1. Private forest management
Prof.dr. Valeriu-Norocel Nicolescu
Faculty of Silviculture and Forest Engineering, Transylvania University of Brașov, Romania
The Future of Education in Green Sector, EUROPEA General Assembly, Cluj-Napoca, April 2019

2. Overview
(I) European forests: some major issues in relation to ownership and management
(II) Private forests of Romania: ownership and management

3. European forests
Forest area: milion ha (33% din total land area), of which 84% accessible
Ownership:
51% (ca. 107 million ha) private
49% (around 102 million ha) public
(State of Europe’s forests 2015)

4. European forests Ownership structure:
a. Countries where private ownership clearly dominates (60 to 80% of the countries’ forests): Austria, Finland, France, Norway, Slovenia, UK
b. Countries with balanced private and public ownership of forests: Belgium, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Netherlands, Serbia, Slovakia
c. Countries where public ownership extends over more than 60% of the forest area: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland
(Schmithüsen and Hirsch, 2010)

5. European forests
Private forest holdings: 83% individuals, 12% private institutions, 5% forest industries
Public ownership structure: 86% state, 13% communal, 1% provincial
(Schmithüsen and Hirsch, 2010)

6. European forests Size of private forest holdings:
Less than 1 hectare: 61%
Up to 5 hectares = 86%
From 6 to 50 hectares = 13%
Over 50 hectares = 1%
(Schmithüsen and Hirsch, 2010)

7. European forests
Managed forests (= areas managed in accordance with a formal or informal plan applied regularly over a sufficiently long period – five years or more):
a. Countries where both private and public forests have been reported to be completely or almost completely under some form of management: Czech Republic, Netherlands, Slovakia, Serbia, Latvia, Ireland
b. Countries where all public forests are under a management status and only between 50% and 75% of private forests are classified as “managed forest areas”: Hungary, Finland, Poland, Belgium
(Schmithüsen and Hirsch, 2010)

8. European forests However:
“… the absence of a management plan, in particular in small-scale often privately owned forests, does not necessarily imply that the forest owners are not trying to manage their forests sustainably”
(Schmithüsen and Hirsch, 2010)

9. Europe
In addition:
“The environmental performance of private forests in terms of forest management plans, forest certification, and compliance with forest regulations appears to be similar to that of public forests.”
(State of Europe’s forests 2015)

10. Romania
Total forest area: 6.9 million ha (29.56% of national land), compared to 8.5 million ha in 1800, 7.88 million ha in 1920, million ha in 1929, and million ha in 1948
= Reduction of forest area because of the Land Reform Laws of 1864 and 1922

12. Romania Species composition (by area): Broadleaves = 74%, of which:
European beech: 31%
Oaks (i.e. sessile, pedunculate, Hungarian, Turkey, greyish, pubescent): 16%
Various hard broadleaves (i.e. hornbeam, black locust, ash, maples): 20%
Various soft broadleaves (i.e. willows, poplars, linden): 7%
Conifers = 26%, of which:
Norway spruce: 20%
Silver fir: 4%
European larch and pines: 2%
(National Forest Inventory IFN, 2018)

13. Romania Mean volume per hectare: 340 cu.m, of which:
European beech: 398 cu.m
Oaks (sessile, pedunculate, Hungarian, Turkey, greyish, pubescent): 264 cu.m
Various hard broadleaves (hornbeam, black locust, ash, maples): 191 cu.m
Various soft broadleaves (willows, poplars, linden): 243 cu.m
Conifers (Norway spruce, silver fir, pines, European larch) = 388 cu.m
(National Forest Inventory IFN, 2018)

14. Romania Ownership structure I. Public = 65.9%, of which:
a. State: 3.14 million ha (48.6%)
b. Cities, towns, communes = over 1,500 owners: million ha (17.3%)
II. Private = over 4,000 associations, over 700,000 private individuals and over 4,100 legal entities: million ha (34.1%)
(Raport privind starea pădurilor României în anul 2017)

15. Romania Size of forest holdings: Cities, towns, communes: 735 ha
Associations: 265 ha
Legal entities: 66.8 ha
Individuals: 1.1 ha (over 99% holdings less than 30 ha)

16. Romania Ownership structure before 1990: 100% state
Current ownership structure = effect of three Restitution Laws:
18/1991: max. 1 ha/owner = restituted over million ha
1/2000: max. 10 ha/owner = restituted ca. 1.8 million ha
247/2005: restitutio in integrum = an estimated area of about 2 million ha to be restituted to the former owners or their heirs until the completion of this process

17. Obligations of forest owners
To ensure the elaboration and to respect the provisions of forest management plans and to ensure the administration/services to all forest lands
To ensure the guarding and integrity of forest land
The perform the regeneration of forests
To perform the tending of forests
To prevent and control the occurrence of forest diseases and pests
To prevent the occurrence and fight against forest fires
To perform wood harvesting only after tree marking and formal authorization of logging
To ensure the maintenance and repair of forest roads under their ownership
(Forest Law No. 46/2008)

18. Management of private forests in Romania
All Romanian forests MUST be managed (based on forest management plans) or have ensured all forest services.
Forest management or provision of forest services: ONLY by authorized forest districts, either state (part of National Forest Administration – ROMSILVA) or ”regime” (established by cities, towns, communes, by physical persons or legal entities owning forest land or by associations established by them).

