0908-B1

The Forest Resources of Republic of Moldova - actual situation and problems

Ala ROTARU ¹

The Republic of Moldova is located in South-East Europe and has a temperate-continental climate. The territory of the republic is situated at the interference of three biogeographic zones: Central-European Zone (54,13% or 18,3 thousand km²); Euro-Asiatic zone (30,28% or 12,23 thousand km²); Mediterranean zone (15,59% or 5,27 thousand km²).

Moldova possesses diverse landscapes: five distinct landscapes are recognized within the two main natural zones: forest-steppe and steppe. The spontaneous vegetation in the Republic of Moldova has been conserved on about 10% of the territory.

• The steppes have undergone big changes, their vegetation being practically destroyed. Their area decreased drastically during the 19th century, when vast areas were ploughed to cultivate cereal, as their soils were fertile. Only some fragments have survived, e.g. the halophyte vegetation on some salty soil (0.35% of the territory).
• The natural biological resources (forest, aquatic, grassland etc.) in the Republic of Moldova are limited and were irrationally utilized. At present the activities of natural resources use are under control of the Ministry Ecology, Construction and Territorial Development, in this way a perspective of situation reestablishment appears.

Forests cover 9.6% of the territory, 86% of these are planted. Natural formations represent only 4% of the total cover. The largest forests are located in the center and western center (Codri). Forest cover is low elsewhere. In the south (Cahul region), cover can is less than 25% of the average. Overall, Moldova is far less forested than other European countries.

Protected areas occupy 1.96 % of the territory of the Republic, placing it far behind most other European countries. In 1996, the existing State Protected Areas were inventoried and classified in accordance with the IUCN criteria. Protected areas in Moldova are classified into eight categories. Strict Nature Reserves cover about 0.58% of the territory (only 0.17% in 1990).

The total area of lands covered by forest vegetation constitutes 325,4 thousands ha. The national forest fund ( NFF) includes 800 forest compartments on a surface from 5 to 1500 ha, distributed non-uniformly on the territory of the republic.

In the period of 1812-1914, area with natural forest ecosystems decreased by 2,5 times. Forest areas began to increase gradually after 1918-1920. At presen, the average age of forest formations is 40 years, average consistence - 0,73 and production average class- 2,3, it is necessary to undertake considerable efforts in order to ensure the continuity of this process.

Moldova possesses diverse forest communities (tab. 1), but the most common dominant species are Quercus robur and Quercus petraea, but in cultivated ones - Robinia pseudocacia (tab. 2).

From the total area of the forest fund, 4,7% are meadow forests, approximately 1% - petrophyle forests. The majority of meadow forests represents bands along Nistru and Prut Rivers. These forest stands were included in classes IV-V of productivity and are in a continue process of degradation, caused by difficulties of natural regeneration by seeds.

The majority of NFF forests needs activities of ecological reconstruction through the amelioration and restoration of their structure and composition in accordance with stationary potential. It is also necessary to elaborate the forest ecosystem typology, which will permit to approach the forest problems at ecosystem level.

Forest fauna from the Republic of Moldova includes 172 species of terrestrial vertebrates or 37,3% of the total number of species registered in the republic and 35% of the total number of rare and vulnerable species are components of forest ecosystems.

Causes that generated the degradation of the most important forest formations are:

1) application for a long time ( last two centuries) of regeneration by off shoots;
2) management of forest stands, neglecting the technical guidelines;
3) excessive grazing;
4) use of species inadequate to stationary conditions while afforestation and reafforestation;
5) inadequate management of forest crops;
6) intensive processes of massive drying of forest species (Quercus pubescens, Quercus pedunculata, Fraxinussp, Robinia pseudocacia etc.);
7) expansion of defoliation pests;
8) incorrect concordance between forest stands and stationary conditions.

Use of timber resources

The stationary conditions, of the forests of the Republic of Moldova could encourage the development of high productive forest stands. The most productive are the forest stands of poplar 9 310 mі/ha)., while the lest productive are the forest stands of acacia (132 mі/ha). The total volume of timber mass of forest fund covers 35,14 mln. mі or 8,1 mі/inhabitant. The volume of harvested timber mass constitute about 70-80 thousands mі/year in 1996-1998.

Forest management

At present it is elaborated the "Strategy of Sustainable Development of Forest Sector in the Republic of Moldova". It considers in the field of forestra biodiversity conservation as one of the most important aim of activity. Optimization of forested areas includes their extension and creation of Forest Frame, a system of green corridors which would liquidate the existing fragmentation of forest compartments, development of a satisfactory network of protected areas, control of economic activities, harmonization of autoregulation of ecosystems and regulated management, application of ecological principles for economic activities in forestry. It is also necessary to include not only the afforested areas, but as well the respecting of requirements of ecosystem structures that will determine the type of natural forest. Activities of new forest sectors creation consider the floristic and geobotanic taxa representation, population and genetic components, including endangered species.

Concepts of use and sustainable development of forest sector, elaborated in last 4-5 years are essentially different from the previous ones, because there were taken into account the requirements of different international conventions in the field of environmental protection, the features of the Republic of Moldova and needs of social-economic reorganiyation for transition to the market economy. These concepts facilitate to solve the problems of in situ and ex situ conservation of biodiversity, restoration of natural forest ecosystems.

