Forest Institutions in Transition

The process of political and economic reform in Europe's transition economies has created significant incentives for changing the way forest institutions conserve and manage Europe's forests. These incentives are strong both at the country level, because of the need for institutions which are responsive to local demands for forest services and products, but also within the global context, where various international commitments for forest and biodiversity conservation have created incentives to develop institutional systems which are more responsive to these demands as well.

Forest Institutions in Transition [PDF, 2005] is the result of a review of 17 forest organizations in both transition economies, as well as in several forest-rich OECD economies. Key challenges of forestry sector reform identified relate to how well and how quickly conservative forest organizations have been able to adapt to a combination of two simultaneous factors: increasingly fast and 'fashionable', domestically driven (frequently ad hoc), post-socialist economic and administrative reforms, and more profound and consumer-driven changes in the forest products industries. A major finding from this review is that to be successful in adapting to changing demands, forest institutional reform must focus on how forest organizations can operate as service delivery institutions.

This publication provides strategic guidance on institutional performance criteria for delivering multi-functional and environmentally sustainable forest management. It also addresses some of the special challenges for countries which are moving toward accession to the European Union as they seek to develop their forest management institutions in a manner which is consistent with other EU models and standards.

For stories and updates on related activities, follow us on twitter and facebook, or subscribe to our mailing list for regular updates.

Last Updated : 02-24-2017