Adaptation to EUTR Requirements: Insights from Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia

Eight years after the European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR) came into force, its effectiveness is still unsatisfactory due to deficient and uneven implementation among member states. In addition, some Western Balkan countries have poor legality monitoring systems, increasing the risk of trade in illegally harvested timber. Regardless of this, no recent work has analyzed the adaptation of national forest policies to the EUTR obligations. Our study aims to contribute to the understanding of EUTR implementation by analyzing the adaptation of policies of the Western Balkan countries (Slovenia, Croatia, and Serbia) to the EUTR. Qualitative content analysis was conducted on 22 policy documents from Slovenia, Croatia, and Serbia. Documents were coded using coding categories derived from EUTR. Our results point out that none of the analyzed countries have a policy to directly address illegal logging or prevention of illegal activities. As EU members, Slovenia and Croatia has implemented EUTR through laws. The Slovenian Forest Act addresses all EUTR obligations, while Croatian Law on EUTR Implementation does not directly address the obligation of legality. This obligation is addressed by the Law on Forests. As Serbia is not an EU member, it did not implement EUTR. Nevertheless, Serbian Law on Forests addresses all EUTR obligations, but has some discrepancies regarding Traceability obligation. With ongoing discourses on Green Deal policies and the increasing focus on “deforestation-free” commodities, stricter implementation might be expected of EUTR at EU level. Most countries would probably have to build capacities for EUTR implementation and become more transparent and responsible concerning information availability. To successfully implement EUTR, an increased number of checks as well as stricter fines will be needed.

State forest administration performance in the Czech Republic: A case study of forestry legislation implementation in the South Bohemian Region

In the Czech Republic, the present state forest administration is incorporated into general state administration. Municipalities with extended competence (MECs) as first-instance forest administration bodies thus perform the so-called “mixed” administration. Besides forestry, MECs cumulatively perform hunting and fishing administration, observing several different laws. On an example of three MECs in South Bohemia (České Budějovice, Týn nad Vltavou and Písek), the paper analyses the decision-making processes and control activities concerning the implementation of administrative activity, particularly the Forest Act. The findings show that during the observed period 2011–2015, the most frequently conducted administrative proceedings under the Forest Act involved binding opinions regarding permission for buildings at a distance of fewer than 50 m from the forest and decisions on timber harvesting. Other frequently performed acts somewhat surprisingly concerned issuing licenses for professional forest managers and decisions whether or not the land fulfils forest functions. Based on the findings, the paper also suggests stimuli and suggestions (de lege ferenda) for changes in the Forest Act and other regulations relating to this issue.

Domestic Pig Germplasms of Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Andaman and Nicobar Islands are endowed with immaculate flora and fauna biodiversity. Among the indigenous livestock species, pig occupies 27.26%. Andaman and Nicobar Islands have three different categories of domestic pig groups/breeds. Andaman Local pig is prevalent in Andaman group of Islands (South, Middle and North Andaman); Nicobari pig is in Nicobar group of Islands and long snouted Little Andaman wild pig (Schedule II animal under Forest Act, India). Other than the indigenous pigs, pure and crossbreds of Large White Yorkshire are available in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Nicobari Pigs are reared exclusively by Nicobari tribes in Nicobar group of islands and create a well defined socio-economic-ecological status of their tribal society. Nicobari pig occupies a prominent place in custom, festivals and socio-economic status of Nicobari tribes. These Andaman local and Nicobari pigs are reared for meat purpose under free range or semi-intensive system. Nicobari pig is appeared as short, black/brownish in colour and living as a family. Andaman local pig is available in Andaman group of islands and body colour differs from rusty grey to black and brown. Neck and dorsal portion hair are long and thick whereas flank and sides hairs are shorter and thinner. Wild pig of Andaman (Sus scrofa andamanensis) is a most endangered porcine species of Andaman and Nicobar islands. Jarawa tribes in Andaman Islands prefer this wild pig as a good protein source. It is black in colour, short legged, small to medium sized and a prolific breeder. Litter size varies from 4 to 7 numbers. Another pig group is crossbred, cross between Large White Yorkshire and Andaman local or Nicobari pig. Crossbred pigs are light brown to complete white with different lines of blackish colour. This breed exhibits early maturity, high growth rate and fecundity. The Nicobari pig has high prolificacy as litter size is ranging from 8 to 10 numbers with good mothering ability and body weight of matured pig differs from 115 to 130 kg. Moreover, this crossbred is adapted highly to the local tropical humid environmental conditions and also can adjust with locally available feed resources on the different agricultural produces. This is highly suitable for commercial production of pork in this Andaman and Nicobar islands. However, the domestic pig breeds need to be protected and be conserved in this Andaman and Nicobar group of Islands.

