1 state agricultural university chisinau, republic of moldova vitalie gulca iufro division 5...

1STATE AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY CHISINAU, REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA

Vitalie GULCA

IUFRO Division 5 Conference

5.12.00 Sustainable utilization of forest products

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Vitalie GULCA*

Distrust in Private Forests – Main Gap in Sustainable Forest Management of Moldova

STATE AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY CHISINAU, REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA

Republic of Moldova

Forestry and Public Gardens Department State Agricultural UniversityMircesti Str. 44Chisinau 2049

Republic of Moldova


Aim of work and methods

• To fill the empirical and theoretical research gap in Sustainable Forest Management of Moldova

• In order to investigate and write this paper we completed historical analysis, reviewed documents and literature relevant to the territory now called Republic of Moldova. The study is interdisciplinary and therefore qualitative and quantitative data were linked.


Site

The relief of the country is complex and variable with highest altitude 429.5 m

The annual average temperature is 8–10°C

Precipitation oscillates from 560 mm in the northern part to 380 mm in the southern part.

The country is divided administratively in 10 counties and has 1680 localities.

The population of the Moldova constitutes 3,6 million thousand inhabitants, the average density of population being 119 per km2 .

Two principal natural resources are soil and forest


The total area 3 384 357 ha constitutes from 57.6% of agricultural lands, 9.1%of localities lands, 17.84% of reserve fond occupied by pastures and roads, 1.8% of lands destined to industry 11.4% of forest fond, 0.06% land destined to nature protection, and 2.2% of water funds.

Structure of all lands in Moldova

agricultural lands

localities lands

pasture and roads

industry and transports

forest fond

nature protection

water fond

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Results

Some centuries ago forest covered until 30% of this territory. In 1812 year forest percentage was already 13%. After the 2nd World War forest cover decreased until the limit of 4% and

now has 9,6%. State became forest holder in 1812 year and after 2nd World War

remained one alone owner.


050 000

100 000150 000200 000250 000300 000350 000400 000450 000500 000

1812

1861

1918

1919

1921

1922

1925

1926

1929

1945

1961

1965

1986

1988

1998

2002

2003

2004

2005

fore

st c

ove

r

total forests, ha

private forests. ha

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Results

The practical forestry expanded selective cutting until middle of 19th century, while coppice systems were mainly recommended until end of 20th century.

Consequently the age structure of forests has been significantly disturbed, and most of the forests became pure and even-aged.



Some important characteristics of Moldavian forestry

- Presence of friable lithology substratum;- Climate with cyclic droughts in the south regions;- Presence of the large zones favorable for the oak forests;- Lac of forest conscience;- The Strategy for SFM, 2001, provides for extending of forest area from 9,6 percent, to 15 percent;- The base strategic directions of forest strategy are restoration of eco-protective and bio-productive potential of the forest.


Evolution of the forest ownership

- In the period of Roman domination (106-271) – forests were public;- During the centuries was much expanded monastery property and forest owners obtained through donations, abuses, and other means;- In the beginning of XIX century the majority of the forests were owned by monasteries, boyars, and free peasants while the state was practically absent in the forest property statistics;- According to the first forest planning realized during 1860-1861 years, forest ownership comprised monasteries (15,9 %), boyars and free peasants (76,1%), Bulgarian colonists (0,1%), and state (7,9%);- Actual pattern of forest ownership in Moldova: state forest authority (90,25%), mayoralties (6,22), agricultural unites (2,39%), cities and other localities (0,61%), industry and transport (0,4%), territory of aquatic fund (0,1%), other holders (0,035%).

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Results

• To afforest the lands, state forest enterprises have to convince local authorities about temporary administration of some pastures or another area, and after the canopy will be created to return back to mayoralty.

• In many cases after afforestation rural people with a goal to maintain the pastures for cattle they pluck out saplings and after leave the cows for pasturing. Even 30% of forests are used for cattle grazing because of bad quality of pastures.


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Results

• Distrust in private forests is based on historical facts and legislative acts. • Forest Code (1996), stipulates that private forest ownership are

admitted in the case of afforestation of private agricultural lands, while Strategy for SFM (2001) provides for transferring of all new forests in the administration of state forest authorities;

• Land Code (1991) allows aforestation of lands with low productivity; • Nonfeasible policy, according to Caughley and Sinclair (1994),

“although it may give each interest group at least something of what they desire, sometimes the logical consequence is that two or more technical objectives are mutually incompatible”.

• As a result state owns degraded forests, rural people own eroded soils, and villages own poor pastures.

• 1,8 mill. ha (55.1 %) from all country are private lands that have a high potential and could be partly afforested, including agroforestry .

• Large spreading of pasturing and illegal logging in most of state forests point out that rural people are strongly interested in forests.


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Conclusion

Because afforestation challenge fixed in the 70th of last century still remains an important issue during last strategies we conclude that distrust in private forests is the main gap for the sustainable forest management of Moldova.

We suppose that overuse of land for pasture, turning out of seedlings, and illegal logging are effect of wood insufficiency and bad pastures, both rooted in inadequate forest ownership.

In the same time we are conscious that after entire land expropriation in the middle of last century rural people lost the confidence in the land property rights and state representatives.

The actions, which created this breach were: expropriations, chronic changing of the states, governments, moneys, with no compensation for the society.

Fragmentation of agricultural lands by small patches of private forests should be the main bridge between the past and future, poverty and economical stability.

Continuous promotion of private forests through the laws, state subsidies, assistance, credits, financial facilities, training and other actions could implement SFM in practice.


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Conclusion

Governments are changeable, and Basarabia (Moldova) could be both independent and part of any country or empires (this is specific character of geopolitical ecoton) but local rural people will remain forever from father to the son during centuries.

As consequence to trust in private forests especially owned by local rural people it means to manage forest in a sustainable way.



Thank you for attention

1 state agricultural university chisinau, republic of moldova vitalie gulca iufro division 5...

Documents

forest slide

republic of moldova

republic of moldova

republic of moldova

forest fond

forest area

forest conscience

forest ownership