Optimization of forest layer is conditioned by solution of a series of key-problems of biodiversity conservation and ecological balance amelioration:

• Development of protected areas network, adequate to current situation legislation observance on state protected objects;
• Application of forest management elaborated according to international conventions and ecological principles;
• Optimization of programmes and activation of educational, instructive and propagandistic processes.

The main measures for forest biodiversity conservation at landscape, ecosystem, specific and population levels are:

1. Inventorying and evidence of landscapes and forest ecosystems types.
2. Creation of forest frame.
3. Restoration and maintenance of optimal structure of forested landscapes, optimal ratio between forest vegetation and glades.
4. Restoration of structural and compositional features of degraded forests, invaded by ruderal and invasive plant species etc.
5. Formation and maintenance of optimal structure for age classes in natural and artificial forests.
6. Effectuation of forestry technical works according to technological requirements and ecological principles.
7. Forest diseases and pest control exclusively through biologic methods.
8. Excluding activities that lead to forest degradation and their diversity diminution (ilicit cutting, excessive grazing, canalization of hummid biotopes, medicinal plants collecting etc.)
9. Planning and providing of technique means for scientific and natural reserves.
10. Increase of forest investigation and monitoring activities.

Legal and institutional aspects

The effectuated analysis denotes the fact, that, at present, a normative base for regulation in the respective field was created in the Republic of Moldova. There were approved a series of new legal regeneration of forest resources. They are the following:

• Protection of representative natural areas;
• Protection of natural habitats;
• Regulation of biological resources use;
• Integration of biodiversity conservation pre-requisites in activities of national economy sectors etc.

Among the adoptted , some of them are dedicated to the aspects of forest and biodiversity ("Law on state protected natural areas fund", " Law on Animal Kingdom", " Forest Code" etc.), other laws have a " horizontal" character and are related to different environmental aspects.

At the same time, it is necessary to mention that legislation in force has some gaps, that have to be covered. The lack of a law on National Ecological Network can be mentioned among these legal gaps. Taking into account the fact that the areas of forest fund, protection bands and zones of rivers and lakes, natural areas protected by state and degraded lands, designated for recreation aims are public property, there are pre-requisites of creating such an ecological network as a component part of the pan-European Ecological Network. In this respect, it is necessary to elaborate a special law, which would stipulate the statute of this network, or modification and completion of specific laws.

It should be also mentioned the lack of normative acts related to conservation and maintenance of genetic fund of spontaneous flora, regulation of relations in the field of biotechnology and use of genetically modified organisms. Actually, there are no stipulations for landscape protection. It is not regulated (by legal and normative acts) the economic mechanism of tax collection for spontaneous flora gathering (mainly, medicinal plants) and some faunistic species (insects, snails, frogs etc.). The requirements of biodiversity conservation are not reflected in sectoral legislation, and, especially, in economic one. The regulation of vegetal kingdom use is insufficiently performed.

The Republic of Moldova undertook important steps towards international cooperation in this field. It is necessary to mention the need to adhere to a series of new agreements and conventions, which could complete the legal gap of one or another direction of activities in this filed.

Taking into account the strategic orientation of the Republic of Moldova towards an economical integration with European countries, it is necessary to begin the process of harmonization of national legislation to that of the European Union. At the initial stage, it is necessary to perform the comparative analysis of legislation and to elaborate a programme of gradual harmonization, taking into account the concrete status of the Republic of Moldova as well as financial implications.

Protection of forest ecosystems

Activities included in this part will be performed in order to prevent the further degradation of ecosystems and forest species, by rational use and restoring the forests, creating and maintaining their optimal structure. BD forest conservation requires changes in the existent legislative and institutional framework, which will further facilitate the creation of private forests (at present all the forests are state owned).

In order to ensure the ecoproductive functions and an effective BD conservation the rate of forest plantations should be increased by 15%. It will imply additional forest plantation on an area of 180,000-200,000 ha. This rate could be achieved by creating new forests, forest plantations on small river meadows, creation of connecting forest corridors for the existing forests, especially in the northern and southern zones of the republic where they do not exist, or are small. These activities will contribute to the creation of the forest frame as component part of NEN.

The action plan includes a series of activities that will increase the expansion of the natural forest stands regeneration with a balanced diversity, structure and functions. It implies the maintenance of natural habitats and species diversity by developing special programs aimed at the conservation of taxa, conservation of species of global importance, avoidance the deterioration of migration routes of the fauna species.

It is very important to elaborate the forest ecosystems typology and detailed maps of forest habitats which will provide a proper application of forest monitoring at the ecosystem level. Moreover, it is necessary to reinventory the BD of the present state owned forest areas and define the new surfaces requiring state protection according to their representation at the national forest level and at BD levels (genetic, specific and ecosystem). In this context it should be also concluded the elaboration of the Strategy of Sustainable Develipment of Forest Sector.

An important role in the forest politic in Republic of Moldova is played by the activities on general ecological education and forest education in particular, as well as by the creation of a national education and training system for the forest staff according to the new economic and social reality.

ANNEXES

Tab. 1 Significant forest communities

Tab.2 Distribution of main species in the forest fund

Fig.1 Natural zones and landscape regions

¹ Head of the Forest Resources Department,
Ministry Ecology, Construction and Territorial Development,
Republic of Moldova