ORESTRY THEBALTIC 21 ACTION PROGRAMME FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT /.../ M.LAZDlNlS = CHRONICLE The Baltic 21 Action Programme for sustainable develop- ment of the region. Sector report on

WSLAZDINIS Forestty Strategy Division, Forestry Department Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Gedimino 19, LT 2025 Klnius E-mail: [email protected]

Introduction Sector on Forests by Saltsjobaden Declaration was charged to focuse on sustainable forestry practices Agenda 2 1, which was jointly adopted at UNCED in which would contribute to preservation of biodiversity. Rio de Janeiro 1992, is a global action programme for the In the course of the work, it became clear that environmental and development issues of today and for emphasis should be placed on all aspects of sustainable the future. management. Baltic 21 on Forests aimed at indicat- Political commitments to develop an Agenda 21 for ing what sustainable development in forestry means in the Baltic Sea Region were made by the Prime Ministers the context of the Baltic Sea region cooperation, and at the Visby Summit (Declaration of the Visby Summit, how sustainable forest management could be further 1996), and confirmed by the Foreign Ministers at the promoted within the region. The Baltic 21 action took an CBSS meeting ("Towards Agenda 21 for the Baltic Sea advantage of the ongoing work related to the global, Region", Saltsjobaden, 1996). European as well as national forestry commitments, The emphasis of Agenda 21 for the Baltic Sea international agreements and other international forest Region was on regional co-operation, meaning that activities, and it strove at advancing these international priorities and structures were emanated from the common commitments at the level of the Baltic Sea region. sharing of environmental priorities and development Because of the lively international and national forest needs. The regional problems of the area were the policy dialogue and developments within various driving forces. Agenda 21 for the Baltic Sea Region ongoing initiatives and processes on sustainable forest emphasised environmental, including health, and spatial management, the forest sector of Baltic 21 had a wide planning aspects of sustainable development in the and solid basis to build on. region. The programme involved seven sectors: industry, Baltic 21 Process in Sector on Forests energy, transportation, agriculture, forests, fishery and . and were appointed as lead- The international framework for Baltic 21 on Forests ing parties in the Forests sector. is wide. Many intergovernmental commitments have Key elements for all the sectors within Baltic 21 been made to promote sustainability within the forest include definition, indicators and scenario for sustain- sector, such as the decisions made at UNCED (Forest able development and action programme to achieve the Principles and the Agenda 2 1, Chapter 1 1 on Combating set objectives. Furthermore, cross-sectoral issues and deforestation); Intergovernmental Panel on Forest (IPF), sector inter-linkages played an important role in the Ministerial Conferences on the Protection of Forests in development of Baltic 21. The Baltic 2 1 programme was Europe and their follow-up meetings (the Pan-European developed on the basis of the work done within the process); Environment for Europe process, as well as sectors. Each sector was required to report on its the recent collaboration between the two last mentioned progress to the Senior Officials Group (SOG), that guided in the form of a Work-Programme on the Conservation the work and served as the negotiation forum. and Enhancement of Biological and Landscape Diver-

1998, VOL. 4, NO. 1 ISSN 1392-1355 = 61 BALTIC FORESTRY THEBALTIC 21 ACTION PROGRAMME FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT /.../-M. IAZDINIS = sity in the Forest Ecosystems. Furthermore, HELCOM, sity as an essential element of sustainable forest manage- which is the governing body of the Convention on the ment. The Conference set another cornerstone in the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea long history of the concept of sustainability in forestry Area, is now preparing recommendations concerning in Europe by adopting a new internationally common reduction of nutrients and other pollutants leaching concept of sustainable forest management. A General from forestry land. Declaration and four Resolutions were signedLon the Legally binding global instruments do not exist that Helsinki Ministerial Conference: would concern purely or comprehensively forest issues. HI 'General Guidelines for the Sustainable Discussions on a legally binding instrument for forests Management of Forests in Europe' will be taken up within the Intergovernmental Forum on H2 'General Guidelines for the Conservation of Forests (IFF) that was set up by the decision of the Biodiversity of European Forests' UNGASS (June 1997), under the aegis of CSD, to H3 'Forestry Cooperation with Countries with continue the work done in the IPF, inter alia, towards a Economies in Transition' legally binding agreement. Nevertheless, many of the H4 'Strategiesfor a Process of Long-term Adapta- environmental agreements are relevant to forests. They tion of Forests in ~uio~eto Climate Change' address forest related issues in a specific context, In the follow-up process of the Helsinki Ministerial embodying the concept of sustainability many cross- Conference, special emphasis has been given to the cutting issues that are relevant to forests, such as further definition of the essential elements of sustainable biodiversity, climate change, financial resources, techno- forest management and to the elaboration of an logy transfer, trade and environment, and traditional instrument for evaluating progress towards it. For this forest related knowledge. The Kyoto protocol can be purpose the pan-European criteria and indicators for mentioned as the most recent legally binding global sustainable forest management