Close to Nature Forestry and Forest Policy Challenges in Europe

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Close to Nature ForestryandForest Policy
Challenges in Europe
Zvolen, Slovakia
14-19 October, 2003

• Ilpo Tikkanen, European Forest Institute

Together with Olga Zyrina and EFI researchers
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Close-to-Nature

• What are the main trends and policy frameworks
  affecting close-to-nature forest management?
• What are the main policy challenges ahead and
  challenges for forest research?

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Contents

• Close-to-nature at international forest policy
  agenda
• Forest resource potentials in Europe room for
  innovative policies?
• Trends in forest products markets pressure on
  economic viability?
• MCPFE-process as European forest policy framework
• EU Forest Strategy and enlarging EU

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Close-to-nature forestry has appeared in
various forms at international forest policy
agenda since 1990s

• Forest principles / UNCED, 1992
• MCPFE Resolutions, especially Strasbourg (1990)
  and Helsinki (1993)
• IPF/IFF processes

• biodiversity conservation
• forest health and vitality
• climate change and carbon issues
• ecosystem management / landscape diversity

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Policy output of international forest policy
processes

• Consensus of the concept of sustainable
• forest management Helsinki Resolution 1

• International conventions (CBD, FCCC)
• MCPFE Declarations and Resolutions, Work
  Programmes
• Development of Pan-European and national criteria
  and indicators to monitor the progress of
  implementation of SFM
• Evolving national forest programmes
• Revised national legislations

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Conclusion

• Progress at policy level
• Issues and policy failures are related to

• Policy implementation
• Policy co-ordination
• Law enforcement
• Financing of ecological sustainability / SFM

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Room for innovative policies?
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Annual fellings and annual incrementin some
European countries
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European total fellings
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European average growing stock, historic and
projected, current climate
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Regeneration by different regeneration types in
some European countries
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Trends in demand and forest product markets
pressure on economic viability?
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Bruce Michie, EFI
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Bruce Michie, EFI
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Bruce Michie, EFI
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Bruce Michie, EFI
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European political framework for Close-to-Nature
forestry
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Policy Issues at 4th MCPFE
Political commitments expressed and policy issues
identified in Vienna Declaration and 5 Vienna
Resolutions
Overall policy aim achieve balance between the
economic, ecological, social and cultural roles
of forests in the context of sustainable
development(cf. H1)
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MCPFE issues cont.
Strategic items and tools identified

• Forest policies to contribute to sustainable
• development, and subject to cross-sectoral
• impacts

• Implementation phase in policy process
• MCPFE- and IPF/IFF/UNFF commitments

• Partnership arrangements and co-ordination
• of policies

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Vienna Resolutions

• Strengthen synergies for SFM through cross-
• sectoral co-operation and national forest
  programs

• Enhancing economic viability of SFM

• Preserving and enhancing the social and cultural
• dimensions of SFM in Europe

• Conserving and enhancing biological diversity

• Climate change and SFM in Europe

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V1 Cross-sectoral Co-operation and National
Forest Programmes

• MCPFE Approach to National Forest Programmes

- principles based on IPF/IFF consensus
- enhancement towards inter-sectoral policy
co-ordination
- work towards an improved understanding of
cross-sectoral issues
- challenge for research
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V2 Enhancing Economic Viability of SFM

• Economic viability key pillar of SFM

• key issue how to finance the enhanced concept of
  sustainability?

• especially challenging to implement in new EU
  member countries

• challenge for inter-disciplinary socio-economic
  and policy research

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V3 Preserving Social and Cultural Dimensions of
SFM

• Policy issue for both rural livelihoods and needs
  of urban societies

• linked to economic viability, of special
  importance in new EU member countries

• challenge for research a need for Pan-European
  comparative study on social sustainability and
  related policy implications!

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V4 Conserving Biological Diversity

• Policy issue how to preserve - or enhance?
  Socio-economic consequences and scope for
  innovative policies?

• challenge for research impacts of various policy
  instruments on preserving biodiversity and
  enhancing forest management towards
  close-to-nature evaluation of policy failures
  cross-sectoral policy impacts

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V5 Climate Change and SFM

• Inter-disciplinary research challenges

- socio-economic impacts (costs and benefits)
of climate change
- evaluation of policy impacts and policy
options
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EU Forest Strategy need for a reform?
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The EU Forest Strategy

• Legislative initiative from European Parliament
  in 1997

• Commission Communication on EU Forest Strategy

• Member States adopted a Council Resolution on EU
  Forest Strategy in 1998

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Principles

• Decentralized approach - subsidiarity

• Based on national policies and programmes

• Forest-based commercial activities within the
  rules of open market economy

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Aims of the Strategy

• to better deal with the complexity of Community
  legislation influencing forest policies in Member
  States

• horizontal issues related to forestry favour
  cross-sectoral approach e.g. rural development

• EU should have a single voice in international
  policy processes, such as IPF/IFF/UNFF

• to strengthen internal co-ordination

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Challenges for EU Forest Strategy

• expectations have not been fulfilled

• forest sector is a major economic sector in EU

• but, environmental issues, such as biodiversity
  and climate change are dominating forest policies

• need to further strengthen integrated regional
  and local level approaches to balance cross-
  sectoral issues

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Impact of EU enlargement
Forest Area 1997, mln. ha EU 15 113.6 New
EU 33.4 ( 29)
Growing Stock bln. m3 EU 15 13.4 New
EU 6.26 ( 47)
Private Forest Owners EU 15 12 million New
EU 4 million (Total 16 million)
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EU EnlargementForest Policies at Cross-road in
Europe?

• Forest resource scenarios increasing potentials
  provide scope for design of innovative forest
  policies

• Expanding markets increasing demand for forest
  products

• Restitution and privatization processes new
  private forest owners

• Foundations of forest policy-making changed

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EU Enlargement (cont.)

• How to balance the demands on forest
  conservation, close-to-nature forest resource
  management, economic utilisation and social
  sustainability in market economy?

• Financing of sustainable forest management?

• Implementation of Pan-European and global
  commitments?

• Cross-sectoral policy co-ordination in new
  political context?

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Do We Need a New Forest Strategyfor Europe?
Policy options regulative means,
financial instruments, informational tools and
development of institutions - policy mix of these
Political reality starting points of EU
Forest Strategy International commitments
Conclusion New political foci, new
innovations and institutional solutions are
needed!
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Challenge for Pan-EuropeanForest Strategy

• Joint Pan-European programme of EU Forest
  Strategy and MCPFE, focusing on informational
  policy means, capacity building, network
  strengthening and partnership arrangements

- new inter-institutional solutions
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A question remains
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Draft Convention on the Constitution of Europe
(July 18, 2003)

• Articles on Agriculture and Fishery Environment

• no mentioning of forests or forestry
• natural resources mentioned under Articles
  regarding environment

• Implications for EU Forest Strategy?

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Thank you!