National Policy on Forests 1997

MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, NATURAL RESOURCES AND FORESTRY I L 1997 Republic of Poland Ministry of Environmental Protection, Natural Resources and Forestry NATIONAL POLICY ON FORESTS Document adopted by the Council of Ministers on 22 April1997 Warsaw,1997 Contents I. INTRODUCTION 3 II. IDEAS BEHINDPOLICY 8 III. AIMS AND PRIORITIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 IV. ORGANIZATIONAL,ECONOMICANDLEGALCONDITIONING 15 V. POLICYIMPLEMENTATION:ANTICIPATEDEFFECTSANDTIMETABLE 23 Annexes 1. THE STATE OF POLAND' S FORESTS 25 2. POLISH POLICY FOR THE COMPREHENSIVE PROTECTION OF FOREST RESOURCES 27 3. INTERNATIONAL CONDITIONING OF NATIONAL POLICY ON FORESTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 4. GLOSSARY 34 Translation of text: James Richards ISBN - 83-86564-55-5 Printed by: Agencja Reklamowo-Wydawnicza Arkadiusz Grzegorczyk 02-973 Warszawa, ul. Bitwy Warszawskiej 1920 r., nr 3 tel. (0-22) 82249 36 I. INTRODUCTION 1. Forests are the most naturai formation in nature and ones that are linked inseparably with the Polish landscape, being an essential factor providing balance in the natural environment and conditioning the country' s development. Thanks to human efforts in harnessing the forces of nature to meet society's needs, forests have become an indispensable element in the civilizations of today and tomorrow. 2. Forest management with a view to protection and utilization is the kind of activity that entails a considerable share of goods and services of a public character. As a result, there is justification for state intervention through the pursuance of a policy for forests that meets the general and common needs of society and is implemented by way of forestry and other interdependent sectors of the economy. 3. National Parks and Forest Reserves play a special role in the protection of forest ecosystems, their biocoenoses and the natural processes ongoing within them. 4. Forests serve very diverse functions, either naturally ar as a result of managemental activities. The functions in question are: * ecological (protective), ensuring: stabilization oj the water cycle in nature; the counteraction oj floods, avalanches and landslides; the protection oj soil against erosion and oj the landscape against steppification; the shaping oj the climate both global and local; the stabilization oj the composition oj the atmosphere and the purification oj the atmosphere; the creation oj conditions by which to preserve the biological potential oj a large number oj species, ecosystems and the genetic resources oj organisms; and the saJeguarding oj the diversity and complexity oj the landscape, as well as better conditions Jor human health, life and agricultural production; * productive (economic), through: ensuring the renewability and sustainability oj the use oj timber and non-timber Jorest resources as well as hunting; the development oj specialized tourism; the proJits from the sale oj the aJorementioned goods and services; the creation oj places oj work and the provision oj income Jor state and local budgets by way oj taxes; * social, serving in: the shaping oj Javourable health and recreation conditions Jor society; the enrichment oj the labour market; the creation oj diverse Jorms oj use by local communities; the utilization oj degraded land and marginal soils; the strengthening oj national security and the development oj the country's culture, science and education, including ecological education. 5. Growth in a given function of a forest may limit other functions, thus generating conflicts. Equally, many of the functions of forests augment and enhance one another, result from each other and are temporally and spatially variable. * The ecological functions QfJorests have - over the longer time perspective - great economic and social significance. Through retention and the stabilization oj water conditions, Jorests reduce the danger and scale oj flood damage and periodic shortages oj water in Jorestry and agriculture. They also limit the threat oj fire and, through purification oj the air and regulation oj the climate , improve the health conditions Jor society. 3 * The vroductive functions Q.,fforests are above all expressed through the production oj timber - a renewable and "human-Jriendly" ecological raw materia l which is the basis oj many proJessions, traditions and cultural elements; which isput to a multitude oJuses and which conditions the development oJmany branches oj industry. In addition, timber takes up and accumulates carbon from the atmosphere, thus limiting the enhancement oj the greenhouse eftect, and is also easily used, giving it great pro-environmental significance. * The social functions Qf forests are to a great degree determined by their ecological and productive Junctions: a greater natural diversity inJorests creates greater possibilities Jor their use in the economy and society, ensuring employment possibilities, and the supply oj building materials, fuel and areas Jor rest and recreation. * Conflicting functions are revealed in previous antagonism between intensive economic or recreational use and some ecological Junctions like the protection oj biological diversity and oj soils. Conflicts have also arisen between the use oJJorests in tourism and productive and ecologicalJunctions (the littering oj Jorests, destruction oj ground cover and young trees, increased threat oj fire, the scaring and disturbance oj animals, etc.). 6. In serving many important and varied functions, forests are the key element in the ecological security of the country. In consequence, forest policy and management are of strategie rank, like national military , societal and energy security in which forests and forestry also play a role. 7. The functions of forests may be augmented by similar functions among areas planted with trees and shrubs, whose role is increasing - particularly in areas of limited forest cover. 8. The state of Poland' s forest resources is presented in Annex 1. Of particular importance in characterizing the situation and in establishing policy on forests are the following features: * limited, regionally-uneven, but constantly-increasing Jorest cover, * the steadily-increasing level oj timber resources in Jorests, both nationally and in subsidiary territorial units, * the excessive role played by single-speeies stands whieh do not utilize the potential produetive possibilities oj the rieher Jorest habitats appropriate to multi-speeies Jorests, * the eonstantly-increasing proportion oj broadleaved tree speeies in stands, * the marked prevalenee oj public Jorests, whieh aeeount Jor 82.9% oj eover nationwide, ej. private Jorests at 17.1%, * the lessJavourable state and managemental situation oJprivateJorests as eompared with publieJorests, * the unsatisJaetory state oj health oj Jorests, the increase in the number oj species eausing damage, the ever more frequent presenee oj harmJul inseets, the spread oj territorially extensive tree diseases and the increasing threat oj fire . 9. The main threats to the country' s forest resources are changes in the natural environment brought about by humanactivity.Amongthese, the mostimportantare: * the pollution oj the atmosphere with gases and dusts whieh stimulate global climate ehange and also have a negative influence on Jorest eeosystems through the acidifieation oj soils and the toxie aetion on organisms, thus Javouring the appearanee oj pests and leading loeally to Jorest dying oft, 4 * the lowering oj the level oj groundwater and Jrequent precipitation deJicits leading to the weakening oj trees, making them vulnerable to pests and diseases and increasing their susceptibility to Jire, * the uneven spatial structure oJJorests, as manifested in the presence oj many smali complexes which, while diversifying the landscape, Jace greater negative pressures and are more difficult to manage, * the consequences oj schematizedJorestry management based on the raw material model. 10. Potential threats to forests, mainlyon the local scale, may be posed by: * the trend towards the replacement oj Jorest-related Jorms oj land use with others (settlement, transportational inJrastructure and other linear development, recreational construction, military training grounds, mineral exploitation and industryj, * the enhanced penetration oj Jorests by people and signs human-made damage oj disturbance on Jorests, * the poliution and littering oj Jorest areas. 11. Principles for the preservation, protection and augmentation of forest resources, along with those for forestry management linked with other elements of the environment and the national economy but irrespective of form of ownership are set out in the Statute on Forests of 28.09.1991. The Statute elevates the environment-creating and general social values of forests to the same level as the raw-material benefits. 12. The legal bases for the protection of forest land are provided for in the 1995 Statute on the Protection of Agricultural and Forest Land. 13. Poland' s new policy for forests now being established pays particular heed to: * the provisions oj the State Environmental Policy enacted by parliament in 1991, which are being developed in relation to Jorests under ali Jorms oj ownership, * the Forestry Principles and Agenda 21 approved by the UNCED (HEarth Summit") held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, * the European Declarations oj Forestry Ministers on the Protection oj Forests (Strasbourg 1990 and Helsinki 1993), which set out guidelines Jor sustainable Jorest management and ushered in the process oj establishing criteria and indicators. A manifestation of these trends has been the interdepartmental document from the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Natural Resources and Forestry entitled "Polish Policy for the Comprehensive Protection of Forest Resources" (1994), as well as ministerial Decisions and Orders of the Director-General of the State Forests resulting from it. 14. The drawing-up and implementation of state policy on forests is among the duties of the Minister of Environmental Protection, Natural Resources and Forestry . In particular, the Minister is obliged to shape conditions underpinning the achievement of all the functions of forests; to provide constant supervision over the condition of forests and forestry management, over the forests within National Parks and over 5 the preparation of programmes following national policy. A further statutory duty of the Minister is to present the annual Information on Forests to the govemment, which is later directed to sessions of parliament. 15. National policy in regard to forests is pursued by: * Voivodes (heads oj provinces), in the scope oj perJecting oj the sustainable use oj private Jorests and their resources, the improvement oj the condition oj such Jorests, and supervision over them, * The Director-General oj the State Forests, in the scope oj improvement oj the management practices perJormed on the state owned Jorests and their use as wel!, al!owing thus Jor accomplishment oj al! the functions supplied by Jorests and indicated by the state policy on Jorest. * The Director oj the National Board Jor the National Parks and Park Directors, to the extent determined in the Forest Act, in relation to Jorests under al! Jorms oj ownership and in the scope oj protection and management ojJorest ecosystems accordingly to the conservation plans oj National Parks, * The OJfice oj Forest Management and Survey, in the scope oj introducing to planning procedures the principles ojJorest management directed at achieving the aims oj multifunctionality in the holding, and monitoring oj the state oj Jorest resources and Jorests' condition. 