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Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Authors With the rise of the concept of a forest-based bioeconomy over the past decade, sustainability is simultaneously an underlying assumption and a key expectation. However, can we assume that a bioeconomy is sustainable simply because it emphasizes the use of forests as a renewable resource? And will a forest-based bioeconomy indeed lead to a more sustainable – and prosperous – Finnish society? In light of these questions, it is important to understand the relationship between Finnish forestry and sustainability as articulated in current and past forest policy documents. We ask how the concept of sustainability is framed and translated in forest policy objectives, and what ambitions are put forward when challenges and problems are defined, specific methods are proposed, and emphasis is given. Our findings indicate that although the language used in the policies generally refers to sustainability, the various dimensions of sustainability are not equally considered, with economic ambitions being particularly valued. There is a risk that a forest-based bioeconomy will simply continue forestry business-as-usual if current problematizations and proposed solutions reflected in forest policy remain unchallenged. Our aim is to provide a more nuanced understanding of possible opportunities and risks for sustainability linked to a forest-based bioeconomy as currently promoted in Finland and elsewhere. We do this by analysing the meta-discourses which have been present in Finnish forest policy documents over time. Furthermore, we identify and discuss possible trade-offs and their implications for Finnish forests and society in informing current and future forest policy reviews and increasing transparency.

Background and Objectives: Forest-based bioeconomies have been adopted as the national forest strategies in many European countries. However, in the Czech Republic, the bioeconomy has not been officially included in national policies. The main objective of the paper was to review the current forest policy in the Czech Republic in meeting the purposes of the European forest-based bioeconomy. To better understand the opportunities and shortcomings of the forest strategy and the implementation of a forest-based bioeconomy in the country, a comparison study in the Czech Republic and Germany was also carried out. Methods: A review of the forest strategies was done based on the following research questions: (1) How are the bioeconomy principles and priorities present in the Czech National Forest Programme (NFP) as reflected in the EU Forest Strategy, and how does the Czech forest strategy compare to that in Germany? (2) What is the situation concerning the national wood production and consumption to understand the opportunities and challenges of the bioeconomy implementation in the studied countries? Results: The Czech NFP was approved following the pan-European process for the protection of forests in Europe, therefore, it does not directly reflect the 2012 bioeconomy principles, although most of these approaches have been included in this strategy. Different national measures in two studied countries were revealed to achieve the objectives of the forest bioeconomy. The primary contribution from the Czech forestry to the bioeconomy is sustainable forest-based products. A forest bioeconomy is also targeted at mitigating climate change by providing forest biomass for bioenergy. Conclusions: The Czech Republic is in the midst of the adoption process of the bioeconomy strategy. The main challenges faced by the forest-based sector in the country is to fulfil the demand for sustainable forest biomass and high value-added products. Multisectoral collaboration, business diversification, and education for public consumers are needed to increase the growth and job opportunities of the bioeconomy sector in rural areas.

Na podlagi nacionalne reprezentativne telefonske ankete (n = 999) smo 1) analizirali mnenje slovenske javnosti o izbranih indikatorjih za spremljavo uresničevanja ciljev, zapisanih v Nacionalnem gozdnem programu (NGP), ter 2) preverili, kako svetovni okoljski nazor, merjen s standardizirano lestvico nove ekološke paradigme (NEP), in socialno demografski dejavniki vplivajo na javno mnenje o gospodarjenju z gozdovi. Anketa je pokazala, da je javnost slabo seznanjena z NGP. Prevladuje prepričanje, da se je stanje gozdov v zadnjem desetletju poslabšalo, da je nadzor v gozdovih pomanjkljiv, delež gozdarstva v bruto domačem proizvodu prenizek, lesna zaloga dovoljšna, število gozdarjev v javni gozdarski službi premajhno in da imamo preveč državnih gozdov. Mnenje javnosti je najbolj deljeno pri vprašanju škode, ki jo povzroča divjad. Na dobro mnenje o gospodarjenju z gozdovi vplivata antropocentrični svetovni okoljski nazor in izobrazba, na slabo pa starost, ženski spol in splošno prepričanje o škodljivem učinku človeštva na okolje. Srednja vrednost lestvice NEP (ki je 3,5 na lestvici od 1 do 5) kaže, da je slovenska javnost rahlo ekocentrična. Raziskavo zaključujemo s primerjavo javnega mnenja z dinamiko indikatorjev v zadnjih enajstih letih ter cilji in usmeritvami, zapisanimi v NGP. Based on a national representative telephone survey (n = 999), we 1) analyzed public opinion on selected indicators from the National Forest Programme (NFP), and 2) analyzed how environmental value orientations measured by the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) Scale, and social and demographic factors influence public opinion on forest management. The public was mainly unaware of the NFP. The prevailing belief was that in the last decade the state of forests has deteriorated, that there is a lack of control in forests, the share of forestry in gross domestic product is too low, growing stock is sufficient, the number of foresters in the public forestry service is too small and that there are too many state forests. Public opinion was most divided regarding the damage caused by game. Positive opinion about forest management was influenced by the anthropocentric value orientation and education, and negative opinion increased by age, female gender, and general beliefs about the harmful effects of humanity on the environment. The mean value of the NEP scale (which equalled 3.5 on a scale from 1 to 5) indicates that the Slovenian public is slightly eco-centric. We conclude the study by comparing public opinion with the dynamics of indicators over the last eleven years and the goals and guidelines set in the NFP.

The aim of this paper was to review and evaluate drafts of forest policy documents that have been developed for the purpose of updating the Polish “National Forest Policy” of 1997, but never entered into force. A total of 14 documents were covered in this analysis including 13 Regional Operational Programmes of the National Forest Policy and the draft of the National Forest Programme (NFP) developed in 2000–2005, as well as nearly 300 recommendations for the “second” NFP, elaborated in 2012–2016. Very soon after the “National Forest Policy” came into force, it turned out that it needed to be adjusted to changing legal, social and economic conditions. The first attempts to revise and amend the document were made already in 2000. As a result, until 2004, 17 Regional Operational Programmes of the National Forestry Policy were developed and, on that basis, until mid-2005 a draft for a new NFP was worked out. However, the draft was neither adopted nor did it ever enter into force. The second attempt to work out the NFP was made in 2012 and resulted in the development of nearly 300 recommendations to the programme. However, to date, the NFP itself has not been finished. Most of the documents examined here refer to the current priorities of the European forest policy, and thus they would close gaps in the Polish “National Forest Policy”. In this context, the recommendations to the “second” NFP are of great importance, because they were prepared through a wide participation of various stakeholders and they refer to a wide range of problems, propose specific legal regulations, as well as indicate directions for further development of the Polish forest sector. However, the completion of the NFP is a matter of political decision that rests with the Council of Ministers.

The Czech Republic (CR) is one of the countries with high forest coverage and high levels of forestry and its high production potential. Annual timber logging is around 16 million m3, where from the above mentioned amount, nearly 90% presents the coniferous wood – with a decisive proportion of sawlog. The professional paper is focused on the level of processing of wood raw material base, which is in the Czech Republic over a long period unsatisfied, despite a number of strategic documents and the measures adopted. Dissatisfactory, almost alarming situation related manly with the progressive rise of total export of raw timber and products with the low degree of the added value. The particular issue is problem of the forestry-wood processing sector with consequences to the competitiveness in wood processing in the Czech Republic - in this case focusing on sawmill production. In a broader context, the competitiveness in wood processing, particularly sawmill production, seems as the principle problem of sustainable management of forests and the economic viability of forestry- wood processing sector in the CR.