Forests for People

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Lithuania’s sustainable forests

Gediminas Jasinevi

ius, Department of Forests, Ministry of Environment, Lithuania

ithuania is a small country with a total area of 65,200

, situated in the northern part of Central Europe

along the south-eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. One

third of Lithuanian land is covered by coniferous, broadleaf

and mixed forests. The dominant tree species are pine, spruce

and birch. Forests represent one of the major Lithuanian natural

resources, serving for the welfare of the State and citizens.

Forestry and forest industries have an important role in the

national economy, accounting for about 3.6 per cent of gross

domestic product.

Lithuanian forest policy

In 1991, after Lithuania regained its independence from the Soviet

Union, it became a Member State of the United Nations and

also of the pan-European policymaking process, the Ministerial

Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe (MCPFE). The

First Lithuanian Law on Forests and the National Forest Programme

were adopted in 1994. These legal acts are based on the principles

of sustainable forest management. The main goals of both previ-

ous and current laws governing forests as well as of the National

Forest Programme are to achieve sustainable forest sector develop-

ment, satisfy the forest-related needs of various groups of society

and ensure the preservation of forests for future generations. This

requires an acknowledgment of forest growth duration,

taking into account different forms of ownership and

the relationship between them, by promoting condi-

tions for the proper management of forests leading to

economic benefits for the country. Long-term forest

policy has been formed in Lithuania in compliance with

the policies of other branches of the economy of the

country, based on national traditions and the require-

ments of European Union legal norms, international

conventions, resolutions, agreements, programmes and

national legal acts.

Sustainable forest management in Lithuania is

widely accepted as the overriding objective for forest

policy and practice. Forests are used very responsi-

bly and annual or periodic timber harvest rate does

not exceed timber growth. The current annual timber

harvest rate is around 6 million m

, less than half of

annual timber growth.

Forest area expansion is one of the main objectives of

Lithuanian forest policy. Due to the implementation of

sustainable forest management and of various national

afforestation programmes over the last 20 years, forest

coverage in Lithuania has increased by 3.4 per cent to

reach 33.2 per cent while at the same time growing

stock volume has risen significantly.

Collaboration in the forest policymaking process

Cooperation with European institutions, international

organizations, stakeholders and the public is an integral

part of the forest policymaking process. Policy takes

into account the opinions of all interested groups in

society, balancing the interests of forest owners, forest

governors and users, wood processors, environmental

organizations and other social groups involved with

forests and the forestry-related economy. All major

forestry policy statements comply with the require-

ments of separate stakeholders and are submitted for

public consideration.

The Forest Owners Association of Lithuania (FOAL),

the national public organization that represents and

unites private forest owners, is helping to develop

management structures for private forestry. Established

in 1993, it now has more than 5,000 active members.

FOAL also works with non-members through 38

regional units. Founded to represent the interests of

forest owners and to develop an institutional framework

for family forestry, FOAL has the status of an independ-

ent public NGO. It is also recognized internationally

Forests of Lithuania

One third (more than 2 million ha) of Lithuanian land is covered by

coniferous, broadleaf and mixed forests

Source: State Forest Service