Forests for People

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Sustainable forest management in Slovakia

Boris Greguška, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of the Slovak Republic,

Section of Forestry and Wood Processing,

udmila Marušáková

and Milan Sarvaš, National Forest Centre, Zvolen, Slovakia

lovakia (the Slovak Republic) is a country with a relatively

high share of forest land. The total forest coverage is more

than 40 per cent and as a result of diverse natural condi-

tions and terrain, a broad variety of forest types is represented.

Forests have long been a part of life for many people living in

Slovakia’s rural and mountainous areas. As a result of societal and

political developments, the relationship between people and forests

has been changing in recent centuries, affecting their use, manage-

ment and protection. A long tradition of active and systematic forest

management in Slovakia can be documented by several examples,

notably in the field of education and research. The foundation of the

Mining Academy in Banská Štiavnica by the Austrian Empress Maria

Theresa in 1762 was significant as forestry subjects were taught,

probably for the first time at university level anywhere in the world.

The foundation of the Forest Research Institute in 1898 represented

another important historical milestone in this regard.

National forest policy

The National Forest Programme (NFP), adopted by the

Slovak Government on 27 June 2007, and its Action

Plan, adopted on 11 June 2008, are fundamental stra-

tegic documents that constitute national forest policy in

Slovakia. The main objectives of the NFP are to imple-

ment sustainable forest management (SFM) and to

enhance multifunctionality of forests. Based on current

forest policy documents, processes and commitments

that have been adopted at national and international

levels, it provides updated forest policy priorities and

constitutes a framework to build relationships and assess

the impacts of other sectors on forests and forestry.

Sustainable forest management, as defined by the

pan-European forest policy process (the Ministerial

Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe/

Forest Europe) is a fundamental principle of the

Protective forest functions are vital in the mountainous regions of Slovakia

Image: B. Greguška