scholarly journals Forest Management Certification in Romania: Motivations and Perceptions

Forests ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 425 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aureliu Halalisan ◽  
Ioan Abrudan ◽  
Bogdan Popa

Forestland privatization and transition to a market economy triggered important changes in the Romanian forest sector, imposing challenges for forest management structures. Voluntary forest management certification has been considered a possible solution; therefore, the certified forest area has increased rapidly regardless of the land owner. The purpose of this study is to provide an insight into the certification process. It presents the result of a survey applied to 417 forest management structures in Romania, which was intended to identify the perception of their managers regarding the reasons to adopt certification, the changes determined by the certification, the problems during the process, and the benefits. The study reveals the difference in perception among different types of forest management structures. Non-state management structures voluntarily adopted FSC certification, mainly aiming to obtain economic advantages. Most of the respondents indicated important changes in the consultation with stakeholders including local communities, transparency and clear records, the use of chemicals, and biodiversity protection. Although the FSC certification was not perceived as solving issues like illegal logging, there is a general perception that it improved forest management. The study concludes that the FSC certification proves the willingness of the Romanian forest management sector to cope with the market and trends and clarify its position in society.

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
А.А. Onuchin ◽  
◽  
V.А. Sokolov ◽  

An analysis of a numerous official documents and publications reveals a serious crisis of forest management in Russia. Forest management paradigm, defined by the Forest Code ideologues, will lead inevitably to the Russian forest fund degradation. Meanwhile, forestry is production industry in which laws of the market economy are in force. For this reason, forest management should be reconstructed in Russia. A principle of forestry revival will be impartial ecological and market economic assessment of forest resources, which would be instrumental in transition of the subsidized scheme of forest management financing to a system that would provide rational forestry and a profit. Forestry organization is the key task of forest inventory that is completed in close connection with forest economy and forest management. Specific problems of sustainable forestry organization and forest use should be solved on this basis. When State owns forests in the market economy environments, stumpage sale at prices lower than the cost for reforestation cannot be allowed. In view of this, market transition of forest use is crucial to establish payments for standing timber based on rental income. This will guarantee the financing of reforestation as well as assignments to the budget at the different levels. Chief reorganization objective of forest management in Russia is outlined as follows: ensuring economic efficiency of the forest sector; sustainable use of forest resources and reforestation; forest conservation for the next generations.


2021 ◽  
Vol 67 (No. 6) ◽  
pp. 272-284
Author(s):  
Radmir Iksanov ◽  
Olga Khalikova ◽  
Igor Vladimirov ◽  
Ravil Gizzatullin ◽  
Regina Baiturina ◽  
...  

Control and supervision activities in the field of forest management are a type of activity of state authorities to detect, prevent forest violations. The purpose of this study is to analyse the dynamics and nature of violations in the forest sector on the example and in comparison of such regions of Russia as the Krasnodar territory and the Republic of Bashkortostan. The research methodology is selected taking into account the characteristics of the object under study. With the assistance of employees of the environmental inspectorate, search operations were organized in the areas where the greatest amount of forest damage occurs in the studied regions. The authors concluded that one of the reasons for the existing problems is the lack of interest of the state in the development of this sector of economy. The paper focuses on specific types of forest violations and the problems of their prevention. The authors believe that illegal logging belongs to the most common and socially dangerous forest violations. The article concludes that when adopting new regulations for control and supervisory activities in the field of forest management, the legislator must take into account requirements of administrative reform, regulatory guillotine, and risk-based approach.


2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 96-106
Author(s):  
Sekaran S ◽  
Nisha Raj S

Sacred groves are small patches of forests, protected by local communities on religious grounds, rituals and culture. It represent a tradition of nature worship by dedicating patches of forests to deities and providing protection to such forest patches. They have immense value from genetic and ecological point ofview. Results of studies conducted in eleven sacred groves in Kannur district of Kerala are compiled in this paper. Two hundred and three plant species including 10 true mangroves give an insight into the bioecological and socio cultural dimensions of sacred groves in helping and conserving the biological diversity.Kaliyattam a performing art with different forms of ‘theyyam’ is conducted every year offering to propitiate the deity by different communities in the villages. ‘Devakooth’ a theyyam performed by women in Thekkumpad kavu. is noteworthy among the performative rituals. These ritualistic practices centred aroundthe sacred groves substantially contribute to the conservation and day- to-day management of ecological balance by sacred groves. The different types of roles played by sacred groves in maintaining the ecosystem integrity and biodiversity conservation are also presented in this paper.


