The functions of forests are manifold - according to some contemporary authors, over 300 forest functions have been recognized in Europe. On the one hand, the forest is a source of wood and food, but at the same time it has a positive effect on water, soil, air, culture and society, nature conservation, and also has its own economic function. Forests prevent and reduce erosion, they are water filters, but also sources of clean water. Forests increase soil fertility, absorb noise and dust and have a positive effect on climate change. Also, it is a space for recreation. When it comes to cultural functions, many traditional customs in our culture are related to the forest, and historically, the role of forests in the defense of the country cannot be disputed - the forest saved many people's heads.
However, it should be borne in mind that the importance of certain roles of the forest has changed over time - starting from the beginning of human society, when the forest was a shelter and a source of food, to the present day, when ecological and recreational functions are given priority. Physical-chemical-biological processes take place in the forest, which create capacity for useful things for human society - these are forest "products and services". Those functions existed many years ago, when people did not recognize them - it is a matter of people's awareness of whether something produced by the forest is useful for them.
CLEARING AND AFORESTATION: The conduct of forestry policy is greatly influenced by climatic and social changes. For example, even 20 years ago, the use of wood as an energy source was considered a reflection of backwardness. Today it is a reflection of progress. Of course, in a slightly different form and with different systems: you replace fossil fuels, reduce carbon dioxide emissions and increase the country's energy independence. The concept of bioeconomy, which is much broader than forestry, says that the development of human society in the future cannot be based on mineral, but on biological resources, because they have the potential to be renewed and increased. It is expected that energy production based on biological resources will double in the period 2010-2030, and that in 2030, one third of the demand for wood as an energy source in Europe will not be able to be covered by European wood.
The task of modern forestry is to make the desired goods available to the social community. It may sound like a slogan, but the job of forestry is to bring forests to an optimal state, which would maximally enable human society to use various functions. The state of a nation's forests is a reflection of that nation's cultural, economic, social and historical circumstances. So, what we have today as a picture is the result of what we all went through together. Every economic crisis forced people to treat the forest as a stock that serves "God forbid". Luckily, the forest is a resilient system - if something is done wrong, a few years will be lost, but the forest will come back, if there is no systemic problem, such as deforestation and change of purpose.
Deforestation was never done in the name of forestry, ie. forestry has never called for deforestation. It always happened due to land expansion for construction or agricultural purposes. In the 18th and 19th centuries, there was a strong process of agriculturalization, when people cleared forests to convert land into pastures. Before the beginning of that process, in the 18th century, 75 percent of Serbia's territory was under forests, and at the end of that process, before the Second World War, that percentage dropped to 17,6 percent. About 50 years ago, with the large reforestation actions that were launched at that time, but also with the parallel reduction in the number of people and livestock in rural areas, the forest started to conquer the areas from which it had been cleared. The epilogue of these processes is that from that minimum until today, the area of forests has increased by about 12 percent, so now Serbia's forest cover is about 30 percent. Of that, central Serbia is at the level of 37 percent, and Vojvodina has 73 percent. For example, in Majdanpek, the forest cover is XNUMX percent, and in Kikinda, it is under XNUMX percent. In addition to the degree of forest cover, the quality of the forest is also important. Due to the large share of coppice forests, mostly in private ownership, it is often said that "Serbia is rich in poor forests". There is also a large share of over-aged-over-mature forests, which have almost no growth. In principle, coppice and devastated forests should not exist - they are an indicator of historical and economic circumstances, but also the absence of an adequate national forestry policy and instruments for its implementation.
As I mentioned at the beginning, the task of foresters is to bring the forest to an optimal condition in relation to the habitat and to enable the maximum production of forest functions. This implies intensive management and the application of timely care and restoration measures. No matter how banal it sounds, intensive management means more intensive and professional use of the motor "saw" and "hoe".
