was analyzed. Afterwards, some findings have been confronted with the Exchange theory where better explanations for different behaviour group patterns were found. Homogeneity and heterogeneity of groups were also defined by the Critic Mass theory. The main hypothesis was “readiness for establishing interests groups is more pronounced in connection to activities which are financially more demanding as forest roads construction”. Results for all three countries (Croatia, Serbia and B-H) show that private forest owners are interested in cooperation in construction and maintenance of forest roads. Generally, private forest owners are a part of elderly rural population with relatively small forest plots, mainly used for private needs (fuel wood) and with low income. Private forests are fragmented, with average plots smaller than 1 hectare. Most of the private forest owners expressed the need for having interest associations from which they would expect support in different aspects of forest management (Graph 2). The majority of forest owners expressed interest in cooperation on construction and maintenance of forest roads (Graph 1). Results and conclusions presented in this paper provide useful information for decision makers in government bodies responsible for rural development with special consideration given to possibilities of private forest sector development

Comparative Analysis of Wood Fuels Consumption in Households in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Analysis of the consumption of wood energy from wood-based fuels in households in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina was the main purpose of this paper. A survey on wood fuel consumption was first conducted using the Wood fuel Integrated Supply/Demand Overview Mapping (WISDOM) methodology of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN). These results were compared to the results published by official statistics. The survey was conducted in ten cantons in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, namely in 5,475 households, 2,669 urban and 2,806 other households. The results of the research showed that wood fuels were used in 516,334 or 71.59% of the total number of households. Firewood was used in 497,139 households or in 96.28% in relation to the total number of households in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina that used wood fuels. The surrounding countries showed similar trends. The estimated consumption of firewood in households using the WISDOM methodology is 4.10 (when compared to the official statistical data on total felled timber in and outside public and private forests) to 4.93 times higher than the official statistical data (when compared to the official statistical data on the sale of firewood in state forests), i.e. 4.52 times higher in average. This research indicates the need to apply a new methodological approach for the collection and analysis of data on the consumption of wood fuels in households for energy purposes. Some of the shortcomings of the existing official statistics are the neglect of statistically unregistered production of firewood from private forests and from areas not categorized as forests and forest land, as well as incomplete coverage in terms of conducting a survey on consumption of all categories of wood fuels and all major consumer categories. All the aforementioned, in addition to the economic consequences, has a negative impact on the fulfilment of commitments arising from international agreements in terms of the share of energy from renewable sources and greenhouse gas emissions in total energy consumption in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In addition, incomplete knowledge of the realistic supply and consumption of wood fuels can affect the reliability of planning documents in forestry, with many negative consequences for sustainability of a complex forest ecosystem

Očekivanja privatnih šumoposjednika od interesnih udruženja: komparativna analiza između Slovenije i Bosne i Hercegovine

