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The aim of the study was to analyse the costs of forestry activities contracted out to private forestry companies by the organisational units of the State Forests in Poland from 2006−2012 as more recent national data was not available. The costs of forest protection activities (including predicting the occurrence of pests such as insects, fungi and nematodes, as well as protection from insects, fungi, nematodes and animal browsing), the costs of nature conservation and biodiversity protection, and the costs of forest fire protection measures were examined. Data was extracted from the State Forests Information System using SQL for each forest district and then aggregated and analysed for each regional directorate of the State Forests. The analysis showed that the largest share of costs was for protecting the forest from animal browsing which accounted for 63.1% of all costs in this area on average and varied between 57.1% and 69.1% in individual years of the study period. The second most important group of measures was the reduction of the occurrence of insect pests, the total cost accounting for 14.7% of the total financial expenditures during the entire study period and varying between 8.9% and 21.0% in individual years. A smaller share of costs accounted for other forest protection measures and maintenance of forest protection machinery and equipment (10.2% on average), while the costs of biodiversity protection and nature conservation were even lower (3.6% and 3.2%, respectively). Costs of predicting the occurrence of pests (collection of biological material) were 3.0% of the total costs. The percentage of costs for protection from fungi and nematodes was 2.1%. The lowest percentage was for protection from rodents (0.2% on average). We found that the cost of implementing forest protection and forest fire protection carried out by private forestry companies in individual regional directorates of the State Forests from 2006−2012 varied greatly amongst years and regions of the country. We concluded that, given the lack of studies on the economic performance of forestry service enterprises, it is advisable to conduct further research to identify the factors that influence the level and differentiation of costs for activities contracted out by the State Forests to these companies at the local level as well as their variability over time., Sylwan 166 (11): 698-718

Criteria and indicators (C) for sustainable forest management (SFM) are an important tool to monitor forest condition and assess forest management in individual countries, as well as an instrument to support forest policy making, public communication and international forest− −related reporting. Many European countries have formulated and adopted their own sets of C based on guidelines developed under the Forest Europe process (formerly MCPFE). Despite effective sustainable forest management in Poland has been practiced for decades, no formal set of C has been adopted so far. The aim of this paper is to outline international processes of SFM monitoring and Poland’s international obligations concerning forest management reporting, as well as the political and legal frameworks for formulating a set of adequate criteria and indicators for SFM. The paper reviews the most important documents and legal acts concerning the standard− ization of the principles of forest management in the international forum, as well as international conventions concerning – directly or indirectly – management and protection of forest resources. The review shows that for nearly three decades within the Forest Europe, intensive measures to develop, improve and disseminate C for sustainable forest management in individual countries have been taken. Poland has actively participated in the Forest Europe process from its very beginning, it is also a signatory to all declarations and resolutions developed within the process, as well as a party to most of the significant forest−related international conventions and agreements. Despite several attempts, Poland has not yet managed to develop and adopt a set of its own C for sustainable forest management that would allow to measure specific quantitative and qualitative characteristics and to support monitoring trends in sustainability of forest man− agement over time. Although the annual report on the condition of forests in Poland contains information about the condition of forest resources and the health of forests and their changes, as well as about the functions performed and ecosystem services provided by forests, its content and the structure are not formally regulated and are not in line with the C recommended by Forest Europe. This lack of clearly established C may make it difficult to compare situa− tion year−by−year and to clearly assess the degree of implementation of the principles of SFM in Poland., Sylwan 165 (3): 233-244

