Logging in the Czech Republic Changing in Market Economy
2/22/96
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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
/** list.forest: 78.0 **/
** Topic: Logging in the Czech Rep. **
** Written 2:57 PM Feb 22, 1996 by BARTOS@FOREST.VSZBR.CZ in
cdp:list.forest **
From: "ing. Zdenek Bartos"
LOGGING IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC
CHANGES DURING TRANSITION TO A MARKET ECONOMY
The period before 1990 can be specified in the Czech
Republic as a typical era of command economy. At the present
time, the Czech Republic ranks with the countries proceeding
to market economies, and general statistical data about the
stage of development of our national economy, as declared by
our government at international forums, seem promising. Now,
the questions are as follows: has the so far development of
forestry and forest product sector also been so positive?
Or, are there some inconveniences displayed? Are there some
adaptations of forest policy necessary? Can we rely upon an
"invisible hand of the market" in all cases, or there are
some regulations or a "toolkit" of corrections needed?
What has happened? And what are the consequences?
Let us have a look at logging in the Czech Republic from the
viewpoint of changes during the transition to market
economy. The current situation in the logging practice will
be illustrated by several objective examples:
- The high share of state-owned forests was typical of the
former command economy (for example 95.5% in 1988). A former
"average" state forest farm therefore had annual allowable
cut considerably higher than 100 thousand m3 u.b. and
disposed of its own appropriate processing capacity. These
facts created not only presumptions for effective
large-scale forestry operations but also mean that every
former state forest farm could have theoretically been able
to use relevant logging technology and technique according
to natural conditions in any forest stand.
Nowadays, the share of state-owned forests is estimated to
be up to a bit less than 60% (the process of privatization
has not been finished yet). The relatively rapid restitution
to small private forest owners is full of problems since 144
thousand owners hold an average area of slightly over 2
hectares. The use of so far well mastered large-scale
forestry operations has suddently become considerably
limited but with no previous changes to acceptable
small-scale operations. New forest owners are only seldom
well trained in forestry. Consequence to this is the fact
that harvesting operations seldom receive professional
attention which they would require thus being often poorly
planned, improperly implemented and inadequately supervised.
Reasons for this are varied, but they can often be traced to
poorly trained crews handling overpowered machines, which
often work without properly qualified supervision. It should
be noted that contemporary costs for training of machine
operators cannot be shouldered by the majority of small
forest contractors, firms.
- Total annual cut exhibited a rapid decrease due to severe
recession in the wood processing industries in 1990-1993.
This decrease represented approximately 50%! The illusive
and/or temporary overcapacity in logging operations led to
the exodus of skilled workers to abroad, to sales of second
hand forestry machines to abroad, and to the total stop in
purchasing new forest machines. This process resulted in
significantly impaired skills and qualification of forest
workers as well as in obsolete logging and transport
equipment.
- The new state enterprise, legal entity "Lesy Ceske
republiky" was founded as an "economic body" without any
processing capacities of its own. All the processing
capacities needed such as labour force, machines,
equipments, etc. are being hired for only a short period of
time. That is why the private contractors do not have a
stable work load secured for a sufficiently long period of
time (e.g. 3 to 5 years) in order to justify enough
investments for buying the up-to-date technology.
- In 1989-1995, nominal wages increased up to 210% (but
actual wages decreased to 88%, and in certain regions they
even fell to approx. 70%). On the other hand, prices of
machines increased within the same period by some 300-600%!
This fact well illustrates reasons for degeneration of the
logging practice in the Czech Republic, because there is no
possibility for economically feasible transition towards
mechanized operations with particularly the costs of
multi-functional machines being extremely high.
- The number of horses in horse skidding dropped by 33% in
the period between 1989 and 1995. New owners (after
restitution) sold out the horses to abroad or to
slaughter-houses as this was an instantaneous profit for
them. In contrast - for environmentally sound extraction of
wood from thinnings and for horse breeding the same acts
were nearly a tragedy.
- The main motto of market economy - "Lack of Money"
requires in general -in a purely exploitive manner- a "cheap
logging technology" without any regard to environmentally
sound forestry. Unfortunately, it is not an easy thing to
make the timber harvesting operations environmentally
benign, neither it can be supposed that the environmentally
sound harvesting operations happen by an accident. Foresters
are only too willing to accept the poor logging practice
because they often believe that damage to the environment is
an unavoidable effect of logging operations.
