1,721,037 research outputs found
Power analysis as a tool to analyse trade-offs between ecosystem services in forest management: A case study from nine European countries
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Model of State forestry administration and media thriller in Lithuania
Get PDFThe first part of the paper reproduces the text that was intended to be published
in a Lithuanian professional forestry journal. It first concisely reviews State
forestry administrations in the countries of the Baltic Sea region, judging their
adherence to the traditional model of bureaucracy versus the model of new
public administration. Then it describes the Lithuanian approach in greater
detail, providing criticism of inefficiencies caused by an overly bureaucratic
administration. Attempts to publish the text led to the closure of the journal.
Reflecting on this media turmoil, the second part of the paper discusses the role
of a forest scientist. Should s/he be a neutral expert expedient to existing
institutional structures, or rather seek to catalyze the desired policy processes?
Is it worth to engage in “popular discourses” or better to stick solely to the
standard production of peer review articles
Forest management after the economic transition-at the crossroads between German and Scandinavian traditions
No full textGermany and Scandinavia represent two paradigmatic forest management traditions, based on management for volume and management for profit, respectively. This study examines the prevailing silvicultural regimes and resulting economic outcomes in Germany and Sweden as benchmarks, and then corresponding analyses are performed for post-transition EU countries. represented by Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. The analyses reveal a regional gradient where Poland stands closest to the German tradition, Latvia goes through a "scandinavisation", and Lithuania takes an intermediate position. Poland adheres to longer rotations and follows the principle of self-sufficiency, while economic efficiency has gained increased importance in Latvia. The observed gradient is likely to be sustained in the coming decades as the survey of key forest sector stakeholders reveals ideological patterns that correlate with the pace of reform of State forestry in Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
Training forestry students for uncertainty and complexity: the development and assessment of a transformative roleplay
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Protecting or destructing? Local perceptions of environmental consideration in Lithuanian forestry
No full textEnvironmental consideration is an important facet of modern forestry. However, its perceptions by those who own and manage the forest are seldom investigated. After reviewing the evolution of pertinent legislative requirements, this study scrutinizes the attitudes towards environmental consideration, based on qualitative interviews of Lithuanian private forest owners (PFOs), state forest managers, forest management planners and other local forest stakeholders. We find a considerable increase of environmental consideration since 1990, with emphasis on forestland zoning at landscape level. Most of the interviewed forest managers and PFOs are aware of and compliant with the legal demands, however, their judgement of environmental consideration appears to be strongly affected by the degree of the faced restrictions. Informants who manage forest areas with a high share of non-commercial forest zones assess the current restrictions as excessive.Though the Lithuanian forestland zoning overall can be seen as a successful example of implementing multiple use forestry at landscape level, deep qualitative interviews expose several critical issues. Hastily performed zoning entails many mistakes, where the forest or landscape characteristics do not match the intended purpose. Even more critically, severe forest management restrictions around the nests of rare birds lead to widespread destructions of nests in private forests. The most important recommendations of our study are: (i) introducing a fair system of compensations for the economic losses inflicted on PFOs; and (ii) gradual rezoning of forestland, with radically improved consideration of local specifics, including on site assessments and genuine involvement of the local stakeholders. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
Owner mapping for forest scenario modelling - A Lithuanian case study
No full textAmple research on private forest owners (PFOs) has established high heterogeneity in owners' objectives, motivations and management decisions. Such heterogeneity is, however, rarely taken into account in forest scenario modelling. This study, in contrast, conducts a detailed forest owner mapping that feeds into simulations of ecosystem services (ES) under alternative future scenarios. First, we identify four private forest owner types (FOT) - Forest Businessmen, Household Foresters, Passive Forest Lovers, and Ad Hoc Owners through in-depth interviews and qualitative analyses on a case study area in western Lithuania. Next, each forest estate and forest compartment is assigned a FOT by combining the property registry and forest characteristics with opinions of two types of local experts: state forest managers and inspectors from the State Forest Service. Third, a set of forest management (FM) programmes is specified using field interviews and desktop research, FM records, and expert judgement for each forest compartment. Finally, ES provision is projected using a behavioural matrix combining management styles of FOT5 with details of FM programmes. We simulate the dynamics of profits from forestry activities, accumulated carbon in live biomass and tree species diversity under a reference scenario without substantial changes; and a policy intervention scenario. The study demonstrates that treating forest owners as a homogenous group overestimates profits from timber and underestimates the provision of the other analysed ES, potentially misinforming policy decisions. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