Private forests in Slovenia and Bosnia-Herzegovina are important resources for national economic development. Based on differences in the proportion of private forests, the countries differ substantially with regard to the role of private forest owners, as well as the conditions of owner interest associations in the forest policy processes. Since private forest owners are so diverse, there is a need to better understand their expectation for interest associations. Surveys were conducted in 2008 on random samples of private forest owners in Slovenia and Bosnia-Herzegovina to examine the factors affecting their expectations. The study examined seven categories of expectations: silvicultural advice, harvesting advice, information about timber markets, information about legal regulations, information about strengthening entrepreneurship, support of forest road construction/maintenance and forest management training. Seven models were developed to examine the factors affecting each category of expectations. The results reveal that socio-demographic characteristics of private forest owners, ownership structure, and property conditions were associated with expectations. Three models (silvicultural advice, strengthening entrepreneurship and support of forest road construction/maintenance) were statistically significant in both countries. The strongest factor that influences the expectations for Slovenian private forest owners was education while in Bosnia-Herzegovina it was property size. Gender did not influence expectations of private forest owners in either country. Understanding the underlying factors influencing private forest owner expectations could aid in developing appropriate forest policy instruments to support owner cooperation within interest associations and improve private forest management.Zbog činjenice da je više od polovice europskih šuma u privatnom vlasništvu, problematika privatnog šumoposjeda ima značajno mjesto u europskoj šumarskoj politici. Zbog političko-ekonomskih okolnosti kroz koje su prolazile zemlje jugoistočne Europe, ovom tipu vlasništva se u prethodnom razdoblju nije pridavao odgovorajući značaj. Međutim, s političkim promjenama i procesima koji su ih pratili (privatizacija, restitucija, denacionalizacija i sl.) problematika privatnog šumoposjeda postaje sve više aktualna i u ovim zemljama. Iskustva u organiziranju privatnih šumposjednika kroz interesne asocijacije različita su u Sloveniji i Bosni i Hercegovini. U svrhu komparativne analize očekivanja privatnih šumoposjednika od interesnih asocijacija u ove dvije zemlje, kao i utjecaja različitih čimbenika na ta očekivanja, provedena su kvalitativna istraživanja primjenom metoda intervjuiranja slučajno izabranih ispitanika – privatnih šumoposjednika. U cilju ocjene veze između karakteristika šumoposjednika/šumoposjeda i njihovih očekivanja od interesnih asocijacija, korištena je multivarijantna logistička regresija. Očekivanja su grupirana u sedam kategorija (ovisnih varijabli) a rezultati multivarijantne logističke regresije su za svaku zemlju prikazani kroz odgovarajuće modele. Kao neovisne varijable korištene su socio-demografske karakteristike ispitanika (spol, dob i stupanj edukacije) te određene karakteristike njihovog šumoposjeda (veličina, fragmentiranost, tip vlasništva i stupanj korištenja šume). Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju da šumoposjednici u Sloveniji od interesnih asocijacija najviše očekuju informacije o tržištu šumskih drvnih sortimenata i različite vidove edukacije o gospodarenju šumama. Šumoposjednici u Bosni i Hercegovini su najviše zainteresirani za podršku u izgradnji i održavanju šumskih puteva te savjetima koji se odnose na uzgajanje šuma. Četiri modela (savjeti glede uzgajanja šuma, savjeti glede korištenja šuma, savjeti glede jačanja poduzetništva i podrška u izgradnji i održavanju šumskih puteva) su statistički značajni za slovenske šumoposjednike. U svim ovim mode-lima, stupanj edukacije kao neovisna varijabla je bio statistički značajan. U Bosni i Hercegovini je identificirano pet statistički zanačajnih modela (savjeti glede uzgajanja šuma, informacije o tržištu, savjeti glede jačanja poduzetništva, podrška u izgradnji i održavanju šumskih puteva i edukacija o gospodarenju šumama). Veličina šumoposjeda je statistički najznačajnija varijabla koja utječe na očekivanja šumoposjednika u Bosni i Hercegovini. Spol ispitanika nije bio statistički zanačajan ni u jednom od modela u obje zemlje. Statistički značajna zajednička očekivanja privatnih šumoposjednika u obje zemlje odnose se na savjete glede uzgajanja šuma, savjete glede jačanja poduzetništva i podršku u izgradnji i održavanju šumskih puteva. Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju da je postojanje jasnih vlasničkih pravi preduvjet za učinkovito savjetovanje glede uzgajanja šuma koje bi šumoposjednicima bilo ponuđeno od strane interesnih asocijacija. Pored toga, utvrđeno je djelovanje interesnih asocijacija važnije za sitne šumoposjednike ukoliko se želi unaprijediti gospodarenje privatnim šumama. Kad je u pitanju podrška privatnom šumoposjedu, uloga javne šumarske administracije u obje zemlje je izuzetno važna. To se posebno odnosi na Bosnu i Hercegovinu u kojoj je djelovanje interesnih asocijacija još uvijek vrlo skromno. Razumjevanje potreba i očekivanja privatnih šumoposjednika je važno za razvoj i djelovanje interesnih asocijacija. Rezultati ovih istraživanja rasvjetljavaju ta očekivanja i predstavljaju korisne informacije za ključne aktere nacionalnih šumarskih politika, javnu šumarsku administraciju i privatne šumoposjednike u Sloveniji i Bosni i Hercegovini

