Czech Republic Karel Vancura, Katerina Trejbalova, Forestry Development Dept', Prague

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Czech RepublicKarel Vancura, Katerina
Trejbalova, Forestry Development Dept., Prague
Team of Specialists Meeting
to
monitor and develop assistance
to
countries of Central and Eastern Europe in
transitionin the forest and forest products
sector Warsaw, Poland, March 4, 2004

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CZECH REPUBLIC
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General background information

• Current status of the forest sector
• Increasing area of forest land (2 643 058 ha -
  34)
• Commercial forests - 76
• Increasing growing stock volume (641 mil CuM)
• Afforestation of agricultural land - 1 000
  ha/year
• Average rotation period 115.4 years
• Decreasing number of employees in forestry sector
  - currently 25 700 persons

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Forest condition and main problems

• forest (and biodiversity) losses due to the
  industrial pollution (Black
  Triangle)
• about 60 of forests are damaged on certain
  level
• still too high number of high deer (Cervideae) in
  forests. Animals browsing and peeling bark
  significantly affects the structure of species,
  ages, space and of course also biodiversity
  within forest stands
• change of forest tree species composition
  (current ratio of broadleaved /23/ and
  coniferous is almost in opposite to the natural
  one /65/
• 55 of forested area is artificially planted by
  Norway spruce)
• increasing share of broadleaved from 12.9 in
  1950 to 22.3 in 2000
• new problems following transformation period
  (mainly high number of new small forest owners).

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National Forest Inventory

• The total forest area covering the territory of
  what is now the Czech Republic was for the first
  time surveyed in 1790 under the Josephs cadastre
  and amounted to 1,974,000 ha (which was 25 of
  the total area).
• Figures from 1839 reported already 2,267,000 ha.
• Between 1920 and 1960 the forest area increased
  by about 10 and it is 2,643,058 ha at the
  present time (2002)
• Contemporary National Forest Inventory started in
  the last year based on the governmental decision
  193/2001 Coll. The Forest Management Institute
  (FMI), as a government organization established
  by the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech
  Republic is responsible for performing of this
  task.

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• Role of the Forestry Sector
• forest has become the important factor of
  sociao-economic development of society
• GDP coming from forestry sector is relatively
  small about 0.6 to 0.7
• NFP cross sectoral matter, but involvement in
  forestry issues not too high
• Organizational changes diminishing
  of forestry in the structure of the
  Ministry of Agriculture

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• Ownership

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Changes in Forest Legislation

• Forest Act No. 289/1995 Coll.
• Game Management Act No. 449/2001 Coll.
• Act on marketing of Forest Reproductive Material
• No. 149/2003 Coll.
• Protection of Nature and Landscape Act
  No. 114/1992 Coll.
• New Forest Act ? discussions should started
  in 2004

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• Forest policy developments and related
  institutional changes
• Conception of the state forestry policy
  (1994 and 2000)
• Forest Act
• National Forestry Programme
• Institutional changes
• Forests of the Czech Republic, S. E.
• Forestry research

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Institutional framework

• Ministry of Agriculture
• - state
  administration in forestry
• Forest Management Institute
• Forestry and Game Management
• 
  Research Institute
• Forests of the Czech Republic,
• 
  State Enterprise
• Ministry of Environment

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Forests of the Czech Republic, S. E.

• Other organizations involved in forestry
• National Parks,
• Protected Landscape Areas Administrations,
• Nature and Landscape Protection Agency,
• Forestry Faculties of Universities,
• Association of Municipal and Private Forest
  Owners,
• Czech Forest Society etc.

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• Forest policy developments and related
  institutional changes
• International cooperation
• FORAFIN
• Implication of the recent EU development
• - not easy situation on the market (drop in
• prices),
• - new regulations, Forest Focus,
  NATURA 2000

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EU Enlargement

• General hope (not only in forestry) -
• changes in behavior of some
  institutions?
• Not the same starting point
• - historically given different level of
  regulation from the side of state (e. g. due to
  the nature protection etc.)
• - how to compensate forest owner struggling on
  the free market?
• - should be these conditions balanced somehow in
  the future?
• - should Community discussed such matter in
  spite of the principle of subsidiarity approach?