16. Partners in the implementation of national policy on forests are: units of the national and local govemment administrations of the appropriate level: * the voivodeship (provincial) administration, in relation to planning policy within voivodeships that guarantees maximum protection Jor Jorests (environmental protection, afforestation and systems oJtimbered areas), * the local administration and self-government, in the scope oj direct cooperation with Forestry Inspectorates and mutual participation in planning processes (Jorest management plans,' physical development plans Jor gminas " conservation plans Jor National Parks, Nature Reserves and Landscape Parks) and in programmes to increase the ecological awareness and knowledge oj local communities and to improve local modelsJor sustainable development on the basis oj, i.a., the inclusion within them oj the resources and valuable Jeatures oj Jorests, the private owners of forests and associations of them, as weB as other forest managers. 17. AIso participating in policy on forests are: * trades unions, which are active within Jorestry in line with their statutory entitlements, * Departments oj Forestry oj higher education establishments, the Forest Research Institute and other scientific institutions, through the carrying-out oj research on the ecological and social functions oj Jorests and their harmonization with technologies and methods oj production, as wel! as on the implementation oj programmes by which to educate society on nature and Jorests and to trainJorestry personnel, 6 * Jorestry scientific and technical associations (the Polish Forest Society, the Association oj Forestry and Timber-Industry Engineers and Technicians), in relation to the popularization oj knowledge on Jorests and the provision oj opinions and proposais with respect to national policy in this sphere, * the Jorestry press and Jorestry publishing houses, in relation to inJormation on Jorests, training and national policy. 18. The units implementing policy on forests also inc1udegovernment departments whose activities are ofkey significance to the state of forests and the conditions for their management, especially in relation to: * "Jorest-Jriendly" planning at nationallevel, especiaUy optimal conditioningJor Jorests oJthe agricultural andscape, and industria l and urbanized areas, * the utilization oj marginal soils and the promotion oj sustainable development oj the rural populace in harmony with the country's Jorest resources, * the protection oJ Treasury assets, * the utilization oj Jorests Jor the security and deJence oj the country, * programmes easing the burdensomeness onJorests oj developments and industrial technologies, * minimization oj losses oj Jorest resources resulting Jrom their serving oj social Junctions or Jrom Jorest fires and ecological disasters, * international cooperation in Jorestry areas within the Jramework oj Joreign policy. 19. Particular roles in establishing national policy on forests are played by: * the Sejm and Senat (lower and upper houses oj parliament), in relation to the Jraming oj law concerning Jorests, appropriate policy saJeguards in the national budget, cheeks on the implementation oj provisions oj policy on Jorests and the environment, and the introduction oj the principles oj sustainable development, * the government, in relation to implementation oj the principles oj state environmental policy in aU sectors. 7 II. IDEAS BEHIND POLICY 1. The subjects of the policy are forests under all forms of ownership and their functions; the aims and principles of forest management and the links between forestry and society, other divisions of the national economyand managementandotherorganizationalunitscooperatingin forestry. 2. The bases of the sustained utility of all forest functions are proper methods of organization and management of the areas forming forest ecosystems, as well as their protection. 3. Important tasks of multifunctional forest management are to ease or prevent conflicts between different functions and to enhance their complementary character. The methods of forestry management and the conditioning of forest production should thus take account of the specifics of the natural, economic and social conditions in which they will be implemented, and be in harmony with the ecological and social functions of forests. 4. Differences in natural conditions and in the spatial role of forests in the landscape combine with the increasing scale of the threats to forests and the varying expectations and needs of local communities to point to a necessity for policy programmes to be diversified in different regions. Account should be taken of: * the type oj landscape, the state oj the natural environment and the role Jorests play in it now and should play in the future, * the Junctions oj an area and the needs oj the local community, *Junctionallinkage with the timber industry and other consumers oJwood. 5. Analysis of the state of forests and the designation of the directions in the development of forestry necessary for the attainment of national ecological, economic and social policy aims should consider: * the existence oj limits to the effective ,fuli and immediate achievement oj ali Jorest Junctions, on account oj the unsatisJactory state oj health oj most oj the country' s stands, the severe threats posed by diverse anthropogenic and natural Jactors and the generaliy unsuitable management oj private Jorests, * the great needs and opportunities Jor increasing Jorest cover through the planting oj agriculturalland that is productively-inefficient or unused, * the need to accelerate the transJormation oj PolishJorestry,Jirstly the State Forests, towards a model oj sustainable, multifunctional management, * the need to exclude Jrom production those Jorests oj a near-primaeval character worthy oj legal protection or being embraced by special management principles, * the inadequate income from Jorestry (still coming almost solely from sales oj timber) which hinders the Juli development and utilization oj ali the Junctions oj Jorests under different kinds oj ownership especialiy the ecological Junctions, and which limits the development oj technical infrastructure, vocational and secondary education in Jorestry, research, and the services provided to the whole oj society byJorestry. 8 6. The remaining conditioning of national policy on forests derives fram: * the demographic situation, manifested in population growth outpacing increases in Jorest cover and resulting in a steady decline in the area oJJorest per inhabitant, * the anticipated increase in the demand Jor raw timber beyond the level oj supply possible from the domestic base, * the need to balance the increasing expectations oj society in regard to Jorests and their Junctions with society' s level oj knowledge on Jorest management and its natural bases, * Poland's international obligations in line with the conventions, agreements and understandings signed. 7. The attainment of the aims of forestry in conditions of uncertainty regarding the climate combine with the long production cyc1es for timber in stands to necessitate, La.: * intensiJied research on changes in the natural environment and their influence on Jorests and the Junctions they serve, * the defining and attainment oj parameters corresponding to the criteria and indicators oj sustainable Jorestry management associated with EuropeanJorest policy, * ongoing monitoring oj the state oj Jorests and the threats they Jace, with a view to the reliable prediction oj changes to these elements. 8. Inter-sectoral policy on forests is an integral part of the environmental, economic and social policy of the country and each sector should work to achieve the aims of these policies within its area of operations, through; * the easing oj conflicts between economic growth and the needs oj environmental protection, * the identification and integration oj all participants in economic life and society who are interested in sustainable development, and especially the development oj Jorestry, as well as efforts to set up ongoing consultations between them, * co-creation oj unified prospective legislation in relation to the protection, shaping and use oJthe natural environment, as a prerequisiteJor the legal and economic balancing oJtimber production and the protection oj the Jorest environment, * legal protection oj Jorests under all Jorms oj ownership, * the assurance oj state care oj Jorests under all Jorms oj ownership and the setting-up oj monitoring to ensure appropriate methods that are based on principles Jor the sustainable development oj multifunctional Jorest management, * the development oj legal and Jinancial mechanisms encouraging owners and managers oj Jorests to invest constantly and protect elements inJorests which benefit society as a whole, 9 * the generation oj conditions Javouring the proper valuation and utilization oj wood as a renewable ecological resource oj varied application, and as a biological energy carrier, * the development oj proper principles Jor harmonizing the aims set by different users oj Jorest Junctions with the requirements oJthe agricultural andJorest economy. 9. The formulation of goals for national policy on forests requires simultaneous consideration of international conditioning in line with Poland' s participation in European and world affairs, especially activities in the name of environmental protection and timber management. Involved here in particular are: * Poland' s active participation in the establishment oj global policy onJorests, * improvement oj the mechanisms and means by which Poland heeds its international obligations resulting from the conventions, agreements and understandings it has signed, * the drawing-up oj national programmes Jor the development oj Jorestry and the submission oj reports oj progress in this field to sittings oj the UN Commission on Sustainable Development. III. AIMS AND PRIORITIES 1. The overriding aim of policy conceming forests is to designate the complex of actions shaping relations between humankind and forests, with the aim of preserving - in changing natural and socio-economic circumstances - the conditions for the indefinite maintenance of the multifunctionality of forests, their multi-faceted utility and protection and their role in the shaping of the natural environment, in line with the present and future expectations of society. 2. The safeguarding of the permanence of forests, along with their multifunctionality, will be achieved by: * increasing the country' s Jorest resources, * improving the state oJJorest resources and providing them with comprehensive protection, * reorientating Jorest management away from the previous domination oj the raw-materials model towards a pro-ecological and economicalIy-balanced model oj multifunctional Jorest management that corresponds with criteria Jormulated Jor Europe by the Helsinki process and takes account oJthe specifics oj PolishJorestry. 