were developed in 1994. instrument to support sustainable development. Among the recent developments, the signatory In addition to the existing political commitments and states of the Helsinki resolutions have adopted (Feb- legally binding agreements, there is a range of ongoing ruary 1998) a common framework of recommendations activities in the intergovernmental organisations such as "Pan-European Operational Level Guidelines for Sustain- FAO, UNIECE, EU, the Nordic Council of Ministers and able Forest Management" for voluntary use to further others. Furthermore, there is co-operation for instance in promote sustainability in forestry at the field level in forest research, forest statistics and forestry practice. between the Nordic and Baltic countries. The broad scope of the Pan-European process One of the most relevant international pillars for including e.g., definition, criteria and indicators, and Baltic 2 1 on Forests is the Pan-European process on the operational level guidelines for sustainable forest protection of forests. The first Ministerial Conference on management; biodiversity matters; and cooperation the Protection of Forests in Europe was held in between Countries in Transition; and the active partici- Strasbourg in 1990, and the second in Helsinki in 1993. pation of the scientific and other organisations in the The third Ministerial Conference will take place in process provide a solid basis for Baltic 21 on Forests. Lisbon on 2-4 June 1998. The Pan-European process Furthermore, two members of Baltic 2 1, Finland and follows up and prepares the ministerial conferences, , are members of the General Coordination involving nearly 40 signatory states and the European Committee (GCC) of the Pan-European process which in Community that collaborate for the enhancement of fact enables natural and continuous exchange of infor- sustainable forest management in Europe. The process mation between the two processes. Baltic 21 was intro- involves also a number of non-European countries and duced to the Pan-European process at the meeting of the international governmental and non-governmental GCC in Finland in September 1997. The Pan-European organisations as observers. process was further informed about the proceedings in In the Strasbourg Conference, the European Baltic 21 at the expert level meeting in Geneva in Ministers responsible for forests committed themselves February 1998. to a progressive implementation of technical and scientific cooperation. The Helsinki Conference advanc- ed the "Forest Principles" of UNCED on the European ' All 10 Baltic 21 mcmbcr countries havc signcd all thcsc scale, and it encouraged the consideration of biodiver- four Resolutions cxpcct Swcdcn for Resolution H4.

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Efforts promoting sustainable forest management in identification of gaps and problems and the actions the Baltic Sea region cover the whole range of political towards sustainability was assumed to help to elaborate issues, from updated forest related legislation down to the scenario for the forestry sector that will also be operational level. Most governments in the Baltic sea included to the sector report. region have recently undertaken a revision of forest All the participating countries except have related legislation or are in a process of doing so. Seve- elaborated Country reports, which are Annexed to the ral important aspects of sustainable forest management Sector report on Forests. In addition, the NGOs sent are covered by national and/or regional laws and regu- their position and contributing papers. lations and are already being regularly monitored The very first draft of the sector reportin Sep- throughout the region. In many countries national fo- tember 1997 was produced by Finland and Lithuania. restry plans or programmes have been or are going to be Then it was widely distributed for comments to the each prepared, and new forest policies formulated. Also of Baltic country representatives and relevant organi- informative, descriptive means including various volun- zations through the Baltic 21 Forest Network. tary codes of practices such as guidelines, instructions, A preparatory meeting of the transition countries recommendations and/or standards for forest manage- members of Baltic 2 1 on Forests was held in Kaunas, ment emphasizing environmental and socio-economic Lithuania on October 1-2, 1997. The meeting discussed aspects have recently been revised or elaborated to the objectives and needs of the Baltic 21 process from better correspond to the modern concept and values of the point of view of transition countries. "sustainable forest management". The first international Baltic 21 Forestry Workshop An international Baltic 21 Forestry Network of was held in Helsinki, Finland on November 3-4, 1997. forestry and environmental experts, who represent public The second Workshop was held in Vilnius, Lithuania on sector of the member countries and various organisations January 22-23, 1998. including environmental NGOs and other interest groups, In the course of the preparation the document has was set up to participate in the preparation of the forestry been widely circulated for comments by Forestry programme. In addition, in both lead countries a national Network as well as by SOG. The last version of Sector group of experts from various interest groups was set up report on Forests was submitted to SOG Secretariat on to guide both the national and international preparation of 25 February 1998. the Baltic 21 on Forests. The experts from leading partners (Finland and Baltic 21 Sector report on Forests Lithuania) had a preparatory meeting in Helsinki in April 1997, and proposed a list of key areas of interest to be Definition for sustainable forest management as laid dealt with in the sector report. It was proposed at the down in Resolution H 1 the Helsinki Ministerial Conference same meeting that Baltic 21 on Forests will contain, inter was assumed to be an