Capacity building of private forest owners in Romania
Published 19 April 2007
NEPCon (lead company) and IUCN Poland have been selected by the Romanian Ministry of Agriculture, Forests and Rural Development to implement the vocational training of 400 private forest managers and employees.
Vocational training of private forest owners is key to secure financially and environmentally sustainable forest management in Romania. The number of private forest owners has increased dramatically because of the national resitution of forests to their former owners. In total, more than 600,000 forest owners have regained all or a part of their former properties, and more than 2 million hectares of forest - a third of the country's area - are now on private hands.
In order to preserve the forests' unique natural heritage while also ensuring efficient and rational utilization of the forest resources, it is crucial to support the new forest owners and build up their understanding of modern and appropriate forestry.
Importance for wildlife and society
The forests of Romania cover around 6.4 million hectares, representing more than 25% of the country's total land surface area. About 70% of the forests are dominated by deciduous trees, with beech and oak as the main species. Among connifers, spruce is the main species, while fir and pine make up a small proportion.
Forests in Romania are unusually rich in biological diversity. For example, the Carpathian forests belong to one of 200 most important ecoregions defined by WWF in the world. Romania is also home to some of the largest wild populations of large forest-living carnivores in Europe, including 40% of the European wolf population, the main European population of brown bear, and a large population of lynx.
The forestry sector is equally vital for the Romanian society and national economy. Almost 45 % of Romania´s population lives in rural areas, and depend on the forestry sector to a large extent. Either for employment, directly as a source of income, and for energy as well as non-wood products.
Enhanced management is vital in order to preserve the environmental values and secure the financial resources as stable long-term assets of the Romanian forests.
Contents of the training
All participants will receive 10 days of training in the following fields:
• Forest management
• Primary wood processing
• Forestry nurseries and cultures
• Exploitation and forestry roads
The training course is divided into two 5-day modules, and will consist of field visits, practical exercises, workshops and lectures. Sustainability of forest management, market conditions and support by the EU as well as opportunities of certification also form part of the training.
Four local university professors in forestry will be mainly responsible for the training together with Mr. Flemming Sehested who will be team leader from NEPCon. Also a number of guest lecturers from Romania, Denmark and Estonia will participate.
The course is open for Romanian citizens, and will be conducted in the Romanian language. Participation is free. The training will take place at a 3 star hotel near Brasov from June 11 to September 14 2007.
Additional information and registration
Telephone: 0752291692, 0752291693, 0752291694, 0752291695
Fax: 0368 / 429576
Project facts
Title: Vocational training aiming at developing competencies in forestry field
Duration: 9 months from February 19 to November 18 2007
Budget: 595,707 EUR
Client: EU SAPARD (Special accession programme for agriculture and rural development)
Beneficiaries: Ministry of Agriculture, Forests and Rural Development of Romania and private forest owners
About the Consortium
NEPCon and IUCN Poland have extensive experience in forestry related to vocational training and the Consortium has work experience in Romania and neighbouring countries. Activities regularly conducted by the consortium partners include protection of biodiversity, training projects, and forest certification which ensures financial, social and ecological best practice forestry.
|