In many countries, forest management and its assessment are based, to a varying extent, on national criteria and indicators (C) for sustainable forest management (SFM). Data on forests and forest management collected in Poland largely correspond to the scope of pan−European indicators developed under the Forest Europe process, however, no standardized national set of C has been developed and implemented so far. In this paper we discuss the processes and systems used in Poland to: 1) monitor forests and forest management, and 2) collect and publish information about forests, in terms of their use for development and implementation of national criteria and indicators of SFM. The framework of forest condition monitoring in Poland consists of several elements, of which the most important are: Forest Monitoring (FM), National Forest Inventory (NFI), stand−wise inventories and the continuous monitoring of damages in forests managed by the State Forests National Forest Holding. More and more information on the Polish forests is shared publicly, mainly via the national portal of Forest Data Bank. There are several reports published yearly: statistical yearbooks published by the Statistics Poland, NFI results, annual reports on updated forest area and forest resources, results of FM in Poland and annual reports on forest protection and damages. In the recent decades much progress has been made in digitalization of forest management and planning which has resulted in steady improvements in the coverage of information on forests and its accuracy provided to stakeholders and general public. Data sources analysed in this paper can be a good source of information for the national set of criteria and indicators of sustainable forest management although further enlargement of available information on forests is advisable., Sylwan 165 (4): 267-278

The aim of this paper is to identify and analyse the sets of criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management (C) in the Forest Europe signatory countries in terms of their origin, structure, scope and practical use in the forestry decision���making process and forest policy���making. The analysis was conducted as desk research based on available publications, including applicable legal acts, reports, research publications or conference materials. In some cases, direct contacts with local experts were also made. Most European countries with significant forest resources have introduced their sets of criteria and indicators. The Ministerial Conference for the Protection of Forests in Europe (Forest Europe process), played a significant and positive role in this process. The set of C developed through the process served as a starting point and template for actions in member states aimed at systematizing and formalizing the monitoring of forest management in their territory. However, some countries with significant forest resources have not yet developed national sets of C This is particularly the case for six countries with a forest area of more than 4 million hectares: Germany, Sweden, Poland, Romania, Italy and Ukraine. Altogether, sets of criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management (SFM) have been developed in 20 countries out of the 46 Forest Europe signatory countries, although their status and timeliness varies. In most countries, the criteria and indicators for SFM are the basis for periodic reporting on the condition of forests, communication with the public, and in some countries they are also a formal instrument for monitoring the results of policy decisions and administrative actions. We conclude that the differentiation of solutions used in individual signatory countries of Forest Europe should also be a guide for the development of the Polish set of C, which ��� referring to the developed solutions at the European level ��� should also refer to the specificity of Polish forestry and take into account the issues important for forest management in our country., Sylwan 165 (7): 519-532

The paper presents the literature review concerning the general assumptions of the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and its applications in forest management and wood industry evaluation. So far, efficiency evaluation in forestry sector was carried out using mostly the ratio analysis only. The DEA approach, which was developed in the 1970s, is based on the mathematical programming algorithm and gives more opportunities to analyze efficiency in forestry sector. We describe the main steps of DEA and possible options for the analysis. It also discusses the advantages and disadvantages of the method applications. We also present the most significant papers concerning DEA application in forest management and wood−based industry. As far as forest management is regarded, DEA was used for evaluating forest offices, administration and institutions and optimizing forestry operations performed by both private and state−owned companies. In case of wood−based industry, the method was used mostly for evaluating efficiency of sawmills and pulp mills. Most of the research in this field was carried out in the United States and Canada. DEA was applied to measure efficiency in forest management in Poland only recently, which should be considered as a good step towards improvement of research quality in this field in Poland and should provide comprehensive results of forest management efficiency evaluation. The method should be used more widely to evaluate efficiency of various aspects of forestry and wood−based industry in Poland., Sylwan 162 (10): 808-818