2019 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
pp. 97-111
Author(s):  
Mykhailo A. Khvesyk ◽  
Oleksandr M. Shubalyi ◽  
Julia M. Khvesyk ◽  
Natalia M. Vasilik

Abstract The article defines the priorities, principles and main provisions of national forest policy of Ukraine towards European integration. The main objectives and structure of the mechanism of transformation of ecological and economic relations in the forest sector of Ukraine is grounded. The main tasks of transformation of ecological and economic relations in the forest sector should be decentralization of the management system, budget savings and sustainability, sustainable development and ecological security, development of public and private partnership, and welfare of local communities. It justifies priority directions of transformation, which include the system of distribution of powers between central, regional and local levels, the financing system and fiscal regulation in the forest sector, powers and subordination of the organs of ecological control, the organizational forms of companies and associations, the institutionalization of communal and private ownership of forests. Necessary organizational and economic framework for their implementation should ensure the economic mechanisms of transformation of the system of state management of economic processes, financial-credit and fiscal regulation, economic incentives of the deep environmentally friendly forest products, integration of businesses and innovative and investment development of the forest sector, the Institute of ownership of forest land, the property rights of forest users and local communities. The structure of transformation mechanism of ecological and economic relations in the forest sector is developed. It will allow the use of modern economic methods (de-monopolization and transparent competition on the timber market; economic incentives for deep wood processing; the transition to the new organizational forms of integration of economic entities; the empowerment of local communities and their executive bodies) and the instruments (preferential loans; target financing of large-scale projects at the national level; environmental insurance; transfer pricing; export and import duties; the state order; the state guarantees and subsidies), and to form an effective organizational forms of business entities in the forest sector. It is concluded that transformation processes should apply to all spheres of economic activities in the forest sector, especially in the following areas: increased powers of the management bodies of the forest sector at the regional and local levels; simplification of procedures for land allocation by local governments to provide additional reforestation; coordination between the organs of ecological control and forest management to strengthen the relationship between the real state of forestry and the system of rational use of forest resources; the introduction of modern forms of enterprise and associations of enterprises at different stages of the reproductive process.


Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 1667
Author(s):  
Gabriel Landry ◽  
Evelyne Thiffault ◽  
Dominic Cyr ◽  
Lucas Moreau ◽  
Yan Boulanger ◽  
...  

The forest sector can help reduce atmospheric CO2 through carbon (C) sequestration and storage and wood substitution of more polluting materials. However, climate change can have an impact on the C fluxes we are trying to leverage through forestry. We calculated the difference in CO2 eq. fluxes between ecosystem-based forest management and total forest conservation in the context of the temperate-boreal forest ecotone of Quebec (Canada), taking into account fluxes from forest ecosystems, wood product life cycle, and the substitution effect of wood products on markets. Over the 2020–2120 period, in the absence of climate change, ecosystem-based forest management and wood production caused average net annual emissions of 66.9 kilotonnes (kt) of CO2 eq. year−1 (relative to forest conservation), and 15.4 kt of CO2 eq. year−1 when assuming a 100% substitution effect of wood products. While management increased the ecosystem C sink, emissions from degradation of largely short-lived wood products caused the system to be a net source. Moreover, climate warming would decrease the capacity of ecosystems to sequester C and cause a shift towards more hardwood species. Our study highlights the need to adapt the industrial network towards an increased capacity of processing hardwoods into long-lived products and/or products with high substitution potential.


Author(s):  
А. Kh. Chochaev

The article analyzes problems of the Russia forest complex development related to social, environmental and infrastructure issues, the solution of which is impossible without state participation. The reasons of the poor adaptation of the forest complex market economy to long development periods, as well as the environmental consequences of economic activity, including environmental pollution, depletion of natural resources, loss of biodiversity and damage to public health, are considered. The analysis of the forest complex market economy features is made on domestic and foreign examples, a serious shortcoming of which is the isolation of the investment payback process from the chosen economic development direction. Forest rejuvenation in this way leads to a decrease or even loss of the forests biospheric properties to regulate the surface runoff of atmospheric precipitation and the formation of groundwater reserves. It is known, that in the forests of the European part of Russia have been accumulated large reserves of semi-subsistence conifer and hard wood. It is shown that to involve it in use it is necessary to change the principles of annual use calculations and to actually re-develop the regulatory framework for the intermediate use of forest wood resources. Four forest management units in the forest economy of the forest complex were identified: state forest management and implementation of medium-term and long-term planning of all types of work in forests, taking into account materials of the state forest inventory and assessing the state and trends in the development of domestic and foreign timber markets; protection and protection of forests from fires and other adverse natural factors (insects, fungi, pollution); carrying out planned logging with the differentiated use of all types of wood and the organization of reforestation taking into account the diversity of growing conditions and the possibilities of using the lands of the state forest fund of Russia. It is advisable to create economic mechanisms to stimulate the activities of all enterprises and institutions of the Russia forest complex for the transition to new environmentally sound technologies in the forest. A flexible economic mechanism is needed to include forest management costs in the cost of harvested wood in order to restore the ecological, economic, social and cultural properties of forests.