3. The supplementation of forest resources will occur through: * increasingJorest cover to 30% by 2020 and 33% by the middle oJthe 21st century, successively as land unsuitable Jor agriculture is given over to reafforestation, as welI as attainment oj the spatialIy-optimal structure oj Jorests in the landscape through the protection and JulI utilization oj the productive possibilities oj habitats , * the restitution and rehabilitation oJJorest ecosystems, mainly through the reconstruction - in appropriate habitats - oj mixed tree stands in place oj single-species ones, as welI as by way oj biomelioration methods, * the regeneration oj devastated and neglected tree stands in private Jorests and then their ecological rehabilitation. 4. The increasing of forest resources will be accompanied by programmes: * to introduce systems oj timbered areas and plantations, as substitutes Jor Jorest in productive agricultural areas and as an additional source oJraw timber, * shaping transitional tree communities and plantations oj trees and shrubs on land degraded by industria l, mining, construction and military activities, and on chemicalIy-contaminated soUs. 5. To improve the state of forests, and to protect them, so that they might better and more fuBy serve diverse functions, the foBowing actions will be taken within forestry management: * work to enhance the health oj tree stands and their resistance to harmJul abiotic and biotic Jactors, through the ever-wider implementation oj biological and ecological methods oj protection, * limitation - to necessary cases only - oj the use oj chemical substances (pesticides, mineral Jertilizers, mineral oils, etc.), 11 I I I L * the drawing-up and implementation oj a programme to redevelop the small-scale retention oj water with a view to restoring beneJicial supplies oj water to Jorests and improving water management in the country, especially on divides and in upland and mountain areas, * Jurther improvement oj methods Jor the active combating oj the threat oj Jorest Jires and the Jires themselves, * enhancement oj the genetic and species diversity oj Jorest biocoenoses and the diversity oj ecosystems in Jorest complexes - on the basis oJnatural models, * regulation oJJorms and intensities oJuse oJJorest resources, i.e. harvesting oJtimber and non-timber products, as well as oj the servicing by Jorests oj protective and social Junctions, such that these activities are not able to threaten the permanence oJJorests or to have a negative influence on the state oJtree stands, * an acceptance that: the utilization oj resources as regulated by a plan oj Jorest use is a derivative oj the needs established with silvicultural and protective aims in mind and is to ensure the continuity oj production oJthe greatest possible amounts oJtimber oJthe best quality, the amount oj timber harvested in the course oj tending should not exceed ongoing increments but should rather guarantee the accumulation oj timber increment in stands, thus giving a basis Jor enhanced reproduction, the size oj the timber harvest from mature stands should take account oj limitations resulting from the fulfilment oj protective and social functions, the present and Juture species and age structures oJJorests and the degree to which they accord with habitat properties, the degree to which the planned management goals are achieved and needs where the renewal and reconstruction oj stands are concerned, * the regulation oJpopulations oj gam e animals to levels not threatening the silvicultural and protective goals oj a Jorest, * the regulation and steering oJrecreation and tourism inJorest areas in a manner harmonizing the social functions oj Jorests with the protective and productive Junctions, * enhancement oj the effectiveness oj the legal protection afforded to all Jorest land. Success in these activities may be achieved in full if there is simultaneous sustainment of the present trend towards reduced inputs into forests of all kinds of chemieal and physical pollutants from sources at home and abroad. 6. Society's expectations of a significant widening of forestry services towards the diverse benefits resulting from the varied functions will be met if forest management is multifunctionaland sustainable. The drawing-up and implementation of the principles for such management will require: 12 * theoretical and experimental studies into a new model Jor Jorests taking account oj the influence oj random Jactors on management (in place oj the previous model determining the schematic spatial and temporai organization oj tree stands with a view to the obtaining oj high incomes immediately), * the adjustment oj the concepts Jor Jorest management and utilization towards the natural, economic and social conditions ojJunctioning oj theJorest holding, with the priority being naturalor semi-natural cultivation with a preJerence Jor complex Jelling and the use oj natural regeneration, * the development oj enduring and biologically-resistant Jorests, * securing on the basis oj the Statutes on Nature Conservation, on Forests and on the Protection oj Agricultural and Forest Land, the protection oj allJorests, and especially the most valuable ecosystems and keystone or rare elements oJJorest biocoenoses, * radical restrictions on the use oJJorests oJa near-primaeval character, as well as those by watercourses representing ecological corridors, * the promotion and protection oj biological diversity in the whole process oj Jorest organization and management, * the application oj Jorestry techniques and technologies that are saJe Jor the environment and "friendly" to people and nature, * the ensuring oj effectively-regulated utilization through precise knowledge oj the structure oj stand resources which conditions the level oj implementation oj all the Junctions designated Jor Jorests in successive developmental cycles oj tree stands (successive generations oj trees). 7. The devising and promotion of a model of sustainable and multifunctional forest management will be served, along with the comprehensive protection of forest resources, by the already-initiated programme for Promotional Forest Complexes, whose aim is to test the model in different naturai and social conditons, and to prepare it for wide application in public forests, especially those of the State Forests, and later in forests under all types of ownership. The detailed scope and directions of the program me are presented in Annex 2 "Polish Policy for the Comprehensive Protection of Forest Resources". 8. In addition, actions enhancing the functions of forests, most especially public forests, will be directed towards: * through compulsory consideration, in planning studies Jor Jorest areas, oj ways in which to realize all the important types oj Junction oj Jorests, and especially the ecological Junctions (account must be taken oj the shaping, protection or restitution oj ecosystems occurring locally and proper to a given region, as well as oJthe biological organization oj ecotonal zones), L-ecologicalfunctions: * through compulsory consideration, in physical development plans Jor gminas (units oj local government administration), oj optima l Jield/Jorest boundaries, the spatial structure oj Jorests in the landscape, the system oj timbered areas and ecological corridors between Jorests, as well as oj the lifting oj ecological 13 barriers and above all the limitation or elimination oj external pressures on Jorest ecosystems by way oj "Jorest-friendly" management oj adjacent land, productive Junctions: * through a searchJor new Jorms and subjects in the utilization oJJorest resources, with simultaneous heeding oj the principles oj sustainable development, i.e. the ensuring oj the permanence and protection oj these resources, * through the devising oj sustainable methods oj use Javourable to the Juture oj Jorests and taking account oj changes in the global environment and ecological uncertainty, as well as their possible influences on the local, regional and national scales, * through the perJected Junctional integration oj Jorestry with the timber industry, and cooperation with other consumers oj wood, * through the stabilization oj the national market Jor timber and wood, * through the use oj incentives Jor the wide use oj timber - an ecological material - in building work, and Jor its rational use, protection and preservation; socialJunctions: * through specialized management oJJorests with specifically-defined socialfunctions (those in National and Landscape Parks, on the edges oJtowns and cities, in regions oJintensive recreation and tourism and in experimental areas), in such a way that potential conflicts with the other Junctions oj these Jorests or adjacent ones are eased, * through integration oj the aims oj Jorestry with those oj the sustainable development oj society on the local, regional and national scales, as well as closer cooperation with local communities in the development oj local models Jor sustainable development that take account oj the state oj Jorest resources and their functions, * through the ecological andJorest-related education oj society and the shaping oj appropriate attitudes to Jorests andjorestry. 9. If the diversity of functions served by forests is to be enhanced and broadened, it is essential that stands in forests under private ownership be regenerated and their ecosystems rehabilitated. This will require the establishment of appropriate legal, economic and organizational bases. 14 IV. ORGANIZATIONAL, ECONOMIC AND LEGAL CONDITIONING 1. The effective creation and popularization of a model for sustainable, multifunctional forest management requires that legislation, and the system by which forestry is financed and organized, be adapted to the changing conditions of management. 2. Attainment of the aims and tasks of policy on forests will require the drawing-up of long-term executive prorgrammes which will set out the necessary organizational, economic and legal solutions appropriate to the needs of forestry and the country's possibilities. 3. The organizational basis of forestry is provided by the principles that: * Jorest law relates equally to all Jorests in Poland, * a unified and constant policy Jor Jorests be implemented, along with methods oj management that correspond with this policy, irrespective oJJorm oj ownership * the State Forests will play the leading role in technical and technological progress inJorestry. 4. The place of forestry in the structure of the central administration is to a great extent predetermined by the following factors: * the dominant role oJthe Treasury in the structure oJJorest ownership, * the broad accessibility oj Jorests to the populace , * the considerable role oj legal regulations and economic parameters in the steering oj the development oj Jorestry . 5. The exercising of state supervision over forests should be dichotomous, with supervision: * oj state-owned Jorests, and mainly oj State Forests holding, being handled centrally by a Minister, on account oj the centralized character oj this organization, * oj Jorests not under state ownership being the responsibility oj provincial elements oj the central administration (i.e. voivodes (heads oJprovinces) and the directors oJregional offices). 