Social contributions of forest resources are many and very difficult to isolate from the economic contributions and are dealt with together.
In March 2002, auctions of standing timber were held in 19 districts. Out of 135 422 m3 put up for auction (61 343 m3 timber and 74 079 m3 fuelwood), 55 733 m3 was sold (20 490 m3 timber and 35 243 m3 fuelwood). That is 41 percent of the volume put up for auction. The amount put up for auction in March 2002 was 84 percent of the volume put up in March 2001. A sharp rise in the volume of fuelwood sold occasioned the increase in the combined volume by a factor of 1.82 with respect to March 2001 sales. The volume of thin wood offered was 9 741 m3 and the volume of medium thick wood was 51 602 m3. The volume of timber sold was made up of 2 853m3 thin wood and 17 637m3 medium thick wood. The maximum volume of wood sold was 10 681m3 and the minimum volume was only 141m3. Sales of 11 districts were within the range of 2 776 to 5 411m3.
March 2002 sales amounted to 39 601 072 Leke. Sales of 13 districts were within the range of 2.5 to 5 million Leke.
The economic contribution of forest genetic resources is not easy to quantify. Some of the benefits are directly realized from exploiting the resources while other benefits are from related enterprises such as ecotourism, non-wood production, etc.
Activities planned under forest management plans included the approval of
11 management plans, whose preparation had started in 2000, the preparation of management plans for 11 forest management units, whose contracts were awarded in August 2001 office work for 11 forest management units, whose contracts were awarded in November 2000, were completed and are awaiting approval.
Timber is sold through open auctions organized at district level where all interested companies licensed by the DGFP participate. The main auction for the sale of standing timber is organized during August every year. The District Forest Service, based on the annual allowable cut, management plans and situation of forest infrastructure, announce the forest plots and the timber volume available for sale, once they receive approval from DGFP. Before starting work, buyers have to prepare a plan for forest harvesting, which will include an environmental impact assessment. Table 6 provides information on timber sales during the period 2001-2002.
Table 6 . Information on forest harvesting actions (2001-2002)
Item |
Unit |
2001 |
2002 | ||
Offered |
Sold |
Offered |
Sold | ||
Timber Total conifers Total hardwoods Total |
m3 m3 |
49 081 109 156 158 237 |
12 947 21 793 34 740 |
41 499 45 548 87 047 |
3 563 20 582 24 145 |
Firewood Total conifers Total hardwoods Total |
m3 m3 |
15 083 198 422 213 505 |
2 636 75 146 77 782 |
21 009 71 687 92 696 |
276 41 375 41 651 |
Between January and December 2002, afforestation was carried out on an area of 475 ha. An area of 2 033 ha was subject to improvement. Works related to erosion control amounted to 2 849 m3 and 61 water points were built or repaired.
The total pasture area at the moment is estimated at 413 500 ha. About 60 percent of pastures have been transferred in use to communities, following the decision of the Council of Ministers No. 700, dated 23.10.1995, while the rest, mainly summer pastures, is under the DGFP's administration. The current pasture land is insufficient to feed the livestock, which has grown considerably in number. The rest of the feeding needs are met through grazing in forests and through the collection of fodder from certain species of trees. The status of pastures, composition and grazing capacities are presented in detail in Table 7 (source: Directorate General of Forests and Pastures–DGFP).
Table 7 . Area of pastures, their structure and capacity
Pastures |
Area (ha) |
Grazing capacity (1000/heads) | ||||
Total |
Summer |
Winter |
Total |
Summer |
Winter | |
State pastures |
143 676 |
110 963 |
32 713 |
632 |
484 |
148 |
Communal pastures |
241 333 |
163 823 |
77 510 |
769 |
504 |
265 |
Private pastures |
28 537 |
15 249 |
13 288 |
88 |
53 |
35 |
Total pastures |
413 546 |
290 035 |
123 511 |
1 489 |
1 041 |
448 |
Activities on pastures are focused on building water points in order to use their whole grazing capacity.
Forest use and management is carried out according to the annual allowable cut that results from the management plans. Forest management aims, in addition to harvesting of the annual allowable cut, to ensure natural regeneration and preservation of biodiversity. Due to the difficult terrain on which forests are located, harvesting is carried out mainly through shelterwood cutting with three to four stages, aiming at natural regeneration and preventing desertification. Management plans determine the annual allowable cut according to the principles of sustainable management and foresee other care-taking works like thinning, sanitary pruning, etc.
Forest utilization plans are developed by the District Forest Service, according to the annual allowable cut and forest infrastructure (roads). These plans are subject to DGFP's approval. Timber is sold through open auctions where private companies licensed for forest harvesting participate. Forest harvesting is organized according to the forestry year that starts on October 1 and ends on September 30 of the following year.
Due to limited financing, the work on forest protection against pests and diseases is focused mainly on monitoring the phytosanitary situation. According to the monitoring data over several years, pests and diseases affect about 135 000 ha every year
(or 13 percent of the country's forest area). The most problematic are pine disease and beech disease which cause most of the damage to forests. To combat these, Albanian forestry needs much more financial support.
Protection of fauna and hunting are two of the main responsibilities of the DGFP. Following the law on fauna protection and hunting, every year the District Forest Service will prepare the inventory of animals and fowl and set the annual hunting quota for the allowed species, which are subject to DGFP's approval.
The increased number of wolves and foxes will have a negative impact on the number of game animals.
Hunting is organized on a contractual basis between the DGFP and the National association of hunters and sport fishermen and other companies that are licensed for tourism-related hunting. The national quotas for tourism-related hunting are usually calculated at 10 percent of the approved national quota for game hunting.
During the period January to October 2001 there were 3 444 cases of violations (connected to illegal cutting) with a total value of 279.3 million Leke, of which only 42 cases have been acted upon.
Factors that have contributed to the reduction of illegal cutting compared with previous years are: the improvement of cooperation within inter-ministerial groups, the improvement of equipment and motivation of the forest police and the increased awareness of communities to take on more responsibilities in forest management.
