The forest policy in Greece and the current regulatory framework is not efficient to support the implementation of sustainability at a satisfactory level. The main scope of this study is to present, analyze and evaluate legislation and practices that are likely to play the role of constraints towards sustainability. The hypothesis is that common practices in the forest field combined with inefficient and obsolete legislation are responsible for delays in the implementation of a national forest policy which will promote sustainability. A systematic methodology was applied so to ensure a rigorous and repeatable method of sustainability constraints identification and evaluation. The identification of constraints can promote the improvement of legislation, the revision of common practices concerning the forest sector and finally can help the forest managers to understand better how to work effectively within legal, regulatory, and operational environments deriving from forest policy.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were set by the United Nations (UN) in
2015, when 193 countries adopted an agenda, comprising of 17 Goals and 169 Targets,
which are “integrated and indivisible and balance the three dimensions of sustainable
development: the economic, social and environmental”
According to the Sustainable Development Goals Report 20
Based on table 1, more concern is given by the SDGs in conservation, restoration
and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services,
particularly forest ecosystems, aiming to promote the implementation of sustainable
management, halt deforestation, restore degraded forests and increase afforestation and
reforestation. Finally, target 15D underlines the need for stable financial support to
sustainable forest management. According to Spanos et al. (2015), the main forest
management approaches in Greece are wood and non-wood production, like resin,
honey, wild plants, livestock etc. Additionally, attention is given to the social uses like
wildlife, recreation and hunting. Considered that more than 63.5% of the forests are
state-owned, 12% are owned by local communities and the rest 22.5% are
privatelyowned (by monasteries or individuals etc.), the major stakeholder of the Greek forests
is the state
Goal 15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
FOREST RELATED TARGETS
15.1 By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in particular forests, wetlands, mountains and drylands, in line with obligations under international agreements.
15.2 By 2020, promote the implementation of sustainable management of all types of forests, halt deforestation, restore degraded forests and substantially increase afforestation and reforestation globally.
15.B Mobilize significant resources from all sources and at all levels to finance sustainable forest management and provide adequate incentives to developing countries to advance such management, including for conservation and reforestation.
Goal 15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.
15.1 By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in particular forests, wetlands, mountains and drylands, in line with obligations under international agreements.
15.4 By 2030, ensure the conservation of mountain ecosystems, including their biodiversity, in order to enhance their capacity to provide benefits that are essential for sustainable development.
15.5 Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity and, by 2020, protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species.
15.7 Take urgent action to end poaching and trafficking of protected species of flora and fauna and address both demand and supply of illegal wildlife products.
15.8 By 2020, introduce measures to prevent the introduction and significantly reduce the impact of invasive alien species on land and water ecosystems and control or eradicate the priority species.
15.9 By 2020, integrate ecosystem and biodiversity values into national and local planning, development processes, poverty reduction strategies and accounts
15.A Mobilize and significantly increase financial resources from all sources to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity and ecosystems
15.C Enhance global support for efforts to combat poaching and trafficking of protected species, including by increasing the capacity of local communities to pursue sustainable livelihood opportunities
The protection of the natural and cultural environment is a state obligation and a
citizen’s right, protected by the Greek Constitution (Article 24) and by various
legislative initiatives, which cover a plethora of environmental aspects, such as forest
management (Forest Code of Greece), species protection, conservation of indigenous
farm animal breeds, structured environment, protected areas etc. Greece is considered
as a biodiversity "hot-spot", with more than 6200 endemic species
Aiming to a systematic research to discover the necessary knowledge through
describing, explaining the sustainability context at national level (regarding current
practices in forest management and biodiversity protection), a document analysis was
adopted. Document analysis is a systematic procedure for reviewing or evaluating
documents—both printed and electronic (computer-based and Internet-transmitted)
material, which requires that data are examined and interpreted to elicit meaning, gain
understanding, and develop empirical knowledge
A thorough, systematic review of documentation provided background information
is presented in graph 1, aiming to list, interpret and understand important constraints.
Target 15.B points towards financing sustainable forest management and mobilizing
significant resources. In contrast, Spanos et al., (2015) reported the issue of the weak
financing in forestry in general and the lack of investment in the exploitation of the
potential of forest resources. The issue of poor financing seems to be listed also at the
national forestry strategic plan (2018) (Article 7). In addition, Kazana et al. (2015)
includes the lack of funds in forest management plan studies and Koulelis (2011)
referred that the motives offered for private investments in the timber sector are
deficient. Targets 15.1 and 15.2. promote the implementation of sustainable forest
management of all types of forests. Spanos et al. (2015) reported that in Greece the
logging system is problematic, with deficiencies in the organization of wood
harvesting in forests, and significant negative effects, both on forestry working
operations and the forest. They claimed that practices like substantial supervision by
foresters play their negative role. Furthermore, inefficient and outdated management
practices make it difficult to continue logging operations and forest production
especially in environmentally sensitive areas (N. 2000 Network, National Parks,
Aesthetic Forests). The high cost and the outdated methods of harvesting and
production, the highland terrain of the Greek mountains and the low level of
automation in harvesting increase production and transportation costs
Inadequate standardization of forest products, problematic exploitation of timber
and other forest products, lack of modern systems in quality certification of wood and
forest management, are some expressions of the common observed constraint of the
lack of a national forest products certification system
Regarding biodiversity constraints, Solomou (2013) reported insufficient scientific data on the individual components of biodiversity and the trends that characterize them, thus appropriate measures, such as optimizing the demarcation of protected areas are necessary. Dimopoulos et al. (2006) denoted that the lack of monitoring data can reduce the capacity for informed decision-making towards conservation targets.
According to Solomou and Sfougaris (2011), it is crucial to detect spatial–temporal biodiversity changes through monitoring for better allocation of conservation efforts and assessment of the progress towards relevant targets.
Additionally, National Strategy & Action Plan for Biodiversity (2014) focused on
the partial (or non) implementation of the existing institutional framework, which
enables various illegal activities to occur, such as: poaching, overfishing, etc. Also, the
lack of adequate environmental education/awareness of those engaged in productive
activities do not allow them to make environmentally friendly choices. Moreover,
several important biodiversity constraints such as a) the non - integration of
sustainability principles in productive activities, b) the lack of stable funding,
understaffing of protected area management structures, c) the lack of specialized and
adequately staffed related services at central and regional level.
Constraints such as lack of resources by the government, bureaucracy, lack of investments and a forest certification system, weak private forest sector and inefficient logging system were detected. Likewise, the lack of effective monitoring of biodiversity, knowledge gaps, poorly performing system administration and the ineffective law enforcement simultaneously with the intermittent productive relationships between public administration, academia and other authorities were detected as the most common constraints towards sustainability. One main vision of the National Strategy is to "Ensure sustainability and increase the contribution of forest ecosystems to the country's economy through multifunctionality, adaptability and strengthening their socio-economic role" (Article 2), a vision totally compatible with the SDG 15 and its targets. From now on, it must be proven in time that all these proposed actions will be implemented. Any new forestry-related legislation submitted for voting should consider both the SDGs and the national strategy vision.