Current Status and Trends in Forest of
CROATIA
ABSTRACT
Private forests account for about twenty percent of
the total forested area in the Republic of Croatia.
Private forest owners mainly belong to the older
rural population. In view of the global situation,
forests worldwide attract special attention. The
Kyoto Protocol will prevent any neglectful attitude
toward forests by the participating countries and
oblige them to care for their health and apply
sustainable management. Non-government sectors,
such as associations, initiatives and various forms
of non-institutional societies are becoming more
and more powerful. The management of natural
resources is a particularly sensitive area, and so is
interference with human rights and the rights of
private ownership. Former big forest owners in
Croatia are demanding restitution of their forests in
natural form. This paper deals with policy
implications on rural development as a result of the
changing nature of small-scale forestry and the
external support of small-scale forestry.
Key words: forest policy, private forests, status,
trends, management
1. INTRODUCTION
Private forests cover around twenty percent of the
total forested area in the Republic of Croatia,
amounting to approximately 500 thousand
hectares. Half of these are on the littoral coast.
Consisting of about 1.5 million land parts, these
areas are managed by almost 600 thousand owners.
The size of the average forestland property is 0.76
ha. The estimated wood mass in private forests is
about 80m3
/ha, with growing stock manifesting a
downward trend. This is considerably lower than
the wood mass in national forests, which amounts
to around 190m3
/ha. Private forest owners mainly
belong to the older rural population. Many of them
do not manage their forest property, or they live a
long distance away from their forests. There is
almost no government support to private forestry,
and neither is there any related scientific research.
The majority of forestry experts are not specialized
in the management of small forest estates. Younger
forest owners do not show much interest in
working and investing in forests. So far, not one
single forest owner in Croatia has been reported to
earn his living solely (or largely) from his forest,
nor has any forest owner successfully managed his
own forest.
Moreover, all public services (financed by
forest owners), costs, taxes and forest financing are
supplied by "Hrvatske sume"Ltd., an enterprise
whose primary function is national forest
management. Private forest owners and the
Croatian public receive very little information
about forestry. There is no forest-related education
and no communication between government
bodies and forest owners. Management plans for
private forests are not being renewed, while valid
plans entail only 8% of the entire area. Logging is
carried out within the limits of the allowed volume
of the necessary assignment, without following any
management guidelines and prescribed
silvicultural activities. Such a situation does not
stimulate forest owners to develop interest in their
forest property; on the contrary, it leads to further
devastation and decrease in the growing stock in
private forests. Management is based on the
principle of one-time consumption of the most
Current status and trends in forests of Croatia
No.
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