Conflicts between forestry and nature protection – case studies of two Nature Parks in Croatia

Background and Purpose: The forest related conflicts has not been very often used as a research topic in Croatia. This paper presents results from two case studies conducted in Nature Parks »Kopački rit« and »Velebit«. The aim of the study was to explore conflicts between forestry and nature protection on management level. The main research questions were raised: (a) What causes conflicts?; (b)What are the attitudes of conflict actors towards conflicts as a phenomenon and towards other conflict parties?; (c) What was undertaken to manage conflicts and was it successful? and (d) How the conflicts and CM influence forest policy development process? Material and Methods: Data was collected by conducting in-depth resulting in 27 interviews in total. The interviewees were managers in CF, NPs and representatives of NGOs active in the respective areas. Theoretical framework was combination of Progressive Triangle with three main aspects of conflicts: substance, relation and procedure (3) embedded in structure of four main elements: culture, conflicts, conflicts management and policy development (10). Results and Conclusion: Primary parties in conflicts are NPs and CF. Interviewees named mostly problemswith legislation, performance of forest management activities within protected areas and lack of proper communication as possible conflict causes. Main conclusion is that differing attitudes towards forestry and nature protection as well as education as elements of cultural background probably influence conflict occurrence, CM and policy development. There is no sound CM strategy or significant policy development

Climate change governance in forestry and nature conservation: institutional framework in selected see countries