One of the first sources of profit considered by the new
forest owners was to stop any maintenance of the forest road
network. These temporary savings, however, led to severe
damage to the soil surface and subsequent water erosion
under certain natural circumstances.
Mountain and wetland forests are valuable resources
providing wood, water, wildlife habitat and scenic quality.
In order to sustain and enhance these scenic, protective and
productive values, skillful application of forest
engineering knowledge is required. This is why a cable
logging system rather than a ground-based one appears to be
quite feasible for environmentally sound transport of timber
in environmentally sensitive areas. Before the so called
"velvet revolution", the share of cable logging amounted to
approximately 4% of total annual logging (being insufficient
from the viewpoint of environment protection). Nowadays,
cable logging shows a dramatic decrease due to its
operational costs which are approximately 1.6 times higher
that operational costs with wheeled skidders. Unfortunately,
this fact confirms the false conventional wisdom which
claims that environment protection always costs a lot. In
fact, the environmentally sound practices are possible at a
level of costs that will permit an economically viable
forestry. Post-harvest site rehabilitation has to be
included into the cost calculation, too.
- The principal source of revenue for the forest owners are
sales of wood. At present, the forests capability of
providing social and environmental benefits on a continual
and sustainable basis in impaired by the fact that early
thinning has become economically unviable. As a result,
there is a serious risk of reduction in the forests
stability, vitality and productivity. In the part, this
problem was resolved in the command economy by extra
economic measures.
Is the present situation in Czech forestry hopeless?
Yet, in spite of the generally poor record, the situation is
not hopeless. Changes in the forest sector are embedded in
the economic reforms, which are positively evaluated from
the macro-economic point of view. On the other hand,
forestry has been temporarily marked with several following
negative phenomena:
a) atomization of forest land property
b) poor qualification of forest workers
c) obsolete equipment
d) lack of a Code of Practice for environmentally sound and
sustainable operations in forestry
e) loss of the know-how in up-to-date logging technology
f) degeneration of logging technology
In particular the increase of ground based transport by
wheeled agricultural tractors instead of sky-lines
technology in environmentally sensitive areas.
What is the way out?
Forest enterprises need to be profitable under market
economy conditions in order to meet the increasing demand
for different services of the forest. Since the wood
production alone can-in many cases-no longer ensure
sustainability, the management needs to be imaginative
enough to find other sources of income and state
interventions are becoming more frequent.
The future development of machines should pay more
attention to agricultural tractors, as more frequent basic
machines, as carriers of multifunctional equipment in forest
operations. Machine manufacturers, forestry research and
training institutions should cooperate more closely to
improve the economic, environmental, ergonomic and safety
performance of the machines.
Multiple use forestry affects the forest operations (road
construction, skidding lines, machinery and equipment,
working techniques, etc.). A Code of Practice for
ecologically sound and sustainable operations must be worked
out. Also, an appropriate educational system, professional
training (training should as well cover environmental
aspects) and an information system must be provided. The
up-to-date forestry requires good planning, skilled workers,
and technically qualified foresters and supervisors who can
understand the concepts and applications of environmentally
sound forest practices, and who insist that the contractors
and operators follow such practices.
Problems to be resolved are as follows:
- strengthening of links between schools and the business
sector of forestry
- improvement of curricula and professional skills of
teachers
- use of consultants, creation of an information and
consultancy centre, and periodical information up-dates
through mailing, publications, workshops, videos, etc.
- concentration of forest property by encouragement of
forest cooperatives
- to ensure that forestry students at universities (and at
technical institutes respectively) receive adequate
training in proper planning, execution, supervision, and
assessment of timber harvesting operations. It must
include a mixture of the classroom instruction and field
exercises, and it should focus on following activities:
(1) harvest planning
(2) forest road network layout, construction and
maintenance
(3) felling and primary conversion of wood
(4) extraction and skidding of timber
(5) post-harvest site rehabilitation
(6) assessment of environmental impacts of silvicultural
and logging operations
(7) transport.
Address of the author :
Vladimir SIMANOV
Senior Lecturer
Mendel University of Agriculture and Forestry
Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology
Department of Forestry and Forest Products Technology
Zemedelska 3,
613 00 BRNO, Czech Republic
Phone: 42-5-4513 4150
Fax: 42-5-4521 1422
E-Mail: SIMANOV@FOREST.VSZBR.CZ
or rather bartos@forest.vszbr.cz (author is not di-
rectly on the NET yet).