In Poland, there are large discrepancies between the area of forest lands recorded in land−use registers of local authorities and the actual state of forest area in the field. These discrepancies were estimated to 800,000 hectares in 2016, which is 2.5% of the land area of Poland. The divergences result primarily from different definitions of a forest in forest regulations and legislation concerning land−use registry and the insufficient update of land registry databases. The aim of the paper is to define the major causes of reclassification of non−forest lands into forest lands and to determine the origin of forests on those lands. The study is based on a mail questionnaire survey carried out in all local public authorities all over the country (altogether 314 rural and 66 municipal counties). The questions focused on manners lands were used in a county, including the area of artificial and natural afforestation and the area of lands reclassified into forest lands over the period 2009−2013, as well as causes of such reclassification. Altogether 232 responses were collected (61.1%), 122 of which contained data of sufficiently good quality. The results show that afforestation of non−forest lands were mostly carried out in an artificial way. Reclassification into forest lands was conducted almost exclusively within rural counties. The reclassified lands were largely regenerated by natural succession. The key factor of land reclassification were works related to forest management planning in non−state owned forests. Afforestation carried out within the Rural Development Programme, co−financed from EU funding, was the second most important factor. In case of afforestation, land reclassification is obligatory no later than in the fifth year after a new forest was planted. The paper concludes with suggestions that there are no effective legal regulations that would make land owners to reclassify their afforested lands into forest lands, except cases of agricultural lands afforestation within the Rural Development Programme. Therefore, it is recommended to seek to cover all non−state owned forests with forest management plans and to obtain the compliance of land registries with the real situation in the field., Sylwan 161 (6): 460-466

The 'National Forest Policy' (PLP), adopted by the Council of Ministers in 1997, is the main document setting out directions of forestry development in Poland. It defines goals and priorities of forest policy, describes organizational, economic and legal conditions of its implementation and specifies expected results. While the natural, social, economic, institutional and legal environment has significantly changed over the last 20 years, the PLP has not been revised and updated, also in terms of Poland's international commitments resulting from the MCPFE (currently Forest Europe) process. The aim of the paper is to analyse directions of forest policy development under the Forest Europe after 1997, i.e. when the PLP came into force, and to indicate needs to update the issues contained in this document. The study focuses on goals and priorities of the MCPFE defined in resolutions and decisions adopted on conferences held from 1998 (Lisbon) to 2015 (Madrid). Overall 15 main directions on forest policy development were identified (tab. 2). They were then compared with the priorities defined in the PLP to identify issues to be updated in the context of the European forest policy change. The study shows that many of the priorities of European forest policy has not been reflected in the PLP (tab. 2). These include, among others, adapting forests to climate change and enhancing their mitigation potential, enhancing economic contribution of the sustainable forest management (SFM) into rural development, enhancing the role of the SFM in a green economy, securing participation of all stakeholders in forest−related decision−making process, improving communication in forestry and developing cross−sectoral cooperation of forestry. Many of the forest−related issues have been, however, included in numerous strategic documents of environmental protection, biodiversity conservation, rural development, economic development or energy policies after 1997. In that way many goals and priorities defined under the Forest Europe are very dispersed in Polish policy documents of different forest−related sectors and it raises reasonable concern that some inconsistencies and contradictions between them may occur. It may also indicate that the forest sector is getting more and more marginalized in socioeconomic and political space, as forest policy goals are defined and achieved within other areas. We therefore recommend to continue efforts to adopt the National Forest Programme and launch a participatory, holistic, inter−sectoral and iterative process of forest policy planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation., Sylwan 161 (8): 648-658

Zwiększanie lesistości Polski jest jednym z głównych celów polityki leśnej państwa. Podstawę realizacji tego celu w Polsce stanowi "Krajowy program zwiększania lesistości", którego celem jest zapewnienie warunków do zwiększenia lesistości kraju do 30% powierzchni całkowitej kraju do 2020 r., a także optymalnego rozmieszczenia zalesień, ustalenia priorytetów ekologicznych i gospodarczych oraz instrumentów realizacyjnych. Postępujący od początku lat 90. XX w. stopniowy wzrost zalesianej corocznie powierzchni osiągnął swoje maksimum (26,5 tys. ha) w 2003 roku. Od 2004 r. nastąpiło jednak załamanie realizacji programu i obecna dynamika zalesień jest niewystarczająca do osiągnięcia sformułowanego celu w perspektywie 2020 r. W artykule omówiono najważniejsze przyczyny ograniczenia realizacji KPZL po 2004 r. W podsumowaniu artykułu przedstawiono propozycje szerszych działań w dłuższej perspektywie czasowej, służących racjonalizacji struktury użytkowania ziemi i tworzenia ładu w gospodarce przestrzennej kraju. - Expansion of forest cover is one of the main aims of the Polish forest policy. Afforestation in Poland is performed under the 'National Programme for Expanding of Forest Cover' (KPZL), which aims at ensuring that conditions are favourable for expansion of forest cover to up to 30% of the country's land area, securing optimal distribution of afforestation, setting up ecological and economic priorities as well as programme implementation instruments. Since 1990s, the area afforested annually had been gradually increasing and reached its maximum in 2003 (about 26,500 ha). Since 2004 however, the annual rate of afforestation has been rapidly decreasing and the current rate of afforestation is insufficient for reaching the general target defined in the KPZL until 2020. The paper describes the most significant reasons for limiting the KPZL implementation after 2004. It sums up with proposals for greater action in longer time perspective aiming at more efficient spatial management and planning on a national level.