Klimatske promjene su jedan od najvećih izazova za postizanje ciljeva održivog razvoja. Formiranje odgovarajućih institucionalnih okvira za upravljanje klimatskim promjenama, koji uključuju i koordiniraju brojne interese i aktivnosti različitih aktera, razina i sektora, problem je i za zemlje jugoistočne Europe. Bosna i Hercegovina (BiH), Hrvatska, Slovenija i Srbija imaju značajne prirodne resurse koji su bili ugroženi proteklih godina zbog prirodnih katastrofa, što je utjecalo i na sektor šumarstva. Cilj rada je proučiti institucionalne okvire u šumarstvu i zaštiti prirode, kao i stavove ispitanika o kompetencijama relevantnih institucija i organizacija, identificirati potrebe za poboljšanjem postojećeg okvira i ocijeniti njihove interese i utjecaje u procesu upravljanja klimatskim promjenama. Prikupljanje podataka provedeno je korištenjem intervjua, u razdoblju od studenog 2016. do travnja 2017. godine. Protokol za intervju sastojao se od 22 pitanja podijeljenih u pet skupina. U svrhu ovoga rada analizirani su odgovori na pitanja u vezi s institucionalnim okvirima za upravljanje klimatskim promjenama u šumarstvu i zaštiti prirode. Uzorak je činilo 29 ispitanika (Federacija BiH-8, Hrvatska-6, Slovenija-5, Srbija-10), odnosno predstavnika javnih uprava i javnih službi u šumarstvu i zaštiti prirode, poduzeća i ustanova za gospodarenje državnim šumama i upravljanje zaštićenim područjima, obrazovnih i istraživačkih organizacija te organizacija civilnog sektora. Ispitanici su odabrani probnim uzorkovanjem (uzorak na bazi vrijednosnog suda). Ispitanici su bili predstavnici institucija i organizacija na nacionalnoj razini upravljanja u šumarstvu i zaštiti prirode, koji su izravno ili neizravno povezani s problematikom klimatskih promjena u odabranim oblastima. O postojećim institucionalnim okvirima, 52,4% ispitanika nema pozitivno mišljenje, a 85,7% se zalaže za njihovo unapređenje, u smislu poboljšanja suradnje i koordinacije između različitih sektora, institucija i organizacija. Značajne su razlike u procjeni interesa i utjecaja institucija i organizacija u upravljanju klimatskim promjenama među ispitanicima iz Slovenije i Hrvatske, kao i onima iz Federacije BiH i Srbije. Ispitanici iz područja zaštite prirode procjenjuju da je interes veći u odnosu na predstavnike šumarskog sektora (ispitanici iz područja zaštite prirode smatraju da je interes ­„veoma visok“ – prosječna ocjena 4,6, a iz sektora šumarstva da je „visok“ – prosječna ocjena 4,1). Potrebna su daljnja istraživanja o suradnji i koordinaciji svih sudionika na različitim razinama upravljanja, kao i drugih elemenata koji, uz institucionalne okvire, dovode do stvaranja odgovornog sustava upravljanja klimatskim promjenama i rješavanja različitih izazova klimatskih promjena.Global environmental and ecological problems such as climate change and other related issues (e.g. biodiversity losses) do not recognize state boundaries. Therefore, intentions to address these problems require a multi-actor, multi-sector and multilevel approach. The concept that enables joint effort against these problems implies an active participation of all stakeholders, establishes the rules for shared responsibilities and strives to make efficient and effective procedures for addressing these issues is known as “governance” (Mutabdžija, 2012).Climate change and occurance of extreme events are presenting a threat to the natural resources, exposing the vulnerabilities of current resource governance regimes, including also forestry and nature conservation. The occurance of extreme events in last several years thretened the natural resources and impacted the forestry sector in all four selected countries of Southeast Europe (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, and Slovenia). This has provided a further arguments for understanding the institutional framework for climate change governance in forestry and nature conservation as important element in dealing with uncertanties posed by the climate change challenges on natural resources.Hence, the aim of the paper is to examine the institutional frameworks of forestry and nature conservation, as well as the attitudes of respondents about the competences of the relevant institutions and organizations, to identify the need to improve the existing framework and to evaluate their interests and impacts in climate change governance.In this research were used individual, structured interviews as a research technique in collecting the primary data. The questionnaire consisted of 22 questions, divided into 5 groups. For the purposes of this paper, responses to questions related to institutional frameworks for climate change governance in forestry and nature conservation are analyzed. The sample consisted of 29 representatives (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina – 8, Croatia – 6, Serbia – 10, Slovenia – 5) from public administrations and services in forestry and nature conservation, enterprises and organization for forest and protected area management, educational and research organizations, and non-governmental organizations. The respondents were selected by judgemental sampling. Current institutional framework for climate change governance comprises of various institutions and organizations in all analyzed countries (Table 1). In selected countries, there is a clear division of responsibilities between public administration institutions in forestry and nature conservation (these institutions are directly or indirectly are related to forestry). There is a number of common primary objectives within the given competencies common to the same organizational category (Table 2), in all four countries. Despite current institutional and organizational variaty and competency alignment between different institutions and organizations, there is a need for further improvement of institutional framework for climate change governance through cooperation and coordination, accross different sectors, institutions and organizations, as stated by the respondents attittudes (Table 3 and 4). Respondents attitudes towards the interest and influence of institutions/organizations on climate change governance are mostly showing a visible interest but indicating challenges in providing suitable inflluence (Table 5). Also, visible discrepancy in assessment of the interest and influence of institutions and organizations on climate change governance is between the respondents from Slovenia and Croatia at one side and respondents from Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia at the other side, indicates differences in inclusion of climate change challenges accross different competency levels. Regardless of the category of institutions and organizations, the respondents recognized the importance of the investigated issues and they assessed its interest as “high” and “very high” (Table 6).Further development of suitable institutional frameworks for climate change governance in forestry and nature conservation needs additional attention especially in the field of multilevel coordination between different actors and their activities, as well as the acknowledgment of potentially significant influence forestry sector might have in climate change governance

Conflicts Between Forestry and Wood-Processing Industry in Bosnia-Herzegovina: Reasons, Actors and Possible Solutions