2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-34
Author(s):  
Prabin Bhusal ◽  
Naya Sharma Paudel ◽  
Anukram Adhikary ◽  
Jisan Karki ◽  
Kamal Bhandari

This paper highlights the lessons of using adaptive learning in community forestry that effectively help to resolve forest based conflicts in Terai region of Nepal. The paper is based on a three-year action research carried out in Terai. Qualitative methods including participatory rural appraisal tools and documentation of engaged action and reflections were used. Methods and tools that largely fall under adaptive learning were deployed. The field data was complemented by review of secondary data and literature on environmental history of Terai. We found that policies on land and forest in Terai for the last fifty years have induced and aggravated conflicts over access and control between state and communities and also within diverse groups of local communities. These conflicts have had serious negative impacts on sustainable management of forests and on local people’s livelihoods, particularly resource poor and landless people. Centralised and bureaucratic approaches to control forest and encroachment have largely failed. Despite investing millions of Rupees in maintaining law and order in forestlands, the problem continues to worsen often at the cost of forests and local communities. We found that transferring management rights to local communities like landless and land poor in the form of community forestry (CF) has induced strong local level collective action in forest management and supported local livelihoods. Moreover, adding adaptive learning, as a methodological tool to improve governance and enhance local level collective action significantly improves the benefit of CF. It implies that a major rethinking is needed in the current policies that have often led to hostile relationships with the local inhabitants- particularly the illegal settlers. Instead, transferring forest rights to local communities and supporting them through technical aspects of forest management will strengthen local initiatives towards sustainable management of forests.


Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 105
Author(s):  
Argelia E. Rascón-Ramos ◽  
Martín Martínez-Salvador ◽  
Gabriel Sosa-Pérez ◽  
Federico Villarreal-Guerrero ◽  
Alfredo Pinedo-Alvarez ◽  
...  

Understanding soil moisture behavior in semi-dry forests is essential for evaluating the impact of forest management on water availability. The objective of the study was to analyze soil moisture based in storm observations in three micro-catchments (0.19, 0.20, and 0.27 ha) with similar tree densities, and subject to different thinning intensities in a semi-dry forest in Chihuahua, Mexico. Vegetation, soil characteristics, precipitation, and volumetric water content were measured before thinning (2018), and after 0%, 40%, and 80% thinning for each micro-catchment (2019). Soil moisture was low and relatively similar among the three micro-catchments in 2018 (mean = 8.5%), and only large rainfall events (>30 mm) increased soil moisture significantly (29–52%). After thinning, soil moisture was higher and significantly different among the micro-catchments only during small rainfall events (<10 mm), while a difference was not noted during large events. The difference before–after during small rainfall events was not significant for the control (0% thinning); whereas 40% and 80% thinning increased soil moisture significantly by 40% and 53%, respectively. Knowledge of the response of soil moisture as a result of thinning and rainfall characteristics has important implications, especially for evaluating the impact of forest management on water availability.


2021 ◽  
pp. 174804852199056
Author(s):  
Baruch Shomron ◽  
Amit Schejter

This study examines how media representations of Palestinian-Israeli politicians, can help community members realize their capabilities. The study’s database is comprised of 1,207 interviews conducted with Palestinian-Israeli politicians on news and current affairs programs on the three national television channels and the two national radio stations in Israel, for 24 months (2016-2017). We identified and analyzed the differences in the modes of representation between national and local Palestinian-Israeli politicians and between Palestinian-Israeli parliament members in the Joint List and Palestinian-Israeli parliament members in Zionist parties, all through the capabilities prism. In this study, we demonstrated how different types of Palestinian-Israeli politicians may potentially affect the realization of different political functions and capabilities. Analyzing political representations in the media through the theoretical framework of the ‘capabilities approach’ contributes to a more comprehensive insight into the roles the media can play promoting people’s wellbeing and human rights, relative to traditional media theories.


2021 ◽  
pp. 026975802110106
Author(s):  
Raoul Notté ◽  
E.R. Leukfeldt ◽  
Marijke Malsch

This article explores the impact of online crime victimisation. A literature review and 41 interviews – 19 with victims and 22 with experts – were carried out to gain insight into this. The interviews show that most impacts of online offences correspond to the impacts of traditional offline offences. There are also differences with offline crime victimisation. Several forms of impact seem to be specific to victims of online crime: the substantial scale and visibility of victimhood, victimisation that does not stop in time, the interwovenness of online and offline, and victim blaming. Victims suffer from double, triple or even quadruple hits; it is the accumulation of different types of impact, enforced by the limitlessness in time and space, which makes online crime victimisation so extremely invasive. Furthermore, the characteristics of online crime victimisation greatly complicate the fight against and prevention of online crime. Finally, the high prevalence of cybercrime victimisation combined with the severe impact of these crimes seems contradictory with public opinion – and associated moral judgments – on victims. Further research into the dominant public discourse on victimisation and how this affects the functioning of the police and victim support would be valuable.


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