6. The system of planning and forecasting in forestry requires the conversion of the Office of Forest Management and Survey into a planning and forecasting body in the nature of a state agency subordinated under legal provisions to the office of the Minister supervising forestry and working for the good of all forests in Poland irrespective of ownership. The tasks of such a national planning and forecasting service should inc1ude: in relation to planning and Jorecasting work: * constant and continuous monitoring oj the sizes, status and structure oj Jorests, * the drawing-up oj prognoses Jor the needs oj the government, 15 * cooperation with central and local government bodies engaged in spatial planning on the scales oJthe country, voivodeship or gmina, with a view to developing optimally the structure oJthe landscape, and especially the area and distribution oj new planting oj Jorests and trees and the conditions Jor the Junctioning oj Jorest ecosystems in the landscape, * the making oj regular checks on the implementation oj na tiona l policy on Jorests, * the development oj cooperation in monitoring with other systems oj environmental monitoring in Poland, neighbouring countries and Europe as a whole, in re/ation to the carrying-out oj service work: * the drawing-up oJ management plans, together with a programme oJnature conservation,Jor the needs oJthe managers and owners oJJorests, * (to Jacilitate the taking oj managemental and protective decisions), the drawing-up oj reports Jor managers and owners concerning changes inJorest resources. 7. Study and research The increasing threats to forests and the ever-greater significance of their various functions necessitate an intensification of interdisciplinary research. It is becoming necessary for a long-term strategy of forest research to be devised. In this, priority should be given to research seeking to offer methods by which to ensure the permanence of forests and the continuity of their functions: * studies on the augmentation oj the country' s Jorested area and its structure, * studies on the dynamics and sustainability oj Jorest ecosystems, as well as the protection and use oJthe potential offered by Jorest biodiversity, * reconnaissance and implementational work on ecological engineering in Jorests and saJe working techniques and technologies, * studies oj new models Jor Jorests and ones augmenting the multi-Jaceted utility oj Jorests to the Polish economy and society, * studies to improve monitoring, and the Jorecasting oj changes in the state oJJorests and the threats to them. the new orientation of foresty requires decisive qualitative development of scientific and research backup (particularly inadequate in the departments of forestry of the higher education establishments bringing together most of the highly-qualified scientific personnel in forestry), the development of cooperation with research institutions abroad and support for the licenced forest advisory bureaus that are anticipated. 8. Nature/forest education and the promotion of policy on forests. Indispensable factors in the attainment of the aims set before forestry are the understanding and acceptance 16 of policy on forests by society, and society' s participation in the co-creation of this policy and its implementation by professionaI foresters. In connection with this, there should be development and improvement of both formaI and informaI education, as weB as promotion of knowledge on forests using the many possibilities: in Jormai education: * to stimulate programme changes in Jorestry education at secondary and higher levels with a view to broadening knowledge oj the Junctioning oj Jorest ecosystems and landscapes; the protection oj biological diversity; ecological engineering inJorests; the realization oj the ecological and social Junctions oj Jorests; the spatial planning, management and administration oj Jorests and the trade inJorest products and services in the new socio-economic conditions and with a new model Jor Jorest management, * to work towards the introduction to primary and secondary school programmes - and the programmes oj departments oj higher schools dealing with environmental issues - oj essential knowledge on Jorests as useful natural and economic systems serving many important Junctions in society as well as participating in the economic development oJthe country; in inJormal education and the promotion oj knowledge aboutJorests: * to maintain and develop supplementary training courses Jor the Jorest services concerning sustainable and multifunctional Jorest management, ecological issues and nature conservation, * to design and organize diverseJorms by which to educate society in nature and Jorest-related knowledge (courses, workshops, "green schools", knowledge contests, discussions, displays, exhibitions, education al trails, etc.), * to ensure the above aims by saJeguarding the development oJthe Forest Cultural Centre in Goluchow, the Centrejor Nature and Forestry Education in Rogow and education centres in Promotional Forest Complexes, * to use the media to shape the knowledge and opinions oj the people (tourists, the owners oj Jorests, developers, decisionmakers, the electorate and politicians) in relation to Jorests, their protection and use, * to stimulate and improve publishing activity in relation to magazines and journals, as well as popular scientific books, which disseminate knowledge onJorests among children, young people and adults, * to develop cooperation with ecological movements and organizations, especially youth organizations, that are interested in Jorests andjorestry; in the wider involvment oj society in policy on Jorests: * to bring into effect consultations with the people at the local, regional and nationallevels, in relation to the perJection and implementation oj policy that takes account oj needs and expectations regarding what is an asset oj the whole nation, and reconciling the conflicting interests oj different interest groups and social strata, 17 * to heed the principie that people be informed constantly about the state oj Jorests, and in particular to take joint action JorJorests andJorestry in association with interested organizations and local government. 9. Interdepartmental cooperation in forestry The role of forests in the socio-economic development of the country, the multitude of functions served and the numerous interdependences between the state of forests and external economic entities aUexplain the need for policy on forests to be implemented in inter-sectoral systems, and especiaUyin association with: * environmental policy, * national planning policy, * agricultural policy, * deJence policy, * policy regarding the use oJ Treasury-owned assets, * energy and industria l policy, * social policy, including that in education and science, *Jire-control policy, * the strategy Jor national development, * the strategy Jor the protection oj biological diversity, * the strategy Jor climate protection. The multidirectional nature of the linkages in national policy on forests is reflected by a presence within the implementational programmes of various administrative bodies and institutions. Particularly in need of reorganization are the links between forestry and the timber industry and other customers for wood, as weU as the economic entities taking profit from forests and the sector providing services to forestry . Between forestry and its customers - particularly the timber and papermaking industries - there should be the organization and development of functional integration and even capital integration bringing benefits to both sides. This action should take the form of: * the drawing-up and implementation oj a long-term strategy Jor the demand Jor timber and the determination oJthe possible supply from the national base, with an obligation that harvests should not exceed levels determined inJorest management plans, * the augmentation oj the national Jorest timber base with timbered areas and tree plantations, on the basis oj rational programmes Jor establishment and use, * consideration oj possibilities and needs in relation to the import and export oj timber on a scale resulting from differences between demand and the possibilities oj the national timber base, u* encouragement oj the adjustment oj technologies and directions oj production in the timber industry to the quality oj the range oj timber, including that oj smal! or medium dimensions produced by multifunctional Jorestry management, * support from Jorestry and the timber industryjor the process oj trade in timber through the introduction oj a modern market-oriented inJormation system, improvement oj the sales and accounting systems and moderation oj the instabilities in supply and demand. 18 10. International cooperation In the light of the transboundary nature of the threats to forests and the conventions and agreements in force, the development of international cooperation, especially with neighbouring countries, requires that Poland participate in dialogue devoted to the formulation of global principles of sustainable forestry managementwhose finalencapsulationin legal formis anticipated.Particularareasfor cooperationshouldbe in: * the exchange oj inJormation: on the status and development oj the Jorestry and timber sector, the application oj Jorest law and the participation oj Jorestry in national development, I on the status oj Jorests, ecological progress in areas oj threat to natural and planted Jorests, and the resultant socio-economic implications, on technological progress, and programmes and results oj scientific research, that are oj significance in the optimal utilization and protection oJJorest resources or the restitution oj degradedJorms oJthem, * establishing possibilities Jor the harmonization oj legislative work in the sphere oj Jor estry , * consulting as regards methods by which to define economic aspects oj pro-environmental Jorestry policy, * consulting as regards necessary actions in the Jorestry and timber sector and their surroundings, especially where border areas are concerned, * the agreement oj the principles, scope and organization oj certification Jor conditions oj production and the harvesting oJtimber. Annex 3 presents a review of the international institutions with which Polish forestry is particularly interested in cooperating. 