Forest owner is more than her goal: a qualitative typology of Lithuanian owners [Elektronisk resurs]
No full textIn contrast to quantitative surveys up to date, this study employs in-depth interviews and qualitative analyses aiming to provide detailed contextualized portrayals of private forest owners (PFOs) in Lithuania, where forest ownership underwent crucial changes in the last two decades. We scrutinized narrations of 18 owners, focusing on the background and goals of forest possession, actually applied management practices and informants' future plans. Content analysis of the narrations revealed three classes of goals: ideational rationale, i.e. immaterial justification for owning and managing forest, financial goals referring to monetary benefits from selling forest products and own material use for household needs. Reported practices differ widely among PFOs, ranging from largely absent management to intensive silvicultural regimes. Syntheses of each informant's goals and practices enabled discerning four types of PFOs. Forest Businessmen typically own largest estates (>100 ha) and regard forest as an investment to get long-term financial benefits; they resort to forest management for timber and often intend to enlarge their possessions. Household Foresters primarily use timber for own needs, regularly applying selective tree cutting; such forestry results in frequent but small-scale management interventions. Passive Forest Lovers aspire for recreational or environmental values, being largely uninterested in timber harvesting. Ad Hoc Owners usually are small scale, have vague goals and rarely engage in forest management. The study concludes with discussing policy implications of the identified diversity of PFOs
Expectations towards EFINORD : survey of forest research organisations in Northern Europe
No full textWith only two full-time positions, EFINORD currently is the smallest regional office of the European Forest Institute, while the scope of potential engagements is wide. Thus EFINORD needs to clearly prioritise activities, at the same time doing its best to meet the expectations of the partner organisations, i.e. universities and institutes dealing with forest research in Northern Europe. Clarifying the expectations, this report presents the results from the survey conducted in December 2012 - January 2013. The survey was filled by 19 out of 27 contacted organisations, corresponding the 70% response rate. The rate among the Nordic and Baltic organisations, i.e. setting aside Russia, Poland, Germany, UK and Ireland, was 81%. Key findings: The distribution of responding organisations and their perception of the degree of international forest research cooperation confirm a stronger regional collaborative tradition within Nordic-Baltic countries compared with EFINORD “fringe countries”. Respondents see networking as the most important EFINORD activity that refers to “arranging network meetings and mobilising forest research networks with partners”. Many partners also allocate high priority to fund raising at strategic level (i.e. advocacy for funding to forest research) and project level (assisting networks in application work). The lowest average score was assigned to “direct research activity by the EFINORD staff”, though the scoring differs a lot among respondents. A possible interpretation of these results can be that most partners do not wish EFINORD to become yet another research organisation, but to complement the current organisations by becoming a hub for consolidating international projects and promoting research networking and advocating forest research in relevant fora. Almost unanimously, the partner organisations are willing to consider in kind contribution to EFINORD, by allocating staff internally to work with EFINORD projects. The efficiency of this approach is however doubted by some respondents. In order to function well, such set-up requires a tight teamwork within well-defined collaborative projects. The questionnaire did not provide direct progress in finding core partners to directly contribute to funding the staff at the regional office. The need to complement the funding base of EFINORD to at least reach the critical mass equivalent to three full-time staff members remains a critical issue. Respondents also provide a number of interesting proposals for profiling the role of EFINORD such as: (i) Visiting member organizations and arranging workshops, to discuss mutual priorities, to spread information on European research calls, etc.; (ii) Initiating collaboration between the major national research programmes, such as ‘Future Forests’ in Sweden and ‘Forests and Silviculture in the Future’ in Finland; and (iii) creating a Nordic-Baltic joint research training platform in forest sciences. Such ideas deserve further discussion between EFINORD and partner organisations on multilateral and bilateral basis. The survey has provided valuable information about partners’ expectations, and expectedly increased awareness about ongoing EFINORD activities
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