Legal and Administrative Aspects of Forest Pest and Disease Control in Japan

Approximately 40% of Japanese forests are softwood plantations consisting of trees such as Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica), Japanese cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa), and several varieties of pine (Pinus spp.). Policies and programs related to forest pests and diseases are important for growing forest plantations. Damage caused by the pine bark beetle (Monochamus alternatus) has been a long-standing problem in Japan. Forest damage caused by the pine bark beetle was first found in Nagasaki Prefecture in 1905. Since then, the area of damage has expanded gradually to all prefectures. Damage caused by pine bark beetles became serious during and just after the end of the Second World War. In 1950, the Natural Resource Section of the General Headquarters of the Allied Forces, Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (GHQ/SCAP) made recommendations for how to control forest pests and diseases. The first act was enacted in 1950, although the control of forest pests was initially addressed as part of the first Forest Act of 1897. Several important reasons for why the Japanese government has failed to stop the expansion of the damaged area can be found in GHQ recommendations: the lack of coordinated programs, underutilization of damaged trees, and shortcomings of forest-management plans.

Еcosystem Services from Forest Territories – Problems and Challenges

The article analyzes the problems related to the non-application of the provisions of Chapter 17 – Public ecosystem benefits of the Forest Act. The necessity of the adequate valuation of the ecosystem services from the forest territories and their transformation into a remunerated financial resource is argued. A proposal for supplementing the current legal framework is formed, as well as conclusions on the topic.

Corollary of Migration of Tribes in Tamil Nadu, India: Boon or Bane?

Migration is a global issue that is rightly attracting more and more global attention. In the context of migration in India, internal migration is far greater than international migration. India’s total population, as recorded in Census 2011, stands at 1.21 billion. Internal migrants in India constitute a large population. Of these, the tribes occupy a significant proportion. The consequences of migration of tribes are innumerable when compared to others. Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu was sampled for the study owing to its enormous migration rate. Four forest ranges, inhabited by the Kanikaran tribes were considered for the study. From each forest range, the tribal settlement with maximum tribal population was sampled and the respondents were selected by adopting proportionate random sampling technique. The sample for the study consisted of 100 respondents. The data were collected with a well-structured and pre-tested interview schedule and examined using factor analysis. It was evident from the results that though moving out from their locality is positively influencing the development of tribes, it is also severely affecting the forest resources. The tribal migrants were recorded higher in socio-economic indicators than the non-migrants. The policy implications drawn out of the findings of the research study such as fencing of tribal settlements, encouragement of self-employment among tribes, introduction of successful agricultural technologies, implementation of forest act, 2006 and formation of migrant labour unions can be considered for limiting the distress migration of tribes and hence retain them for the betterment of traditional agriculture.

Forest development and conservation policy in Poland

Whilst, in many countries, the scale of forest loss from business-as-usual development is immense, in Poland, this problem does not exist. However, obtaining additional land areas for afforestation is a main issue in Poland. In Poland, after the World War II, the forest area has been systematically growing. In 1945, the forest area was about 6.5 million ha, and the forest cover was 21%. In 2016, the forest area reached 9.2 million ha, and forest cover amounted to 29.5%. Today, there are 0.24 ha of forests per one inhabitant of Poland. The size of wood resources in stands is also changing. In 1945, forest resources on the trunk amounted to approximately 906 million m3, and in 2016, it reached 2.4 million m3. The problem, however, is the uneven distribution of forests in Poland. Forests in Poland are very strictly protected by law. There are two most important acts, Forest Act of 2001 and Nature Conservation Act of 2004, that regulate principles for the retention, protection and augmentation of forest resources. Over the past decades in Poland, the social demands regarding non-economical functions of forest such as recreational activities, soil and water protection and mitigation of global warming became an important and constantly growing challenge for forest managers. Thus we suggest that, first of all, it is very important to extract the leading function for a given forest area. Interactions between development and conservations policies are very tied and may suggest the need of their integration. In this article, we present the concept of development policy for forest management and forest protection in Poland.