11. Systems and directions for the financing and economic improvement of forestry should take account of its new aims resulting from the increased significance of the ecological and social functions, the greater threats and actual damage incurred as a result of a variety of factors and the need for partial recompensing of the outlays made by the managers and owners of forests for the public services they render. The system and directions of financing and economic improvements to forestry should aim at the following solutions: in relation to Jorests under aUJorms oj ownership: * the participation - as Jar as is possible - oj the national budget, the budgets oj the local government administration and special Junds and subsidies, in the realization oj the ecological and social junctions oj Jorests (the restoration oj proper water relations, reafforestation, the planting oj trees and shrubs, the special costs oj the junctioning oj protected and protective Jorests, the costs oj restoration after ecological disasters, the nature and Jorest-related education oj society, and programmes resulting Jrom Poland's ratification oj international conventions, particularly the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Convention on the Protection oJthe Climate); 19 * the creation oj a mechanism defining the effective participation oj resources from the National Fund Jor Environmental Protection and Water Management in compensating Jor damage to Jorests caused by industrial pollution oJthe air. in relation to the State Forests holding: * identification oj principles Jor limited self-financing oj activities as a consequence oj a deJining oJthe publicfunctions oJJorestsqualifyingJorfinancial supportfrom the national budget and specialfunds, * the maintenance and improvement oj the system Jor the redistribution oj financial resources originating from a levelling calculation between Jorest holdings in different natural conditions oj production, with a diversified range oj services provided and hence varying profitability, * the obtaining oj income Jrom ecological surcharges on the prices oj energy carriers, when these are introduced, * the obtaining oj payment Jor certain Jorest services that were previously free oj charge, e.g. Jor the commercial-scale harvesting and collection oJJorest-Jloor products, * the development and commercialization oj new Jorms oj managemental activity, * rationalization oj employment to the economically-optimallevel and increased employment inJorestry services, by way ol deJined actions guiding and supporting economic entities engaging in and rendering services to Jorestry, the leasing oj equipment Jor Jorestry work, the establishment oj a system oj preJerences Jor the creation and stabilization oj multi-person enterprises offering Jorestry services, the raising oj the proJessional qualifications oj employees in enterprises offering Jorestry services, the Juture concessioning oj this Jorm oj service activity,. * the consideration, in programmes combatting unemployment at regional and local level, oj reafforestation work. 12. The statutorily-guaranteed universal accessibiIity of public forests to the public may not be treated as unrestricted acsess to forest resources for economic entities profiting from the taking of animals and plant raw materiaIs or the trade in them; the extraction of mineraIs; the organization of tourism, recreation and sports or the use of forests for special purposes. Regulation of the levels of these forest services and their commerciaIization are essential if the permanence and biological diversity of forests are to be assured and income from forest holdings compensating for the costs of maintaining valuable features obtained. To this end, it will be necessary: * to determine the rationallevel oj supply oj the aJorementioned products and services on the national, regional and local scales, * to work towards a system oj Jees Jor the auxiliary economic utilization oj Jorest resources and the sale oj services that are proportional to the scale oj these activities and the losses they produce in Jorests. 20 I II I I , II I I I I ..,I 13. Enhancement of the economic efficiency of forests in private ownership, and of the functions they serve, reqUlres: * by way oj supervision, the ereation oj eonditions Jor the effeetive implementation oj the provisions oJthe Statute on Forests and the aims designated by national policy, * the drawing-up oj new legal standards and eeonomie stimuli to increase the Junetional and organizational effeetiveness oj private Jorestry management, * the establishment oj the legal, eeonomie and organizational eonditions Jor the association oj private owners oj Jorests voluntarily (in companies, eommunities, assoeiations, ete.) or eompulsorily (in Jorest chambers), with a view to the joint management oJJorests, improvement oJtheir quality and enhaneement oj the effeetiveness oj management, * the stimulation oj increases in the area oj private Jorests through the reafforestation oj land no longer needed Jor agrieultural produetion and owned by natural persons, or by way oj the sale to Jarmers oj smali publicly-owned eomplexes surrounded by private land, * the use oj ineentives and easements in the eonsolidation oj private Jorests, * the creation oj finaneial eonditions Jor the efficient purehase oj private Jorests by the national or loeal authorities in eases in whieh their owners do not pursue rational management policies and are not interested in ownership, * the systemie regulation oj the principles Jor the extension oj non-budget subsidies and loans Jor improved Jorestry management in private Jorests - with speeial emphasis on: the regeneration oj stands damaged by poliution and other Jaetors, preventative aetion in the proteetion oj Jorests, supportJor eompulsory husbandry work inJorests onJarms that give low ineomes on aeeount oJtheir poor state, as weli as inJorests whose owners have set up Jorestry associations, * the perJeetion oj financial instruments linked to to the reafforestation oj post-agrieultural land and Javouring the eeologieal and soeial Junetions oj Jorests, * the improvement oj management in private Jorests with the aid oj a specialized Jorest service exercising supervision, being proJessionally trained and possessing the neeessary skill in negotiating and the provision oj adviee , * the organization oj training in Jorestry management, * the establishment oj databases onJorests that are not under Treasury ownership. 14. Work to improve legislation should aim, La., at: * systemie solutions ensuring rational support Jor management in pub lic and private Jorests by way oj various eeonomie and Jinaneial meehanisms Jor the attainment oj other eeologieal and social Junetions, and in addition - in private Jorests - Jor organizational activity (supervision, the setting-up 21 oj associations and Jorestry chambers) and Jor selected managemental goals (reafforestation, the liquidation oj the consequences oj disasters and the reconstruction oj stands), * extending and improving the legal possibilities Jor the associating oj private owners with a view to the joint management ojJorests and joint presentation oj interests to bodies oj the central and local government, * regulating the principles oj the timbered areas management, financing it and conJerring upon their appropriate status as an important component oj the landscape * regulating the systemic mechanism and scope oj compensation Jor the damage done to Jorests by industrial pollution and catastrophic events, as well thefinancing oj actions to enhance the ecological Junctions served by Jorests under various Jorms oj ownership, * the introduction oJa system oJJeesJor the utilization oJnon-timber Jorest resources by economic entities, * the longer-term introduction into state environmental policy (in line with the economic system oj the country and trends in the E.U.) oj an ecological surcharge on the prices oj energy carriers, with the designation oj some oj the funds so-obtained to promote the assimilation and accumulation oj CO2 in Jorests and timber with a view to counteracting the enhanced greenhouse effect (reafforestation, the increasing oj plant biomass in Jorests, the protection oj organic matter in soils and the more effective and enhanced use oj timber in construction work), * the statutory subordination oj organizational tasks to bodies oj the central administration supervising Jorestry, and their entrustment to a national planning andJorecasting service, * the legal placement oj Promotional Forest Complexes within the organizational system oj the State Forests, as functional areas with defined ecological, productive and social goals, * the adaptation oj hunting law to the goals oj sustainable, multifunctional Jorestry management, and especiaUy silvicultural and protective needs. 15. Strategie Govemment Programme * The inclusion oj the priority aims oj Jorestry in a strategic government programme is justified by the Jact that Jorestry seeks to achieve aims important to the whole country, including ecological security (dependent on Jorest cover, the sustainability and diversity oj Jorests and their varied environment-shaping attributes), as well as aims important in satisfying society's expectations vis-a-vis the continued provision by Jorests oj diverse products and services. * Strategic Government Programme would be concerned with the development oj Jorest space and would integrate the priority ecological, productive and social goals oj Jorestry management, build a basis Jor the long-term implementation oj national policy on Jorests and represent - at the beginning oj the third millennium - a solid JoundntionJor the natural spatial structure oj the country and living conditions. * The process oj linking theory with experimentation and practice that is characteristic oj Jorestry, the complementary nature oj the research topic and the huge areal and Junctional scope oj the undertakings aUpro vide additional justification Jor the supporting oj the main tasks in Jorestry resulting from national policy on Jorests by way oj a strategic government programme. 22 v. POLICY IMPLEMENTATION: ANTICIPATED EFFECTS AND TIMETABLE 1. Anticipated effects The prevalence of Treasury-owned forests in the ownership structure creates particularly favourable conditions for the realization of the ecological and social functions of forests which have been defined as priorities in the reform of national policy on forests. It is on account of these very functions that the transformation of the country' s economic system will not weaken the state' s hold over forestry , but will create conditions for its development through the rationalization of aspects of production and the elimination of the danger that the level and structure of the supply of timber might be subordinated to the timber industry. At the same time, however, the separation of the sphere of activity of the state administration from the management of forestry will guarantee the development of natural market processes. Conditions for the partial commercialization of functions other than the productive ones will also come into existence. In the conditions described, the consistent attainment of the aims of forest policy in harmony with European provisions should ensure the following gains within the first half of the 21st century: * an improvement in the state oj Jorest resources and the sustainability oj Jorests, * an increase in Poland' s Jorest cover to 30% by 2020 and 33% aJter 2050 and reconfiguration oj field-Jorest boundaries to the beneJit oj the landscape, the Junctioning oj Jorests and agriculture, * an increase in the retentive properties oj Jorests and an easing oj the water deficit in Jorest ecosystems and in the country as a whole, * an increase in the amounts oj carbon dioxide Jixed and accumulated, by about 10% by the year 2020 and 20% in the second half oJthe 21st century (i.e. 4.5 and 9 million tonnes respectively), * an improvement in local ciimates and a limitation oj degradational processes in the landscape, * an increase in the natural diversity oj Jorests, inciuding - by the year 2050 - an increase in the proportion oj broadleaved species Jrom 22 to 33%, an increase in the proportion oj multispecies tree stands to 48% and the introduction oj a broadleaved understorey to 1 million ha oj pine stands in fresh pine Jorest and mixed/pine Jorest habitats, * an enhancement oj the role