Editorial
AT THE END OF THE YEAR
Uredništvo Šumarskog lista
; Hrvatsko šumarsko društvo, Zagreb
Abstract
The 250th anniversary of forestry in Croatia was marked by a number of events and activities set down in the Minutes of the 4th meeting of the CFA Managing and Supervisory Board and published in Forestry Journal 11-12/2014. Our column has also tried to give a contribution to this grand anniversary.
In the double issue I-2/2015, the text „Disorientation in private forest management” highlights some problems in the management of these forests. Some tests from the history of forestry were also used to reinforce the problem matter. It could almost be said that the problems are treated as if the area in question was almost negligible, while in fact private forests account for one fifth of the forested area in Croatia and are governed by the Law on Forests, a fact often forgotten. We particularly pointed to uncontrolled felling operations and „pillage” and to lack of efficient supervision, measures of preventing such activities and clear legal bases for the punishment of perpetrators. A renewed plea was made for small private forest owners to unify in order to avoid management at the level of a plot, make management easier in line with the Law on Forests and ensure the possibility of more efficient use of EU funds.
The double issue 3-4/2015 is concerned with a growing shift away from the principle of sustainable management and planning of forests as a renewable resource and the most complex ecosystem, as well as with the treatment of this system as a „factory hall“. In order to achieve the best quality and quantity of wood assortments, it is necessary to make maximum possible use of forest site potential, at the same time taking care that the principles of sustainable management are strictly adhered to, since its degradation would lead to catastrophe. It is therefore essential that the entire process of management and field work is undertaken and supervised by „highly educated management personnel who posses theoretical and practical knowledge for useful and sustainable management of forests“. If the proclaimed goal of management is to produce the most valuable wood mass, then its use should also be rational and directed primarily to domestic highly finalized product, which guarantees not only financial gains but also high employment.
In the double issue 5-6/2015, drawing on the text „State exams for independent management of a forest enterprise“ from Forestry Journal of 1880 and 1881, we tackled the importance of expert forest planning and management and advocated professionally based rather than politically based selection of personnel. It is not sufficient to possess adequate school credentials: what is necessary it to gradually gain practical knowledge and experience for the management of a forest enterprise. Even forest personnel trained in such a way have their limits. Not everybody is capable of being what he wants to be; try as hard as one might, one’s own natural abilities tell you: you can get no further than this. Needless to say, it is the forest that suffers the most in the aftermath of such errors“.
The double issue 7-8/2015, also using the text from Forestry Journal of 1895, draws a parallel with the present time and highlights expert and organisational abilities of the forest personnel in the most responsible work places in forestry institutions. This refers primarily to county foresters, accountants and foresters (chief forest managers). As in the past, gradual specialized education through practice, combined with „honesty as the crown virtue of a person who has been entrusted with the wealth of national property“, should constitute the ethical profile of a forestry expert today as well.
The Editorial „Have we learnt something from history” in the double issue 9-10/2015, as we hear, has „stirred up the ghosts“; however, what we only attempted, just to be on the safe side, was to use some historical examples to warn of what might happen if a major private company Hrvatsko Drvo Ltd is founded, with 25% share of Hrvatske Šume Ltd as a co-founder. Clearly, the topic hit the target.
As we all know, „hope dies last“, so we truly hope that the forestry profession will be improved and adequately evaluated at all levels in the year to come. With this in mind, we would like to wish all the readers of Forestry Journal Merry Christmas and Happy and Successful New Year 2016.
Editorial Board
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
157015
URI
Publication date:
31.12.2015.
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