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The main issues of the transition process

• Arrangements of Rights in Property and Use
• Restitution Act No. 229/1991 Coll.,
• Claims for restitution 355 000 ha,
• 1 800 cases for decision of law courts,
• Forests of church (170 000 ha - 6 of total
  forest area).

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Transition in forestry, changes in forest
ownership

• central planning market-oriented
  approach
• economic and social spectrum effects of changes
• private-sector has 145,000 new forest owners
• small owners - 750,000 ha of forests, nearly 90
  have on average less than 2 hectares of forest
  land
• Transformation process

• restitution of forests to previous owners
• creation of legal entity Forests of the Czech
  Republic
• privatization of former enterprises through
  joint-
• stock comp.

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Transition in forestry, changes in forest
ownership

• Problems of small owners
• i) have no idea on how to manage forest
• ii) live in the town far away from their
  holdings
• iii) are already old and become the victims
  of dishonest, profit-seeking
  people who offer them providing of services or a
  purchase of their forest holdings.
• The smallest holdings are not usually managed
  in proper way because of low
  skills, knowledge and
  sometimes also zero interest of the owners.

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Forestry strategy, policy, programmes

• Basic principles of current Forest Policy
• completion of restitution process
• improvement of forest ecosystems
• conservation and enhancement of biodiversity
• development of non-timber functions of forests
• better utilization of timber
• promotion of forestry institutions
• pursuit of economic aspects of forestry policy
• utilization of National Forest Program.

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National Forest Program

• National Forestry Programme as a Professional
  Response to the Ideas from Strasbourg, Rio and
  Helsinki
• .... Foresters have to attempt to join all forces
  in order to formulate the problem of forestry as
  a strategic problem important for the whole
  society. Foresters have to assume the vast task
  of elaborating a concise national forestry
  programme as a general project with unified
  coordination and aiming at unified, clearly
  defined financing. This programme has to be
  directed at the solution of carefully selected
  high-priority problems of contemporary forestry
  as a newly conceived sector based on the
  principle of sustainable, functionally integrated
  management in all forests irrespective of
  proprietorship boundaries.
• Sustainable Forest Management in the Czech
  Republic, Prague 1993

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National Forest Program

• The basic principle from which the Czech
  National Forest Programme proceeds is the
  management of forests in a permanently
  sustainable manner
• Increasing the responsibility of forest owners
  for their property.
• The NFP is supposed to be an interdepartmental
  and inter-sectoral programme
• - emphasizing the place of forests in the
  environment and landscape creation,
  non-production functions of forests, the
  importance of the forest as a renewable source of
  raw material.

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Areas where improvements are needed

• restitution and privatization
• fragmentation of forest land
• improvement of forest legislation
• improvement of forest conditions
• education, awareness and public relations
• lack of general public involvement in forestry
• state supervising role during the transition
  period
• international commitments
• gaps in collaboration.

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Future challenges to ensure sustainable forest
management

• National Forest Programme
• Improvement of public awareness on forestry
• More meaningful projection of the importance
  of forests into the national economy
• Forestry image improvement, P. R.
• Valuation of non-wood benefits and services
• Support to private forest owners

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Implementation of the Resolution H3
of the MCPFE

• Assistance to the Czech Republic in the 90ties
• Switzerland, Canada, the Netherlands,
  GEF World Bank
• Beginning of the 3rd millennium Czech Republic
  as donor country
• Morocco, Chile, Ecuador, Colombia, Russia
• Priority areas
• Bosnia and Herzegovina, China, Ukraine, Yemen,
  Serbia and Montenegro, Zambia

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Opinion on the future of the UNECE/FAO ToS on
CITs

• Cooperation, particularly partnership is needed
• Promotion of forests, fundraising
• ToR
• Support of private forestry,
• Improvement of forestry and environmental
  legislation,
• Education on various levels,
• Improvement of valuation of non-wood benefits and
  services offered by forests,
• Participatory approach, better communication
  between various stakeholders and institutions.

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Thank you for your attention

• Karel Vancura
• Forestry Development Department
• vancura_at_mze.cz