played by Jorests in the ecological structure oj the country, through the biological shaping oj Jorest edges and the linkage oj Jorest complexes by ecological corridors oJtimbered areas, * fuU assessment oj the natural resources oj Jorests and the creation oj the conditions by which to saJeguard them, * an increase in the timber resources inJorests by about 15% by the years 2020 and by 20% by 2050, * in relation to age structure, an increase to 25% in the area covered by tree stands more than 80 years old, * an increase in the annual harvesting possibilities Jor large timber in Jorests under aU kinds oj ownership - Jrom the present level oJ21 million m3to 24 million m3aJter 2010, 23 * growth in the rational harvest oj timber Jrom plantations and timbered areas to 1.5 million mJ per year, * an improved process Jor the monitoring and Jorecasting oj the state oj Jorest resources and management planning based on a modern databank concerning Jorests under different types oj ownership and modern inJormation-processing technolo gies, * the spatial development and economic and natural improvement oj private Jorests through the establishment oj associations oj private owners, the bringing into operation oj economic stimuli, and education, * the saJeguarding oj the many valuable Jeatures oj Jorests by directing tourist and recreational traffic inJorests and by protecting the productive base oJJorest-Jloor vegetation, * the attainment oj relative harmony between the different categories oj Jorest Junctions, * the broadening oj society' s knowledge on Jorests, their protection and use. 2. Timetable for the implementation of national policy on forests Three periods in the creation and implementation of the policy are to be distinguished: * by the year 2000, completion oj programme-related work on the set oj executive studies to national policy on Jorests which were initiated by the Statute on Forests in 1991, as well as by studies entitled: "Polish Policy Jor the Comprehensive Protection oj Forest Resources" (Jrom 1994); the "Programme Jor the Augmentation oj Poland's Forest Cover" (Jrom 1995) and the "Strategy Jor the Protection oj Forest Biological Diversity" (Jrom 1996). Also to have been prepared: an amended Statute on Forests, Jorestry instructions and principles, a Strategie Government Programme and a Programme Jor Promotional Forest Complexes, while a system oj timbered areas nationwide will have been put into effect, along with an increase in supportJor policy onJorestsJrom specialJunds; * by the year 2020, there will among other things have been: the completion oj the transJormation oj Jorestry Jrom the materials-based to the multifunctional; an increase in Jorest cover to 30%; the completion oj the Programme Jor Promotional Forest Complexes and its Jull implementation throughout the State Forests holding; an improvement in the health oj Jorests; systemie protection oj biological diversity and a redoubling oj efforts to combat "greenhouse" warming; rationalization ojJorestry management in private Jorests; a harmonization ojJorest Junctions and Jull systemie support Jor Jorestry managementJrom budgets and specialJunds; * by the second half oj the 21st century, all oj the planned goals oj the policy Jor Jorests will have been achieved, including transJormation oj the species structure and the effective participation oj Jorests in the regulation oj the climate , water management and the preservation oj the country' s natural heritage. 24 . I ANNEX 1 THE STATE OF POLAND'S FORESTS As of December 1995, forests occupied 8,756,148 ha (or 28.0%) of Poland. Forest cover has increased steadily in the last 50 years, but still varies considerably in the different voivodeships (provinces) - from 12.0% in the Province of Plock to 48.6% in that of Zielona Gora. There are at present O.22 ha of forest per inhabitant. The greater part (78.4%) of the country's forest is under the management of the State Forests, while 1.8% is within National Parks. Private forests account for 17.1% of the total, though their participation in central and eastern parts of the country is much higher, with a number of voivodeships of low percentage cover having 30-60% of the forest that is present in private hands (Siedlce Province - cover 21.1% of which 59% private; Lomza - 20.3% and 56% respectively; Lublin - 15.9% and 50%; Biala Podlaska - 22.1% and 42%; Sieradz - 19.5% and 38%; Radom - 21.8% and 37%, Ciechanow -16.6% and 36%, Skierniewice -13.2% and 32%). In tum, 0.9% ofthe forested area is owned by gminas (units of local govemment administration), 1.1% is in the Treasury Agricultural Property Reserve and the former State Land Fund and 0.7% is owned by other units. A decided majority (63.1%) of the country's forests are in coniferous forest (particularly pine forest) habitat. The moderately humid pine forest habitat typical for Polish conditions accounts for 29.7%, mixed/coniferous forest for 29.6% and mixed forest for 18.4%. Stands are dominated to the extent of 77.9% by coniferous species, among which Scots pine is dominant, at 69.4%. The share of broadleaved species in the composition of stands has risen in recent decades from 13 to 22.1%. Nevertheless, the situation remains problemmatical in relation to excessively simplified biological structure and the large proportion of stands whose species composition does not accord with the habitat. These problems result from a past preference for monocultural cultivation as stands were renewed. The mean age of stands is 55 years in the State Forests and 36 years in those in private hands. The timber stock in forests amounts to 1,526 X 109m3 (Le. twice as much as in 1956). This converts to a mean of 172 m3per ha (195 m3in the State Forests). Present annual harvests in the State Forests are at the level of 18-19 million m3of large timber, with the remaining forests yielding another 2 million m3or so. The overall state of health of forests gives cause for concern in spite of some recent improvement. Forests are threatened by diseases and pests, unfavourable c1imaticphenomena, fires and the contamination of the air. Locally, these threats have led to the death of forests and an ecological disaster situation (in the Sudetic Mountains). The share of damaged trees, both broadleaved and coniferous, has exceeded 50%. As a result of extensive deforestation in past centuries and very widespread post-War reafforestation, Poland' s forests are highly fragmented and isolated spatially. The holding of the State Forests comprises 28,000 complexes, of which more than 6000 cover no more than 5 ha. The average size of a private holding does not even exceed 1 ha, and a holding of this size may often be made up of several separate plots. As a consequence of their serving functions other than the productive, nearly half of state-owned forests are c1assed as protective. These are forests protecting soils from erosion and waters from excessive runoff and pollution; damaged by industry; offering refuges to animals enjoying species protection; significant to national security; in the vicinity of large agglomerations, sanatoria and spas; or subject to scientific research or mass tourism. Forests are fundamental elements in the national system of protected areas, with forest land accounting for 62.8% ofthe area within National Parks, 65.9% of that in Nature Reserves and 55.1% ofthat in Landscape Parks. State Forests land inc1udes 849 Nature Reserves covering 66,400 ha, about 1740 protective zones around sites for rare and protected animaI species, covering 54,500 ha, and c. 3800 Areas of Ecological Utility covering c. 14,000 ha. 25 Among forests in the different ownership categories, it is the private forests which appear in a relatively unfavourable light, being characterized by: * a very high degree offragmentation ofplots andforest complexes, * poor management, * a low level oftree stand resources (only 55% ofthe meanfor state-ownedforests), * a low mean age oftree stands (36 years as opposed to 55 for state-ownedforests), * a low raw timber harvest per unit area offorest (about 40% ofthat in state-ownedforests), * a low level of formaI attainment of protective functions (the complete lack or rare occurrence of private forests with protected designations, Nature Reserves or protective zones for protected species). ANNEX 2 POLISH POLICY FOR THE COMPREHENSIVE PROTECTION OF FOREST RESOURCES (Information) Poland - as a signatory to programme resolutions of the Pan-European Ministerial Conferences concern ing principles of forest protection, and especially the resolutions on sustainable forest management and the protection of forest biodiversity - has recognized the great possibilities for broadening the scope of the tasks in sustainable forestry for areas in which nature and forest ecosystems are protected. A programme entitled "Polish Policy for the Comprehensive Protection of Forest Resources" was drawn up, along with criteria and indicators for sustainable forest development adjusted to the specifics of Polish forestry . The aforementioned Policy is based on the following premises: * that the population oj the country will increase Jaster than Jorest cover, thus increasing pressure on Jorest resources and Junctions, * that there will be growth in the demand Jor timber, as a human-friendly ecological material conditioning the existence oj civilization, * that there will be a change in a hard-to-determine manner in the state oj the natural environment, and especially the climate, that the multi-Jacetedcontamination oJthe environment will continue - perhaps exerting selection pressures on Jorest organisms which will react by migrating or by unpredictable changes in abundance or through regroupings in the structure oj biocoenoses, * that many species will become even more threatened than at present, particularly those linked with truly-natural environments, * that it will become essential to prepare Jorest ecosystems Jor existence in an non-constant and varying environment and to saJeguard the maximum possible number oj local species. The present and foreseen threats to forest combine with the growing demands for all forest functions in society to necessitate the adjustment - or even the replacement - of hitherto-existing managemental and protection concepts and technologies applied in forestry . There is thus a need and an opportunity to increase by way of management the natural value of forests and to improve forestry policy in line with the ideas of sustainable development. This policy has 3 main components: A - technological, B - educational and C - research-related, as well as three timescales: now to the year 2000, the time up to 2020 and the longer term up to 2050. A. The technological component This inc1udesactions for the protection of biological diversity (nature conservation), as well as the promotion of techniques in forestry that are safer than those applied hitherto. The actions in question are to allow for the steering of forest management in full harmony with the postulates of nature conservation. This goal will be achieved through: 27 * the preservation oj Jorest ecosystems in a near-natural state, * the restitution oj Jorest ecosystems that are currently disturbed or degraded, * the protection oj the diversity oj Jorest biocoenoses, * enhancement oj the beneficial influence on Jorests on the natural environment