overall goal for sustainable forestry alia: a description of forestry in the Baltic Sea region; development in the Baltic Sea Region by the year 2030: goals, criteria and indicators for sustainable forest "The stewardship and use of forests and forest management; scenario(s) for sustainable development lands in a waL: and at a rate, that maintains their bio- and policy; the programme for future actions; and the diversity, productivity, regeneration capacity, vitality elements to be included for the Baltic 2 1 final report. and their potential to fulfil, now and in the future, To facilitate the preparation of the sector report, relevant ecological, economic and social functions, at member countries were asked to prepare a country report local, national, and global levels, and that does not dealing with the proposed key areas. In these reports, cause damage to other ecosystems. " (Resolution HI) the countries were asked to identify the major challenges Six pan-European criteria for sustainable forest of sustainable forest management, and to make pro- management, that contain built-in goals to strive for, can posals for possible projects, studies, pilots, etc. that serve as a "sub-goal" for sustainable forest management could be incorporated in the Baltic 21 action programme. by the year 2030. The country report had to be brief and concise, but The six pan-European criteria for sustainable forest at the same time it had to be problem oriented, i.e. the management are: current gaps and problems in each of the interest areas 1. Maintenance and appropriate enhancement of had to be identified. Possible actions towards sustain- forest resources and their contribution to global carbon ability had also be identified, whenever possible. The cycles;

1998, VOL. 4, NO. 1 ISSN 1392-1355 = BALTIC FORESTRY THEBALTIC 21 ACTION PROGRAMME FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMEM /.../M.LAZDIN16 = 2. Maintenance of forest ecosystem health and in the whole Baltic Sea drainage basin. Negative effects vitality; have already appeared in the southern part of the area. 3. Maintenance and encouragement of productive All the countries have adopted the six pan- functions of forests (wood and non-wood); European criteria for sustainable forest management, 4. Maintenance, conservation and appropriate developed within the Helsinki process. Some of the enhancement of biological diversity in the forest eco- countries have also introduced a set of national systems; indicators. One of the main objectives of the national 5. Maintenance and appropriate enhancement of indicator work should be to develop a suitable way of protective functions in forest management (notably soil organizing data and create an extensive documentation and water); and system, where different international obligations, nation- 6. Maintenance of other socio-economic functions al policy objectives, regulative means, existing systems and conditions. for resource mapping and result assessment among In the national Baltic 21 forestry reports, received others are integrated. Some difficulties arose in using from , , Finland, , Lithuania, Nor- indicators, especially because they may be considered way, Poland and , countries described current as a free source of information, while in reality forest stage in the development towards sustainability in their related data is often quite expensive to find out. Work on forestry sector. In all countries forest related legislation transforming them to management unit level is going on has been amended in the 1990s, in principle to fulfil the in some countries. requirements for sustainable forest management set e.g., Discussion on the need and importance of forest by the Rio (1992) and Helsinki (1993) Conferences. In management certification and labelling of forest products many countries also a national forestry plan or prog- is going on in many countries. Approach to certification ramme has been prepared, or is under preparation, and ranges widely between the countries and interest groups. a new forest policy formulated. In all countries the Solutions for forest management certification include leading principle of forest management is sustainability national standards as well as national non-governmental at ecological, economic, social and cultural levels. In FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) standards. Certification general, a political process to enhance sustainable forest of some regions based on the general FSC principles and management has been adopted by all countries. criteria has also taken place. Approaches that comply and Forest ownership structures in the Baltic Sea region could be combined with the International Stadardization countries differ from each other. Assistance and gui- Organization (ISO) standards andlor EU EMAS (Eco- dance for appropriate forest management and extension Management and Auditing Scheme) have also been for private forest owners are well organized and has long developed in some of the countries. Furthermore, in some traditions in and where countries marks of origin instead of certification are being private forest owners are numerous, and the ownership developed. Some countries have so far had no chance to structure is well established. Private forest owners' initiate the process on a national scale, but may start it in associations have been actively involved in the forest the near future. A brief description of the current related discussion for a long time. Today this is a trend situation on forest management certification in the Baltic also in the transition countries, where forest ownership 21 member countries can be found as Annex 1 in Sector structure is changing rapidly. There is a need for servi- Report on Forests. ces addressed to private forest owners. During the last few years an interest in renewable Strictly protected forest areas exist in all countries, energy sources has been growing. Various kinds of covering 2.8 - 11 % of the national forest land area. programmes, including