19. Management of private forests in Romania
Over 400,000 ha of forests, mostly private: NO contracts of management or performance of forest services

20. Management plans
For forests larger than 100 ha. Compulsory for forest holdings larger than 10 hectares. In case of forest holdings of maximum 10 hectares: the owner can harvest maximum 5 cu.m/yr/ha from this area if he/she demonstrates having a management/service contract for minimum 10 years. Revised every 10 years; exception: 5 or 10 years in case of forests consisting of poplars, willows or other fast growing species. (Forest Law No. 46/2008)

21. Regeneration methods
Imposed by the Forest Law No. 46/2008 through forest management plans:
High forest: the only one accepted formally; currently = 95% of Romanian forests, compared to 70% in 1948
Coppice: only for native poplars, willows, black locust; currently = 5%, compared to 30% in 1948
NO coppice-with-standards (forbidden in 1948)
Artificial regeneration: species composition, planting schemes, stocking and technologies are chosen depending on specific Technical Norms (1/2000) = compulsory
(Forest Law No. 46/2008)

22. Regeneration cuttings (Silvicultural systems)
Imposed by the specific Technical Norms 3/2000 through forest management plans, depending on tree species, stand structure, function to play:
Dominant: those specific to high forests:
- Group and uniform shelterwood cuttings: over 60% of annual area
- Single-tree and group selection cutting: 5-7% of annual area
- Clear-felling: 4-5% of annual area; only in even-aged stands of Norway spruce, pines, hybrid poplars, willows; maximum size: 3 ha (5 ha in hybrid poplar and willow stands)
Marginal: coppice systems (e.g., simple, pollarding) = 4-5% of annual area
(Technical Norms 3/2000)

23. Tending operations (pre-commercial and commercial thinning)
Imposed (e.g. type, intensity, cycle) by the specific Technical Norms 2/2000 through forest management plans = compulsory
Intensity of thinning: low-moderate (maximum 18% of standing volume) and decreasing with age.
Last thinning: when the stand reaches 3/4 of rotation age (maximum 80 years); afterwards, until the rotation age, only salvage (sanitary) cuttings.

24. Forest formations or groups of forest formations
Intensity of thinning (% of initial standing volume), in stands with a canopy cover of % (from Technical Norm 2/2000)
Forest formations or groups of forest formations
Stand age, years
11-20
21-30
31-40
41-50
51-60
61-70
71-80
81-90
91-100
Over 100
Norway spruce 16 11 10 9 8 7 6 5
Silver fir 12
Mixed European beech-softwoods 15
European beech 14 13
Mixed European beech-sessile oak 4
Sessile oak and pedunculate oak
Mixed oak-dominated stands in the plain and floodplain areas
Linden 18
Hungarian oak, Turkey oak and their mixtures 3
Black locust
Alder
Willows
White poplar, black poplar and their mixtures
Pines
Douglas-fir

25. Rotation ages Forests providing wood production functions; from Technical Norm 5/2000 = compulsory
Species
Wood assortment
Rotation age (years)
Norway spruce
Sawn timber
Resonance wood
European beech
Veneer
Sessile oak
Pedunculate oak
Black locust
Sawn timber, construction timber
25-35 25

26. Something to think about...
All trees with a minimum collar diameter of 8 cm, due to be extracted through either tending operations (i.e. cleaning-respacing, thinning, salvage cutting) or silvicultural systems (eg selection cuttting, shelterwood cutting, clear-felling, coppice, etc.) MUST be (hammer) marked and inventoried.

29. Photo: Florin Benedek-Bloju
Wood harvesting
Can be carried out ONLY by specialized logging companies, certified by a special certification organism. By exception, forest owners (individual or legal entities), without being certified, can harvest from their own holding up to 20 cu.m/ha/yr. Trees to be harvested should be hammer marked by specialized staff, part of state or regime forest districts managing the forest or providing forest services.
Photo: Florin Benedek-Bloju

30. Wood transport
Wood materials, regardless their provenance, can be transported ONLY accompanied by specific transport documents, demonstrating clearly their legal provenance.

31. Forest roads
The design of forest roads is done ONLY by physical or legal persons certified by a commission established for this purpose.
Maintenance and repair of forest roads are the responsibility of the forest owner, in compliance with norms or good practice guidelines approved by Minister Order.

32. Hunting and hunting rights
The hunting fauna is a natural regenerable resource,
a public good of national and international interest.
(Hunting Law No. 407/2006)

33. Hunting and hunting rights
Holders of the land included in the hunting fields are obliged to allow authorized hunting actions on the owned lands.
All hunting lands are managed; The categories of managers who can conclude hunting management contracts are as follows: (a) hunting associations, (b) manager of state forests, (c) managers of private forests, (d) managers of public forests owned by local administrations, (e) public institutions performing research activities, (f) teaching institutions including in their curriculum game species and hunting, and (g) the Autonomous Regie ”Administration of State Protocole”, for Scrovistea Hunting Field (Ilfov County).
(Hunting Law No. 407/2006)

34. Hunting and hunting rights
Hunting is only practised by hunters if they meet the following conditions cumulatively:
a) have hunting permits issued in Romania, in the case of members of hunting organizations in the country;
b) possess individual hunting authorizations, issued on his/her behalf as manager, or is nominated by the organizer in collective hunting authorizations;
c) possess gun licenses for the use of firearms in Romania, in Europe or in the country of origin;
d) possess insurance covers for accidents and civil liability in connection with hunting activity.
(Hunting Law No. 407/2006)

35. Hunting and hunting rights
Conclusion: a forest owner in Romania can NOT freely exercise his/her hunting rights as an integral part of the property rights on forest land.

36. ... this is the easy life, full of rights, of a private forest owner in Romania...

37. Thanks for your
attention!