as well as harmonization oj the social and economic development oj the country with the rational protection and utilization oj Jorest resources. The basic planning document in forestry management - the plan for the management of the forest in a given forestry district - will be augmented by a nature conservation programme containing: * an assessment oj the status oj nature (ecosystems) and a plan Jor its protection, * recommendations regarding environmentally-saJe technologies inJorestry, * a plan Jor the restitution oj Jorest resources relative to the potential oj the habitat, * a plan Jor the biological regeneration oj degraded soi/s. The programme for the protection of ecosystems and safe technologies will pay particular attention to: * the preservation in a near-natural state, or re-creation, oj bodies oj water and watercourses within Jorests and their biological composition, and the restitution or protection oJriparian and moistJorests, * the preservation in the natural state oj biocoenoses oj the so-called areas oj ecological utility - marshes, bogs, peatlands, heaths, dunes, boulder fields, rocky outcrops, clearings, alpine and other meadows and other Jorest land not subject to reafforestation but requiring protection, * the completion oj soi/ and habitat studies throughout the holding oJthe State Forests, * the biological reinforcement oJJorest edges and division lin es betweenJorest complexes, * the protection oj Jorest soi/s, and especially the cumulation and protection oj its organic malter, i.a. through the leaving oj smalI branches, deadwood andJallen trees with no economic value in healthy stands, * the introduction oj Jinely-chopped bark and sawdust as soi/ is cultivated, e.g. in the reafforestation oj ex-agriculturalland, * the retention in each stand destined Jor renewal by way oj clear-culting oj some (5-10%) oj the old trees to the time oJtheir physiological old age or biological death, including trees with holes and dead trees as habitat Jor many species oJJorest biocoenoses, * increasing the scope oj husbandry in biocoenoses and habitats through intensive work on the introduction to pine stands oj a lower layer oj vegetation Jormed from native broadleaved species oj tree and shrub, as well as the augmentation oJJorest biocoenoses with nectar-producing species oj herbaceous plants, 28 * extending specific action Jor the conservation and protection oj particularly valuable (keystone or rare) components oJbiocoenoses (especially birds, ants, ground cover and species under legal protection), * the departure Jrom elearcuts (wherever natura l renewal is achievable), * limitations on the width and sizes oj elearcuts where elear-Jelling is unavoidable (to 30-60 m and 4 ha), with seed-trees left in groups and elumps along with the various layers oj undergrowth and elumps oj admixture trees - all with a view to enhancing the diversity, complexity and aesthetics oJJorest space. There will also be a departure Jrom straight-line cuts, . * ensuring that management in stands that are special Jrom the natural point oj view is directed towards the overriding aim oj conserving biological complexity and diversity, with the harvesting oJtimber being a side effect necessitated by the silvicultural and sanitation measures taken, * the application in timber harvesting oj environment-Jriendly techniques that entail restrictions on work so as to minimize the damage to remaining components oj a Jorest. This may be achieved by cross-cutting in a stand, then their removal Jrom the stand to the nearest Jorest path with the use oj Jorwarders moving along appropriately laid-out skidding trai/s and a departure Jrom the use oj heavy transporting equipment. In Jorests especially valuable Jrom the natural point oj view teams oj horses and specialist equipment should be used, * a preJerence Jor small nurseries within Jorests and under the canopy to improve the quality oj seedlings and saplings, with central nurseries being confined in their productive space and more area given over to protective belts Jormed Jrom shrubs and trees, * limitations on the use oj chemical agents in the raising oj saplings in nurseries, as well as enhanced use oj organie Jertilizers and mycorrhizae, the microbiological revitalization oj soils, the use oj herbaceous plants with pest-control properties to combat nematodes ,Jor example, and the application oj phytonicides, * the recommended augmentation oj species compositions and the mixing oj species in line with the natural mosaic-like nature oj habitats, in cases where resources are being rene wed artificially or self-seeded areas supplemented, * the use oj existing planted trees in the reafforestation oj agricultural and unused land, along with the leaving oj small bodies oj water and marshes and the use oj the full diversity oj habitats in the species enrichment oj Jorest cultivation. In justified cases also the use oj natural succession only. The aforementioned aims will be realized by way of ongoing managemental decisions issued by the Director-General of the State Forests up to the year 2000, by which time there will have been modifications to, or the replacement of, principles for forest cultivation, instructions for forest management and protection and other regulations going further in the introduction of ecological elements into forestry management. While the principles of this Polish Policy for the Comprehensive Protection of Forest Resources will be brought in throughout the holding of the State Forests nationwide, there will - for both substantive and financial reasons - be fullest implementation in 10 designated complexes of forest accounting for 7% of the total area under SF management. These represent different natural conditions and are termed Promotional Forest Complexes. The target is for some 20 PFCs (LKP in Polish) to have been designated 29 by 1999, and of the existing 10,7 were set up in 1994 and 1995 and a further 3 in 1996. The areas in question are of the Puszcza type (Le. extensive primaeval-type forests), as well as Lasy, (i.e. forests dominated by broadleaved tree species) and Bory, (Le. forests dominated by coniferous tree species). Specifically they are: Puszcza Bukowa, Puszcza Bialowieska, Lasy Darzlubskie, part of Bory Tucholskie, Lasy Wloclawsko Gostyninskie, Lasy Janowskie, Puszcza Kozienicka, Lasy Rychtalskie and part of Bory Zielonogorskie and Bory Beskidu Slaskiego. Each PFC grouping several forestry districts will be evaluated from the natural point of view and will come to constitute an important link in the country's ecological system. Run in accordance with the many requirements of nature conservation, each PFC will be a place in which to pass on experience gained to wider circles within forestry, as well as one serving in the ecological education of society and in the enhancement of cooperation with it. To this end, centres of nature and forestry education will be organized in PFCs, along with educational trails and published informational materials. Greater attention will also be paid to management for tourism and recreation. PFCs will be acessible for nature/forestry research, and for proper determination of their functions, their Technical and Managemental Commissions will include representatives of the forestry and nature-related sciences, scientific and technical associations and people active in conservation and ecological movements. An assessment of the implementation of protective and managemental measures in each PFC will be made by its Socio-Scientific Council. The first PFC was the State Forests Complex of Puszcza Bialowieska, for which the cultivational and protection principles were approved by a decision of the Minister of Environmental Protection, Natural Resources and Forestry of November 8th 1994. These identified the area as one managed in line with the principles of sustainable development with particularly stringent protection principles. B. The Educational Component This is recognized as a priority on account of the need to prepare the forestry services of the State Forests and the National Parks to undertake new tasks or to bring a greater nature-related element into tasks already implemented. The following are planned within the framework of the educational component: 1. The establishment of a "Centre for Nature and Forest Education" , 2. The drawing-up of educational programmes: a) for the forestry engineering services, in relation to National Parks, the national administration and training, and conceming: the pro-ecological model of forestry management, the protection of biological complexity and diversity in forests, geographical information systems and teledetection in forest protection and spatial planning, b) for the needs of diploma training in the field of the "protection of forest resources" , c) for the level below that of engineer, in relation to ecology in general, and with particular account taken of nature conservation in forests. 3. Publishing activity in relation to nature conservation in forests, including sets of handbooks, training materials and popular-science joumals and magazines for young people at school and others. 4. The undertaking of ecological education in paralleI with the creation ofthe Centre, with the first to be trained being employees of the Office of Forest Management and Survey, the Forest Inspectorate and central man agement personnel. 30 C. The Research Programme This would have as its task support for a programme of environmentally-safe technology and the creation of bases for a pro-ecological model of forestry management in conditions of uncertainty and change in the global environment. This would be a programme taking account of the following aims: l. Improved analysis of the anticipated level of variability. 2. Recognition of the ecological risks, mechanisms, scale and intensity of impact of different methods of forest management on the naturally-valuable elements of forest biocoenoses. 3. The drawing-up of a pro-ecological model of forestry management, inc1uding: the outliningof managementprinciplesentailinga reducedlevelof exploitationof habitatsand environmentally safe technologies based on the principles of ecological engineering, the replacement of methods of forest management by methods of ecosystem management taking account of nature-related and landscape functions, improved analysis of the natural and economic consequences of proposed changes in the systems for the management and utilization of forests, the devising of theoreticalbases for the amendmentof principles,guidelinesand standards in the management, cultivation, protection and utilization of forests. 