Good forest management increases forest stability and resistance to climatic extremes (wind, ice, drought). At the same time, the technical value of wood increases, and thus, later, the added value created from the use of forests. At the same time, the opportunity to employ people also increases. You need three forest workers for firewood. But, for technical wood, it is necessary to employ a worker in a sawmill, a truck driver, a trader, a furniture designer, an exporter - for one employee in the forest, ten are employed outside the forest. In the state forests of the province of Hesse (Germany), on average, about 90 percent of the growth is used annually, while Serbia uses only half of the growth of the state forests. Through intensive management, the Hessian foresters managed to increase the average annual growth by 40 cubic meters per hectare in 1,2 years. Only 16,5 percent of the net felling in Serbia is technical wood, while 83,5 percent is low-quality wood used for energy and raw material for boards - it has a low value and a low capacity to create added value.
THE COLLAPSE OF THE NINETES: The key and objective thing, which did not come from some ignorance of foresters, is that we had a collapse in the market in the 90s. There was the company "Matroz", which was designed for the consumption of one million cubic meters of wood, which disappeared. When I talk about the collapse, I'm talking about the collapse of the pulp-firewood quality wood market, that is, low-quality wood that cannot go to the sawmill, but must be used for pulp or for firewood. At that time, this story with biomass, pellets, energy sources, etc. had not yet appeared. "Matroz" and "Viscoza" from Loznica alone had a demand of 1,6 million cubic meters. Add to that the board factories that existed - "Kopaonik" from Kuršumlija, the paper industry in Vladičin Han... We have practically lost about 2,5 million cubic meters of demand on the market for low-quality wood, which is mostly a product of thinning and cutting in coppice forests. And in that case you can't cut, ie. to carry out the planned measures of care and transfer of coppice forests as necessary, because you have nothing to do with that wood. Therefore, there was no demand, there could be no export because of the sanctions. At the same time, in 1999, the wind broke about seven million cubic meters in France and Germany - at that time we could not even sell technical wood. However, a few years ago the panel industry began to recover and the demand for energy wood is increasing exponentially - with this increasing trend, the demand exceeds the current supply.
HOW TO IMPROVE THE CONDITION: The concept of improvement of the state of forests and forestry was created with the main goal of increasing the contribution of the forestry sector to the economic, ecological and social development of the Republic of Serbia. The basis of the Concept is the strategic and long-term improvement of the system, as well as the operational application of established forest management principles, immediately. The principles were derived from the analysis of the state of forests, but also from positive changes and trends in the wood market, and they include: intensification of the restoration of mature and overripe forests, conversion of coppice forests to tall forests, optimization of forest care and increase in forest cover. The implementation of these principles must be accompanied by systemic measures such as: improvement of the strategic and legal framework, improvement of personal and technical capacities, development of road infrastructure and information system, construction of an appropriate subsidy system and improvement of the market. Taking into account that slightly more than half of all forests are privately owned, special attention in the application of the concept will be paid to the private forestry sector. The main characteristic of our private forests are extremely fragmented holdings, on average smaller than 50 ares, and a prerequisite for systematic progress is the association of private forest owners, which represents a special but also the most priority challenge.
With the mentioned systemic measures, by 2020, among other things, the following results would be achieved: an additional 4500 people would be employed in forestry and more than 12 in the wood-dependent sector. The economic activities of forest use would increase by 6,16 billion dinars and at least as much in the wood-dependent sector. The creation of new jobs and greater economic activity will contribute to the development of rural and underdeveloped areas, and at the same time a stable and sustainable forest management system will be created. The plan is that in the period 2017-2020. more than 20.000 hectares of new plantations will be planted, and 12 hectares of coppice forests will be reconstructed, with an increase in growth from 3,2 to over six cubic meters per hectare per year on these areas.
Also, the plan is to build and reconstruct 2019 km of forest roads by 1000 - the plan is for the state to increase support for these investments. What highways are for citizens, they are forest roads for us. By improving the road infrastructure, care measures and the use of forests become cheaper. Also, preconditions are created for a higher degree of biomass use, and profit from wood increases and conditions are created for more effective fire protection, while the aforementioned increase in growth would also increase the level of annual carbon sequestration.
The views expressed in the article do not necessarily represent the views of the Heinrich Bell Foundation and the RES Foundation