Analiza wybranych uwarunkowań organizacyjno-ekonomicznych w Państwowym Gospodarstwie Leśnym Lasy Państwowe

W artykule przedstawiono wyniki badań mających na celu sprawdzenie, czy wydatkowanie środków będących w dyspozycji Państwowego Gospodarstwa Leśnego Lasy Państwowe (dalej: Lasy Państwowe) odpowiadało zadaniom w zakresie gospodarki leśnej nałożonym na tę instytucję na podstawie przepisów obowiązującego prawa i czy było ono uzasadnione w kontekście zasady racjonalnego gospodarowania środkami publicznymi. Badania oparto na analizie danych wtórnych zebranych przez Dyrekcję Generalną Lasów Państwowych, oficjalnych danych statystycznych, informacji pokontrolnej Najwyższej Izby Kontroli oraz literaturze obejmującej obszar badań. Wyniki badań przeprowadzonych na podstawie danych z lat 2011–2016 wykazały, że ogólna sytuacja majątkowa i finansowa Lasów Państwowych w analizowanym okresie była korzystna ze względu na fakt, że co roku wspomniana instytucja odnotowywała znaczący zysk netto. Działania realizowane przez Lasy Państwowe były zasadniczo zgodne z modelem zrównoważonej gospodarki leśnej określonym w ustawie o lasach, jednak w przypadku ponoszenia nakładów inwestycyjnych na środki trwałe niezwiązane bezpośrednio z gospodarką leśną, zasada racjonalnego zarządzania środkami publicznymi nie zawsze miała pełne zastosowanie. Stąd też rachunek ekonomiczny powinien stanowić podstawę do prowadzenia działalności inwestycyjnej przez Lasy Państwowe. Analysis of selected organizational and economic conditions in State Forests National Forest Holding This paper presents the findings of a research study targeted at verification whether the disbursement of funds at the disposal of the State Forests National Forest Holding (hereinafter: the State Forests) corresponded to the tasks in the field of forest management imposed on the institution in question under the provisions of applicable law and whether it was justifiable in the context of the principle of rational management of public funds. The research was based on the analysis of the secondary data collected by the Directorate General of the State Forests, official statistical data, post-audit information of the Supreme Audit Office and literature covering the research area. The results of research carried out on the basis of data from 2011–2016 showed that the general property and financial situation of the State Forests in the analysed period was favourable due to the fact that each year the aforementioned institution recorded a significant net profit. The activities implemented by the State Forests were in principle compatible with a model of sustainable forest management specified in the Forest Act, however in case of incurring investment outlays of fixed assets not directly related to forest management, the principle of rational management of public funds was not always fully applied. Therefore, the conscious economic calculation should constitute the basis for conducting investment activities by the State Forests.

Prawne uwarunkowania zmiany lasu na użytek rolny ......... 254 Sławomir Lewandowski – Argumentacja prawnicza w relacjach prawnik – klient

The subject of the paper is the legal issue of changing the forest for agricultural use regulated in art. 13 para. 2 of the Forest Act. The aim of the paper is an attempt to determine what circumstances empower the authority to issue a decision on changing the forest for agricultural use, according to the Forestry Act, and whether the issue of the said decision requires taking into account the provisions of the Act on the protection of agricultural and forest land. The decision on changing the forest for agricultural use, which may be issued on the basis of art. 13 para. 2 of the Forest Act is an administrative act of an individual sui generis. The solution contained in art. 13 para. 2 of the Forest Act does not require changing the use of forest land in the way of the local zoning plan.