Liviu Nichiforel

Outdoor recreation is one of the most relevant cultural ecosystem services provided by the Romanian forests. The Via Transilvanica (VT) is Romania’s longest marked hiking trail, stretching over 1,400 km from the Danube coast to the Carpathian peaks. Similar to famous routes like the El Camino, it offers diverse landscapes and can be completed in 14 stages, each lasting 3-4 days, on foot, by bicycle, or horseback. The trail has important natural and social impacts, emphasizing the need for environmental preservation. A pilot study was conducted along a trail in 137 km across Bucovina region that accounted for 3699 hectares of forests. The analysis explores three policy scenarios based on land sparing and land sharing frameworks: the first scenario involves complete segregation of forests with high social value (set-aside); the second integrates forest regeneration through active harvesting while protecting forests for social purposes (soft land sparing); and the third focuses on creating buffer zones around the VT trail (strong land sharing approach). Each scenario presents a distinct approach to balancing conservation and social needs. The opportunity cost is calculated from the forest owners’ perspective, considering the planned works and timber extraction volumes obtained from the FMPs for each parcel. The opportunity cost calculation showed that the set-aside scenario incurs the highest opportunity cost of an annual value of €1.2 million for the entire assessed area while soft land sparing translates to €0.8 million per year. The cost of establishing buffer zones ranges from €14,000 to €59,000 per year, depending on the zone’s width. The study identifies the advantages and shortcomings of each scenario, highlighting the need for a flexible and adaptable management strategy. The study emphasizes the main criteria for a sound, data-driven decision-support system to manage forests with high socio-cultural values taking into account both environmental and economic aspects, as well as the needs of forest owners, local communities, and tourists. Further research is needed as to identify the overall opportunity costs of the three scenarios considering the potential economic benefits of the VT trail at the community level.

Desfășurată în 23-24 Noiembrie 2023, cea de a șasea conferință "Integrated Management of Environmental Resources" organizată de Facultate de Silvicultură din Suceava a adus în atenția participanților 46 de prezentări şi 17 postere, acoperind subiecte precum conservarea biodiversităţii, utilizarea durabilă a pădurilor, evaluarea şi modelarea ecosistemelor forestiere, gestionarea resurselor de apă şi adaptarea la schimbările climatice. De asemenea, în cadrul conferinței s-a organizat o vizită practică în Codrul Secular Slătioara, unde principalele instituţii de învăţământ superior silvic şi de cercetare din ţară au discutat problematica transferului tehnologic şi a unei abordări holistice, orientate spre practică, în gestionarea resurselor forestiere

As national governments continue developing bioeconomy strategies, the forest-based sector becomes increasingly important. Romania’s forest sector can be at the heart of a sustainable circular-bioeconomy transition. However, despite recently launching its national forest strategy, the country has yet to produce a comprehensive bioeconomy strategy where the forest sector is properly acknowledged and integrated. Here, we discuss the potential opportunities and challenges for developing a national circular–bioeconomy strategy that builds around the forest-based sector. Methodologically, we build on qualitative insights from two foresight workshops conducted with 16 international experts. Conceptually, we draw on recent forest-based circular-bioeconomy literature, which we synthesize and use to complement the insights provided by workshop participants. Three main key findings emerged from this analysis: (i) Several knowledge gaps related to biomass availability, carbon storage, biodiversity status, ecosystem services, or governance arrangements persist. (ii) A circular forest bioeconomy must focus on regional and rural development, including both traditional wood use, as well as new wood-based products. Finally, (iii) the transition to a forest-based bioeconomy requires substantial investments in areas such as forest infrastructure, education, and labor force. Forward-looking policies can address these challenges by fostering new ways of thinking, collaborating and researching the bioeconomy. We anticipate our article to be a starting point for more informed discussions around the role of forests and the forest-based sector in Romania’s future bioeconomy strategy. Furthermore, as work around the implementation of the national forest strategy has recently commenced, the ideas discussed here could help decision-makers better integrate and coordinate national and European forest policies with bioeconomy ambitions.