Background and purpose: Caused by appearance of new stakeholders and diversification of their interests towards forests, different forest-related conflicts emerged worldwide. As a country with economy in transition and relatively young democracy, Bosnia-Herzegovina might be suitable for understanding the roots, actors and varieties of these conflicts. This paper deals with the most frequent forest-related conflicts, main actors involved as well as undertaken actions in order to manage them in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Materials and methods: The theoretical framework is based on the Conflict Management Progress Triangle consisting of three dimensions of conflict: substance, process and relations. As particular focus in this paper is given to conflicts between forestry and wood-processing industry, the primary parties in this study were public forestry companies and wood processing companies. For the purpose of this survey a special questionnaire has been designed. The survey population included the most important actors of forest and wood-processing industry as follows: ministries of forestry, nature protection and physical planning at all levels, managers/owners of wood-processing companies, managers of public forest companies and public forest administration, representatives of the most important environmental NGOs and professional associations, managers of protected areas and water management authorities, heads of forest research institutions, economy of chambers and international institutions. In total 136 questionnaires were collected, out of which 68 respondents identified conflicts between forestry and wood-processing industry as the most important ones. Discussion and conclusions: The results show that the main causes of these conflicts are: differences in demand and supply of wood assortments, way of selling of wood assortments (including quantities and delivery dynamics) as well as wood assortments prices. As the most prominent action among the undertaken ones to manage the conflicts, the respondents underlined adoption of criteria for transparent selling of wood assortments. The results of this paper might be useful for both, public forest companies and wood-processing companies. Timely identification and implementation of possible solutions in order to overcome the most pronounced conflicts would increase competitive advantages for both sides

Two decades of forest-related legislation changes in European countries analysed from a property rights perspective

In the last two decades, attention on forests and ownership rights has increased in different domains of international policy, particularly in relation to achieving the global sustainable development goals. This paper looks at the changes in forest-specific legislation applicable to regular productive forests, across 28 European countries. We compare the legal framework applicable in the mid-1990s with that applicable in 2015, using the Property Rights Index in Forestry (PRIF) to measure changes across time and space. The paper shows that forest owners in most western European countries already had high decision-making power in the mid-1990s, following deregulation trends from the 1980s; and for the next two decades, distribution of rights remained largely stable. For these countries, the content and direction of changes indicate that the main pressure on forest-focused legislation comes from environmental discourses (e.g. biodiversity and climate change policies). In contrast, former socialist countries in the mid-1990s gave lower decision-making powers to forest owners than in any of the Western Europe countries; over the next 20 years these show remarkable changes in management, exclusion and withdrawal rights. As a result of these changes, there is no longer a clear line between western and former socialist countries with respect to the national governance systems used to address private forest ownership. Nevertheless, with the exception of Baltic countries which have moved towards the western forest governance system, most of the former socialist countries still maintain a state-centred approach in private forest management. Overall, most of the changes we identified in the last two decades across Europe were recorded in the categories of management rights and exclusion rights. These changes reflect the general trend in European forest policies to expand and reinforce the landowners' individual rights, while preserving minimal rights for other categories of forest users; and to promote the use of financial instruments when targeting policy goals related to the environmental discourse

PESFOR-W: Improving the design and environmental effectiveness of woodlands for water Payments for Ecosystem Services

ABSTRACT: The EU Water Framework Directive aims to ensure restoration of Europe?s water bodies to ?good ecological status? by 2027. Many Member States will struggle to meet this target, with around half of EU river catchments currently reporting below standard water quality. Diffuse pollution from agriculture represents a major pressure, affecting over 90% of river basins. Accumulating evidence shows that recent improvements to agricultural practices are benefiting water quality but in many cases will be insufficient to achieve WFD objectives. There is growing support for land use change to help bridge the gap, with a particular focus on targeted tree planting to intercept and reduce the delivery of diffuse pollutants to water. This form of integrated catchment management offers multiple benefits to society but a significant cost to landowners and managers. New economic instruments, in combination with spatial targeting, need to be developed to ensure cost effective solutions - including tree planting for water benefits - are realised. Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) are flexible, incentive-based mechanisms that could play an important role in promoting land use change to deliver water quality targets. The PESFOR-W COST Action will consolidate learning from existing woodlands for water PES schemes in Europe and help standardize approaches to evaluating the environmental effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of woodland measures. It will also create a European network through which PES schemes can be facilitated, extended and improved, for example by incorporating other ecosystem services linking with aims of the wider forestscarbon policy nexus