3.1.1. Forest sector and its characteristics

Forests represent one of the major natural resources in Bosnia and Herzegovina, due to their natural and diverse structure as well as their extensive natural regeneration. The main species found in BiH forests are mostly fir, spruce, Scotch and European pine, beech, different varieties of oak, and a less significant number of noble broadleaves along with fruit trees.

The professional development and management of the forestry sector has been dedicated to traditional systems and has recently (especially after a turbulent post-war period where forests have been neglected and misused) faced higher demands in terms of contributing more to the protection and enhancement of all forest functions, ranging from economical viability to social responsibility and environmental and ecological sustainability. Total forest area in Bosnia and Herzegovina amounts to 2,61 million ha, 1,59 ha in FBiH and 1,03 ha in RS, In BD, where there are approximately 11,000 ha of forests, of that 8,500 ha being privately owned and merely 2,500 ha within the public management system [4].

2,186.300 ha or 81% of forests and forest land is under state ownership, while private ownership consists of 523.500 ha or 19%. Most of these properties are very small in size (up to 2ha) and vastly scattered throughout the country, with outstanding issues in ownership due to population migration.

According to Constitutional provisions, the ownership of forests lies in authority of entities (FBiH, RS) and BD, where ministries of forestry are responsible for administrative management of these areas through the public forest management enterprises. Public forest land amounts to 73% in RS and 83% in FBiH of the total forest land, while the rest is private. Standing volume of forest biomass amounts to 350m m3 in Bosnia and Herzegovina, however the real figure is higher since no data were available for private forests in FBiH. Furthermore, forests net annual increment is estimated to approximately 10m m3 or 3% of the total woodstock. Although annual growth seems high, annual wood increment is constrained by inadequate local forest management practices [3].

In conformity with data shown above, almost 400,000 ha (186,141 ha for FBiH and 207,719 ha for RS) have been assumed as being bare lands with a productive function and in those terms could be potentially included in reforestation programs.

The customary management system of natural regeneration that has been practiced in BiH throughout the centuries has contributed to realizing significant forest diversity in this sense.

Nevertheless, some preceding studies (mostly based on the satellite surveys within the EU CORINE program) have shown that actual forest cover size might be lower by 10-15% than previously projected.

Due to activities such as illegal logging, ore mining, construction, forest fires and others, forested areas have been shrinking rapidly; furthermore, a significant part of the forest cover has been declared as area with land-mines (numbers indicate some 10%) and has evident damages due to war activities. In addition there are extensive unresolved property disputes and illegal land acquisition which await resolution due to complex legal mechanisms and administration.

In the recent years, significant progress has been made in the area of forest certification, where three of the forest management public enterprises have undergone scrutiny of international auditing against the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification, while several others are presently preparing to undergo the same procedure and promote sustainable forest management within their practices. Currently around 50% of state managed forests in BiH have been certified according to FSC Standards.

As mentioned before, forestry legal and institutional framework has been structured through two entities. In FBiH there are cantonal forest management companies, whereas in RS, the forestry management operations are led by a single public enterprise. This decentralization of forest management authority, legal framework (two separate laws on forests) and administration has led to further difficulties in establishing appropriate mechanisms for controlling forest operations, especially illegal logging and land acquisition in bordering areas [4].