EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Since the early 1990s, most Eastern and Central European countries have embarked on a major reorganization of forest ownership. Through processes of compensation, restitution and sale, large areas of former state forest land are now under private ownership. The majority of these new private forest owners are small holders (0-5 ha) with little or no knowledge or experience of forest management. This fragmentation of forest ownership, together with the lack of technical skills of the new private owners, threatens the sustainable management of the forest. Associations of forest owners, particularly of small holders, could provide the vehicle for a co-ordination mechanism, to improve the efficient and sustainable use of the forest.
Such associations could lead to:
Despite the advantages that some form of joint forest management would bring, there has so far been only limited interest in forming groups or associations since the new owners still relate "associations" to memories of expropriation and forced collectivisation. There is also a general mistrust of the forest service and their initiatives, since they are still viewed as enforcers and supervisors rather than as advisor
To successfully promote a group approach, the various types of organization need to be understood in order to select and develop the model that is most suited to each local situation.
The experiences and organizational options developed in Northern and Central Europe have been analysed through the study presented in this document which highlights models which may be used in the transition economies in Eastern and Central Europe. The purpose of the paper is to identify and analyse critical characteristics for the organization of small forest owners with reference to their local situation.
Three major areas of influencing factors can be identified which influence the choice of organization: External factors - which include the economic system, socio-economic, and political/ administrative system; internal factors such as the purpose and organizational instruments; and individual choice factors describing criteria which affect the institutional choice of forest owners.
From the case studies there is a clear distinction between organizations with mainly political representative purpose, and those institutions with mainly economic and/or information tasks. Organizations with voluntary membership predominate.
The range of activities and services of organizations is wide and ranges from the support of members and joint marketing of timber for individual independent enterprises (interest association) to common ownership and joint forest management (corporate forests).
Two major organizational types are distinguished - informal where no organizational body and no central control & disposition of resources exists - and formal such as partnerships, associations, co-operatives and corporations. The forest association as interest association is the most widely adopted type of organization in Central Europe and is often the most appropriate, as they are easy to create, highly adaptable to local situations, with voluntary membership, and are very flexible in terms of activities.
One characteristic of the new private forest owners of Eastern Europe, however, is that the majority are non-farmers, very often absentee landowners. For areas where this form of ownership is dominant, higher levels of co-operation may be more suitable, such as management associations offering full management service packages.
The development of forest owner organizations in Eastern Europe has already begun. In particular interest associations at the national level have been formed. Local or regional level organizations with economic and/or information activities, however, are still rare due to a combination of lack of information, interest and support.