The aim of the paper is to present the status of the implementation of the National Program of the Forest Cover Extension (KPZL) in the period 1995−2013, and analyse the results of the survey on the major factors limiting the Program's execution after Poland entered the European Union in 2004. The study is based on the official statistical data and a mail questionnaire survey carried out in all local public authorities all over the country. Altogether 203 responses out of 380 public authority units were collected (53.4%). Since the beginning of the 1990s, the area of agricultural lands afforested annually was successively increasing, reaching its peak in 2003 (26.5 thous. ha). Since 2004 however, the annual rate of afforestation has been rapidly decreasing, and reached 4.1 thous. ha in 2013. Since 2001, altogether 159.3 thous. ha of agricultural lands were afforested, which amounted to 40% of the target defined in the KPZL. The spatial differentiation of the Program execution is very high, and, as a rule, there are too few new forests established in areas of the acute afforestation needs, i.e. in central and southern parts of the country. The most important obstacles in the KPZL implementation after Poland's accession to the European Union include: enlargement of the minimal plot area supported with the afforestation premium from 0.1 ha to 0.3 ha in 2004 and up to 0.5 ha in 2007, lack of financial support for afforestation of lands within Natura 2000 areas, which are not yet covered by protection plans, high competitiveness of direct payments for agricultural production compared to afforestation premium, as well as complicated procedures for granting financial support, scarcity of promotion of financial support for afforestation among farmers and trainings for them, and an exclusion of permanent grasslands from afforestation. The study shows that the current rate of afforestation is insufficient for reaching the general target defined in the KPZL (afforestation of 680 thousand ha of lands in the period 2001−2020). The breakdown in the program implementation seems to be an unexpected outcome of Poland accession to the EU and results from ongoing economic and social transformation in rural areas. The main factors influencing its depression appear to be long−term, thus it is rather unlikely that the unfavorable trends in the rate of afforestation may become reversed in the coming years., Sylwan 160 (10): 846-854

The objective of the study was to present the social and economic conditions needed for provision of public forest functions by the State Forests National Forest Holding (PGL LP) managing the great majority of forests of the national property in Poland. The analysis was restricted to the selected protection functions (water and soil protection, protection of air and wildlife) and to the social functions (recreational and educational). Based on the analysis of four social factors (increasing social awareness, demographic changes in Poland, growing wealth of Polish society and social preferences towards forest functions) and three economic factors (increasing costs of forest management including labour costs and decreasing productive capacities of forestry), a number of conditions decisive for further directions of public sphere development in forestry as well as mutual relations between two main areas of PGL LP activities (timber production function and the most important non−timber forest and forest management functions) were developed. The obtained results indicate that in the nearest decades the PGL LP will implement forest management close to the limits of economic efficiency, which first of all will depend on the social factors. Necessary conditions will be interlinked with political expectations towards the forests as an important element of climate policy and also towards timber from forests as a source of renewable energy. Presented factors will occur in conditions of further diversification of competency in the field of nature protection within forests as well as persisting tendency towards diminishing area of productive forests. Resolving the conflict between multiple unfavourable for the forest economy social, political and environmental circumstances could come through economic solutions such as development of internal timber market and increasing timber prices., Sylwan 160 (2): 91-99