research and funding, to promote Additionally, on some 10 - 20 % of the total forest area the use of bioenergy have been established in many forestry operations are restricted either for conservative, countries of the Baltic Sea region. Wood based energy recreational or protective reasons. Identification of special mainly comes from forests as felling residues or from key biotopes is carried out in many countries of the Baltic timber processing industry as an industrial waste. None Sea region. Afforestation of suitable abandoned farmlands of the countries have reported on a short rotation energy is considered as a very important task going on in some crop cultivation. General trend in the region is to increase countries, in others, however, very little activity exists in the use of wood for energy, and to improve methods of that field. Deposition of nitrogen and sulphur is a real threat environmentally sound utilization. Especially jn rural to forest health and vitality as well as biological diversity areas, the use of fuelwood still contributes to the

=1998, VOL. 4, NO. 1 ISSN 1392-1355 = 64 BALTIC FORESTRY THEBALTIC 21 ACTION PROGRAMME FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT /.../M.LAZDlNlS = household energy consumption in all the countries. Sound economic environment for private forestry, in Based on definition and criteria of sustainable forest particular small scale and farm related forestry does exist. management, target situation in 2030 was described. It Local communities have improved opportunities to reflects the expected result if the Baltic Sea Region stays involve and influence the setting of objectives for forest on the path of sustainable development and follows the management within their region. trend set by above definition and criteria. Non-timber values have been significantly The target situation of sustainable forestry in the emphasized in management decisions. Baltic Sea Region in 2030 may be depicted as follows: The use of wood resources is based on sustain- All international conventions and agreements ability and ecological principles in related to forestry and forest environment that are Each of the fifteen target states according to 2 to 6 relevant to the Baltic Sea region are ratified and corresponds criteria to sustainable forest management and implemented without delay in the member countries. under each criterion from 9 to 12 target states are identified. Collaboration between forestry organizations, Based on above targets and current situation, environmental and regional planning authorities, private described in Country reports, a number of gaps between forest owners organizations has been stepped up, as today's situation and the future vision was pointed out: well as dialogue between different interest groups includ- Although in most countries of the region forest ing NGOs and local people. legislation and policy have recently been revised, legal Transfer of sustainable forest management know- andpolicy.frameworh, as well asdorest management how at many levels and between various interest groups ~YII~~still need to be improved in some parts of the including forest owners, workers and forestry and region. Furthermore, control in logging operations need environmental organisations has been increased and strengthening in some countries. well structured. ~.lnsf~ationalframeworkshave to be improved in National criteria and indicators are developed and order to ensure appropriate flow of information and used in the national policy making, reporting and in the cooperation between different target groups and, in context of national forestry plans and programmes. particular, between the environment and forestry All the participating countries implement inter- administrations. national and national agreements to promote forest bio- Because of the fragmented and small private diversity. All levels of biodiversity are adequately ownership structures that are becoming dominant also covered in forest and related legislation. in the transition countries there is a need to continuous Forestry in practice promotes the conservation of and updated exLension and training of foresters, forest biodiversity and implementation of environmental workers and owners. Awareness building of the broad objectives. public on issues concerning the role of forests and The network of different types of forest conser- forestry through educational programmes and public vation areas corresponds to the domestic and inter- relation as well as improving the dialogue between national conservation objectives. different interest groups is also a challenge. Forest health, vitality and growth potential are Criteria .and..indicators :for sustaimhLe _forest ensured through strengthened sustainable management rnanagemmt as a forest policy tool are not used in their measures, including satisfactory forest regeneration, and full capacity. They should be further developed and through abatement of air pollution. integrated into national and 1 or sub-national policies. Research cooperation and share of results in the There is a need for more information on bia- fields of forest ecology, multiple-use of forests and forest diversity~onser~wtionand effects of forest management management practices is very active and provides a firm and other factors on forest biodiversity. basis for sound sustainable forest management decisions. Possible gaps of pmtectionoshould be Nature conservation and forest research produce urgently examined. versatile and comprehensive information on forest -Research experience between the Baltic Sea region biology, forest biodiversity and its development, and on countries should be more actively shared, since the the impact of forestry measures. barriers for cooperation of scientists have disappeared The use of sustainably produced wood, especially due to the recent political changes in the region. in the energy sector, is significantly increased in each There is a need to further develop comparable and country and in the Baltic Sea Region as a whole. compatiblefox~stinformation andstatistics to respond

