Private forestry in Estonia Jaanus Aun Private Forest Centre, member of the board.

Private forestry in EstoniaJaanus Aun

Private Forest Centre,

member of the board

General informationTotal land area 45 000 km2

Total forest area 2,26 mln ha (50%)Average growing stock 201 m3/haEstonian forest categories:Commercial forests (69,4%)Protection forests (22,6%)Protected forests (7,7%)

Dominant tree species in privateforests:

Birch (33%), Pine (28%), Spruce (20%)

Annual felling volume:7 – 10 mil. scbmPossible sustainable cut: up to 15 milj.

scbm

General information-private forestry

Area of private forests:ca 1 mil/ha (50%)Number of owners: ca 100 000 (includes very small owners)Owners types: physical and legal bodies (about 25%of private forests belong to the companies)Average size of forest property: ca 10 ha Very fragmented division of forest estates!Annual felling volume ca 6 mil. sbmCommon forest owner: Ordinary Estonian, living far from property and

having no forestry education

Private forests – tree species (ha)

Private forests – what to do with the wood?

The structure of Estonia's forest-based industries consists of all of the main branches of the forest industry, but the pulp and paper industry is relatively small

• Good domestic market for sawlogs - demand is higher than supply.

• Unstable market for pulpwood – very little domestic market, most of the pulpwood is exported to Scandinavia. Domestic use is for the aspen and in very modest amounts for spruce and pine.

• Energywood - a star of tomorrow(?) but looser of today!

Other owners State forests are

managed by State Forest Management Centre (RMK), please visit http://rmk.ee/en

Very little municipal forests

Very little forests of churches and congregations

Private forestry - rootsPrivate land ownership was dominant before

expropriation in 1940

All land belonged to the state during the Soviet era, private forests mainly belonged to collective farms.

Ownership reform started in 1991. Two ways for re-creation of private ownership:

1)restitution;

2)privatisation

Private forestry – situation in 2013

Land reform almost completedMany passive ownersForest resources underutilised (especially

species like alder, aspen)Volume of silvicultural works (pre-

commercial thinnings, restoration of drainage systems) too modest

Challenges for private forestry

Activating private forest owners more silvicultural work (aims for 2020: 30% more pre-commercial thinnings;

tripling of area of thinnings)

better growing conditions

higher gross annual increment

Measures to motivate forest owners

Tax regulationsForestry legislation – less

bureaucracyA well-functioning support

system

Support system for private forestry - organisations

Forest Owners

Forest Owner`s Associations

Estonian Private Forest

Union

Central Co-operative United Forest Owners

Private Forest Centre

Estonian Timbertrade Center

Private Forest Centre

Foundation under the Ministry of Environment. Private legal body, but financed by the state.

People: 35 (+15 local controllers)

Aim: promotion of private forestry

Tasks: Administration of subsidies to private forest owners

(about 8 mil. eur a year) Development activities for private forestry (supporting

of associations, advisory system, training courses, information materials, international projects etc.)

Private Forest Centre Supervisory Board (5 persons)

Board (2 persons)

Administ-ration unit

Development Unit

Unit of Subsidies

Control Unit

Internal Control

Auditing Committee

Private Forest Centre - subsidies

•Activity Budget for 2013 mil.

eur

NATURA 5

Investments to forestry (thinning, pruning, machinery)

2,5

Forest Management Plans 1,0

Forest regeneration 0,6

Support to FOA`s 0,5

Extensionist service (advisory system) 0,4

Forest draining 0,4

Protection of key habitats 0,13

Maintenance of cultural heritage 0,03

Private Forest Centre – partner in the projects

Projects mainly in the field of woodenergy: Bioenergy Promotion Woodenergy and Cleantech WETNet (“producing” of supertrainers in woodenergy

issues)

Exchange of experiences with forest sectors in other countries (mainly Finland, Sweden, Germany, Latvia)

All projects, that are targeted to activate forest owners are very welcomed!

Private Forest Centre – co-ordinator of support system

Strenghtening the network of forest owner`s associations (FOA) by:Providing direct financial support and assessing its impact;Training the key persons of FOA`s;Advertising the services of FOA`s to forest owners (campaigns in TV, newspapers)

Forest Owner`s Associations

Number of FOA`s – more than 20 activeHistory: first associations established in the middle on nineties.

Attempts to organise wood sale and forest management. Result: collapse

New wave in the beginning of this century. Different approach: not for profit groups, only „soft“ services

Change from 2008 – FOA`s as providers of forest management services

Forest Owner`s AssociationsWhat could forest owner get from FOA: Information Advice (courses and individual advice); Applying for subsidies from Private Forest Centre; Support for silvicultural activities; Representation in local policy questions (i.e. hunting,

nature protection)

- Joint wood sale (not in all counties!)

Trend: from soft organisation to forest management organisation

Forestland represented by FOA`s (ha)

Advisory/extensionist system – individual advice

Very strongly linked to the system of Forest Owner`s Associations!

FOREST OWNER – needs advice, gets advice

ADVISOR – provides advice

ASSOCIATION – co-ordinates activities of extensionists on the county level

PRIVATE FOREST CENTRE – trains advisors, finances provided advice

Advisory/extensionist system - advisor

Prerequisities to become an advisor:Forestry educationAt least two year practise in forestry sectorGood communication skills

A special exam has to be performed in order to get a professional certificate of advisor (certificate is issued by The Rural Economy Research Centre)

In total we have 80 advisors, but only ca 20 of them work as full-time advisors

Advisory/extensionist system - financing

From 2014:Every member of FOA can get 15 hours advice for free every year;Non-members have to pay 30% of costs of advice (from 2015 50%)

PFC pays 26 eur for hour (but not more than 15*26) to FOA who transfers money for advisor. All costs that exceed this level must be paid by the client.

Advisory/extensionist system - training of advisors

Forming up of special training package for every year by PFC.

Main topics:Communication trainingForestry legislationTaxation issues

For advisors the traning is free of charge

Advisory system – group advice

Target groups:Staff of FOA`s (incl. advisors)Forest owners

Division of tasks:FOA trains forest owners;PFC trains staff of FOA`sForestry schools provide more comprehensive courses

Cases when PFC trains forest owners:Specific topics crucial all over the country (for example changes in the taxation legislation)Provision of written information/training material

Advisory system – group adviceMethodology:

Public announcment by FOA1-2 topicsLectures in- and outdoor (duration 3-4 hours)

Most popular topics:

Taxes, subsidies, wood sale, silviculture

Every year about 2 000 forest owners participate in the group advice events organised by FOA`s

Challenges

Smarter forest owner can not be the only outcome of provided advice.

Advice has to lead to activities in the forest!

A well-functioning advisory system means better forests!

Our expectations for the project

To learn from the experiences of the partners:How the advisory system has been made attractive for forest owners?How the good quality of advice is quaranteed?How is quaranteed, that advice will be implemented in the forest?

… and many other things to learn!

www.eramets.ee