The paper analyzes the results of survey conducted in 2013 on a random group of 1000 Polish individuals with regard to bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) and selected species of mushrooms harvest. The research also evaluated the annual harvest value of selected non−timber forest products in Polish forests. The survey included questions on berry and mushroom harvest and also on harvested quantities of those non−timber forest products. The value of harvested non−timber forest products was estimated based on popular published sources of information related to prices in 2013. The harvest of bilberries was indicated in the survey by 180 respondents (18.0% of all respondents), who harvested 844 kg (on average 4.69 kg/respondent). The harvest of bilberries from the whole territory of Poland was estimated to 26.2 thousand tones and about 340.6 million PLN. Harvest of mushrooms was declared by 541 respondents (54.1% of total surveyed). They estimated their harvest to 2306 kg, which equals to 4.26 kg/person. In relation to the whole population of adults in Poland, the volume of mushrooms harvested in 2013 is estimated to about 71.4 thousand tones. The value of wild mushrooms harvested in Poland was evaluated to 763 million PLN. The value of non−timber forest products estimated per forest area was about 121 PLN/ha, which is about 13% of the mean harvested timber value in 2013. The research indicates large differences between published statistical data on purchased volumes of non−timber forest products and amounts estimated from public surveys. The lack of knowledge about the scale of non−timber forest products use hinders estimation of their real significance for people and economy. However, obtained research results show that this significance is high., Sylwan 160 (4): 336-343

The article presents the results of research on the opportunity costs related to establishment of perennial bird protection zones in forests located in two randomly selected forest districts of the Mazowieckie Province: Grójec and Zwoleń (Regional Directorate of the State Forests in Radom). The analysis included calculation of profits lost by forest districts due to termination of timber harvest in bird protection zones and also estimation of work places lost as a result of introduction of new limitations (social costs). The analysis was conducted based on the assumption that currently protected tree stands within protection zones would have been managed in a regular manner, i.e. that pre−commercial and commercial thinning, as well as final cuttings would have taken place and that they would have been a source of income to the examined forest districts. Based on the characteristics of tree stands within protection zones derived from the forest management plans for the forest districts at stake, potential thinning and cutting volumes for a 10−year period as well as potential incomes from timber sale were determined. The calculated timber volume was also used for estimating labour intensity of timber harvesting and skidding. Establishment of perennial bird protection zones generated losses in timber harvest in the amount of about 24.6 thousand m during the period of 10 years, which equals to about 1.7% (Grójec) and 2.2% (Zwoleń) of planned timber harvest amounts stated in the forest management plans of the studied forest districts. Total opportunity costs were equal to 3478 thousand PLN during 10 years or 1313 PLN/ha of protection zone annually. Annual opportunity costs calculated per unit of forest area of the forest districts were equal to 11.56 PLN/ha. The estimated loss in work places was 0.85 full−time jobs annually per every 100 ha of perennial bird protection zones. Results show that economic and social costs of nature protection activities concentrate in places of their origin. Those costs are felt the most by owners of affected forests and local communities. Exploration and introduction of instruments allowing mitigation of negative effects resulting from restrictions in forest use are therefore recommended., Sylwan 159 (7): 558-564

The paper analyses direct costs of nature conservation and biodiversity protection incurred by forest districts of the State Forests in the Mazowieckie Province in the period 2008−2011. It also examines sources of their financing. The study shows that the largest amount of money – 65% of all costs – was spent on a wide range of activities related to biodiversity protection. The most significant fund donors were forest districts themselves. They provided 68.3% of all resources for nature conservation and biodiversity protection. The research also shows that funds received for these purposes from the state budget are rather of secondary importance., Sylwan 158 (7): 491-498

The paper compares direct economic and financial instruments used for promoting the multifunctional forest management in the Czech Republic (CR) and in Poland. In both countries subsidies are the most significant instruments of support. They come from the state budgets, the EU resources, as well as from public ecological funds. The other common instruments used are: compensations (CR), tax concessions, soft loans and ecological payments. In the CR, unlike in Poland, most of the instruments focus on supporting multifunctional forest management in private and communal forests., Sylwan 157 (9): 703-711