1998, VOL. 4, NO. 1 ISSN 1 392-1355 = 65 BALTIC FORESTRY -THE BALTIC 21 ACTION PROGRAMME FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT /.../M.WDINIS = to the increasing need for information on resources, Prevention of damages to forests (pollution policy, industrial and market developments. and other) There is a lack of proper incentives to increase the Forest management and landscape planning use of domestic renewable energy sources, and thus, to 6. Research promote the use of..wood enugy. 7. Forest and environment inventories and statistics Socio-economic issues that cover e.g., rural de- 8. Use of wood-based energy velopment, sound economic basis for forest owners, 9. Socio-economic and cultural issues non-wood products, employment, cultural and spiritual 10. Sustainably produced wood and forest pro- issues, development of recreational and ecotourism ducts, and sustainable consumption patterns services, and safe working conditions need to be further Under each key area the current situation was de- emphasised in future forest policies and practices. scribed, challenges for the future identified and some Means and ways should be developed to promote options for action are proposed. the consunzption of sustaiizably produced wood, at the Six of the options for actions have been identified same time trying to change consumption patterns into a as priorities for the regi'onal cooperation within Baltic 21. more sustainable direction. Their implementation has been elaborated further and Experience on certif~cationissues should be these priority actions were proposed to be included in shared between countries. Necessity, ways and means the final Baltic Agenda 2 1 report. to implement certification should be analysed in each 1. Promotion of sustainable forest management and country of the Baltic Sea region. efficiency in private forestry within the Baltic Sea region Successful sustainable forest development in the through Baltic Sea Region until the year 2030 could be reached a. establishment of organisational structures or with implementation the whole range of measures that networks of forest owners and other forest leading could fill existing gaps. parties; Baltic 2 1 on Forests action programme presented in b. exchange of information on ways and means of Sector report on Forests contains a list of options for advisory services between organisations and authorities actions to be implemented at various levels and by that advise forest owners and managers. various actors. 2. A gap analysis on forest conservation areas in Options for action strive for further sustainable the Baltic Sea Region should be conducted. It should forestry development in regional cooperation between the include, inter alia, amounts and legal status of countries at various levels (governmental, regional conservation areas in countries, classifications used in authorities, advisory and extension organisations, scientific countries (with particular emphasis on applied forest comnmunity, forest owners and managers, non-governmental management practices) and an analysis whether and how environmental organizations and other interest groups). national classification systems correspond to the The following key areas of interest were identified existing international terminology and classification as a framework for the development of the Baltic 21 systems. Action Programme on Forests. They indicate the areas 3. Establishment of demonstration areas to illustrate where most gaps and problems of the sustainable forest ways and means of forest management practices and development were found. planning to promote sustainable forest management. 1. Legal and policy frameworks, and the voluntary 4. Establishment of a regional group for the ex- means that support sustainable forest management change of experiences and technological know-how on, 2. Institutional frameworks and promotion of the use of wood based energy. 3. Education, extension and training 5. Promotion of the use of wood, and wood based 4. Criteria and indicators for sustainable forest products, as natural renewable resource and environ- management mentally friendly material, and changing of consumption 5. Environmental aspects of sustainable forest patterns in a more sustainable direction. management 6. Exchange of information and national experiences Maintenance and enhancement of biological on Criteria and Indicators for sustainable forest diversity in sustainable forest management management. Forest conservation areas Water quality in forests

1998, VOL. 4, NO. 1 lSSN 1392-1 355 = 66 THEBALTIC 21 ACTION PROGRAMME FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT /.../IM. LAZDlNlS - Conclusions expressed commitment to support an implementation phase of the process. Besides IFIs, a great interest was Baltic 21, as mentioned above, has involved the also shown by European Union. HELCOM, VASAB, ICC whole range of Forestry Sector representatives and and UBC have actively participated and supported the ' therefore Action Programme for Sustainable Forest Baltic 2 1 process. Development in the Baltic Sea Region was elaborated as We strongly believe that forestry officials, scientists, a consequence of this co-operation. Lithuania, Latvia and NGO's representatives from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia Estonia have also actively participated in the process. The will find Baltic 21 process beneficial. We also hope Sector Action programme sets the guidlines for successful future report on Forests will successfully contribute to co-operation in the region. The implementation of Sustainable Forest Development in the Baltic Sea Region. proposed actions could involve various actors ranging from governmental organisations to private individuals. Rcccivcd 14 April 1998 There was a strong interest shown by International Financial Institutions in the Baltic 2 1, which have also