4. The undertaking of research work on a probabilistic model of the forest, as a theoretical basis for changing methods of management and regulation applied hitherto, thereby ensuring the permanence of forests. The consequences of the Policy and of Promotional Forest Complexes will be: * the devising oj appropriate regulations, and instructions Jor their implementation, * the ongoing training oJJorestry personnel in relation to sustainable management, * the drawing-up and undertaking oj a research programme, * the mobilization oj appropriate additional resources from beyond the national budget, * the adoption oJthe government programme to increase Poland'sJorest cover. The effect of the Programme of the Polish Policy for the Comprehensive Protection of Forest Resources will be: to adapt forests to changing conditions of ecological risk and to forestall or counteract the changes (thus protecting the c1imate), to combat degradation and protect sensitive species (biodiversity protection), to shift forestry management towards a pro-ecological form and to prove that forestry management and natural resources can co-exist (the promotion of sustainable development), to link forests and forestry with the spatial development of the country and vice versa (increased forest cover, the shaping of the agricultural/forest boundary and the construction of the country' s so-called "ecological grid") , to prepare forestry personnel to implement and complete the Programme and to supply them with the necessary publications, inc1udingnew technical principles for forestry . 31 ANNEX 3 THE INTERNATIONAL CONDITIONING OF POLIS H POLICY ON FORESTS l. In many countries, in compliance with expert opinions and the provisions agreed by conferences of contracting parties, plans are being drawn up and brought into force with the aim of ensuring the ongoing multifunctionality of forests with a prevalence of protective functions. These trends are associated with legal regulations binding worldwide or regional1y in forest management. At present, the greatest influence on the sustainable use of forests on the global scale is exerted by: * the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) agreed in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and ratified by Poland in 1995. This makes Parties to it responsible Jor the preservation oj genetie, speeies and eeosystem diversity and obliges them - while retaining national sovereignty - to make rational use oj biological resourees. * the Convention on Wetlands oj Internationallmportance Especially as WaterJowl Habitatfrom 1972 (known as the Ramsar Convention and relating also to marshy Jorests). * the Convention Concerning the Protection oJWorld Cultural and Natural Heritage (WHC)from 1972, requiring Parties, i.a., to proteet partieularly-valuable "puszezas" (areas oj extensive, near-primaeval Jorest) . * the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) from 1992, eoneerning i.a. reduetions in emissions oj "greenhouse" gases in whiehJorestry management plays a large role, above al! via the retention and enlargement oJJorest areas and the proteetion oj organie matter in soil. * the Convention on the Conservation oj European Wildlife and Natural Habitats from 1979 (known as the Berne Convention). Poland is a Party to aUof the above conventions. 2. Conventions are augmented by non-binding agreements in so-caUed "soft law". The most important of these inc1ude: * The Forestry Principles from 1992 adopted by the UNCED ("Earth Summit") in Rio de Janeiro and ealling Jor applieation oj the principles oj sustainable development and the rational use oj Jorest resourees; as wel! as the by-then-clear: , I I ~ I * Chapter 11 oj Agenda 21 devoted to programmes Jor the proteetion oj Jorests and postulating the preservation oj the diverse Junetions oj al! types ojJorest: inereasing the proteetion and sustainable use oj al! Jorests and afforestation as wel!, promoting the effeetive use oJthe goods and serviees provided by Jorests, enhancing inventorying and programme development in relation to Jorest resourees and the trade in timber; 32 * the Declaration oj the ConJerences oj Forestry Ministers oj European countries held in Strasbourg (1990) and Helsinki (1993), whichJormulated a contemporary conceptJor the sustainable development oJJorests andjorestry as expressed through 6 criteria: maintenance and appropriate enhancement oj Jorest resources and their contribution to global carbon cycles, maintenance oJJorest ecosystem health and vitality, maintenance and encouragement oJproductivefunctions oJJorests (wood and nonwood), maintenance , conservation and appropriate enhancement oj biological diversity in Jorest ecosystems, maintenance and appropriate enhancement oj protective Junctions in Jorest management (notably soi! and water), maintenance oj other socio-economic Junctions and conditions. 3. Many international initiatives, and in particular those from: * the FAO ConJerence oj Forestry Ministers and Experts (Rome 1995) * the 3rd UN ConJerence on Sustainable Development (New York 1995) led to the establishment of an International Panel on Forest Policy which is considering the possibilities for the encapsulation in international law of forest policy principles, inc1uding the certification of forest holdings and the trade in timber. Such a document might take the form of a Convention on Forests. 4. Poland participates actively in all international debates on forest policy, and should in particular develop cooperation with the following international organizations: * the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, * the World Bank and its Global Environment Facility, * the European Union and its agendas involved with Jorestry (afforestation), nature conservation (the ECNC) andfunding (PHARE), * the European Forestry Commission oJthe FAO (the state oJJorest resources), * the Timber Committee oJthe UN ECE and FAO (the certification oJJorest products), * the International Union oj F orest Research Organizations (IUFRO) (in relation to Jorest-related education, science and research), * the Committee oj the 3rd Pan-European Ministerial ConJerence on the Protection oj Forests (Lisbon 1998) (membership oj the Committee, involvement in the process harmonizing criteria and indicators oj the sustainable development oj Jorests andJorestry ). 33 ANNEX 4 GLOSSARY biological diversity - the diversity of forms of life on Earth or in a given area of it (country, region), usuany considered in relation to three levels of organization in nature, as: l) species diversity, 2) ecological diversity, i.e. the diversity of the types of groupings organisms create, and 3) genetic diversity, i.e. the diversity of genes (aneles making up the gene pool of a population). The world's biological diversity has been brought under protection by force of a 1992 UN Convention. field/forest ecotone - (an ecotonal zone), speciany-managed areas where forest edges meet open areas (cultivated fields, bodies of water, etc.), with the aim being to prevent unfavourable changes to the forest, e.g. degradation of the soil, reduced water retention or the deformation of plant and animai communities forest - l) the most complex terrestrial ecosystem, in which the different plant and animai organisms present co-create a biocoenosis. Forest is distinguished by the considerable proportion of trees growing in the vegetation cover and playing the role of the main edificators; 2) in accordance with the Forests Act from 1991, forest denotes land of a contiguous area of at least 0.1 ha that is covered with forest vegetation (or forestry cultivation), Le. trees and shrubs and a ground cover layer, or else temporarily lacking in same (but designated for forestry production, or constituting a Nature Reserve, or being within a National Park, or being entered on the register of monuments) and associated with forest management. forest ecosystem - a synecological unit represented by a relatively uniform patch of forest, within which the habitat, vegetation and animals remain mutually interdependent, creating an ecological system that maintains itself dynamicany as a whole. forest resources - the sum of the components of a forest capable of being assessed quantitatively, and including elements of the biocoenosis and especiany the tree stands, the ground cover layer and the animals, as wen as elements of the biotope - soil and water. functions of a forest - the utilities supplied by a forest in the form of productive goods and benefits, as wen as the protective and social services rendered. monitoring of forests - the systematic conection of information on the state of the forest environment and the health status of stands with a view to determining spatial variation in the degree of damage to forests, the dynamics and directions of changes in this damage, the cause and effect linkage between the state of health of stands and environmental factors, and the reactions of forest ecosystems to different doses of ponution in different ecological conditions. non-timber forest products - different material goods of plant origin (resin, bark, needle-cuts, leaves, forest fruits, the fruiting bodies of edible fungi, medicinal and industrial herbs, etc.), or animai origin (animals, skins or other hunting products, the products of forest beekeeping etc.), as wen as dug products (peat, sand, gravel, etc.). plan for forest utilization - when account has been taken of the sustainability, preservation and stability of a forest, the optimal net volume of large timber that can be harvested in the period for which a forestry management plan in a forestry district is binding (usuany 10 years). 34 plantations - areas planted with forest or non-forest trees distinguished by their rapid growth and high level of productivity where raw timber is concemed. They are managed intensively to reduce the 1ength of the production cyc1e. production cycle of a forest - the period elapsing from the initiation of the development of a forest to the time of the attainment of a product (yield) that is ready for use. regeneration of a forest - the reconstruction of tree stands destroyed, or neg1ected in terms of tending, with a view to re-establishing structure and functional properties. rehabilitation of a forest - the application of different types of phyto- and zoomeliorative methods with a view to conferring features of a forest ecosystem upon existing communities of trees (most often monocultures of Scots pine growing on ex-agriculturalland). renewal of a forest - the naturalor artificial introduction of a next generation of forest on the site of a stand felled in the course of normai utilization or destroyed by naturai disasters, disease or insect pests. restitution of a forest - the introduction of tree stands in areas long used in non-forest, e.g. agricultural, cultivation. sustainable, multifunctional forest management - actions intended to shape the structure of forests and to use them in a manner and at a rate ensuring the ongoing presevation of their biological richness, high productivity and the regenerative potential, vitality and ability to serve - now and in the future - all the important protective, economic and social functions at the local, national and global levels, without harm to other ecosystems. timbered areas - single trees and shrubs or groups of same planted away from forests and also away from urban areas, serving ecological, aesthetic and also productive functions by supplying wood, fruits, etc. timber resources (timber stock) - the total volume ofthe trees in a forest, most often equated with the measured (estimated) volume of large timber in a stand. transitional (substitute) forest communities - groupings of trees in the nature of planting on land degraded by human activity and not therefore capable of forestry cultivation in its current state. tree stand - the basic unit of the spatial division of a forest identified on the basis of accepted natural and economic criteria for the needs of registration, planning and the implementation of managemental activity in a forest.