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Did Forestland Restitution Facilitate Institutional Amnesia? Some Evidence from Romanian Forest Policy

Author

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  • Marian Drăgoi

    (University Stefan cel Mare of Suceava, Faculty of Forestry, 720229 Suceava, Romania)

  • Veronica Toza

    (Green Advisers Ltd., 030018 Bucuresti, Romania)

Abstract

This paper shows how the slow process of forestland restitution, which is unfolding in Romania since 1991 has eroded the threads of sustainable forest management by an insidious institutional amnesia (IA). The four symptoms of this harmful process (frequent reorganization, transition from paperwork to electronic media, fewer people motivated to join public services, and popularity of radical changes) were analyzed from the legal standing point as well as from practitioners’ perspective. After having described the legal process and the relative dependencies between laws and government ordinances we also showed that the three laws on forestland restoration (three fully operational laws and two bills submitted in 2019, one year before general elections) were produced by unintended policy arrangements. The legal loopholes of forestland restitution were described in details as well as the challenges brought about by nature conservation policy (Natura 2000 management plans v traditional forest planning), and the overwhelming bureaucratic burden developed to deter illegal logging, instead of fully implementing a modern system of forest watching based on volunteering. However, the main cause of IA is institutional unsteadiness which was inherited from the communist regime, and cannot be alleviated unless more involvement of professional foresters in politics.

Suggested Citation

  • Marian Drăgoi & Veronica Toza, 2019. "Did Forestland Restitution Facilitate Institutional Amnesia? Some Evidence from Romanian Forest Policy," Land, MDPI, vol. 8(6), pages 1-19, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:8:y:2019:i:6:p:99-:d:241103
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    Cited by:

    1. Chanrith Ngin & Andreas Neef, 2021. "Contested Land Restitution Processes in Cambodia," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-14, May.
    2. Nichiforel, Liviu & Deuffic, Philippe & Thorsen, Bo Jellesmark & Weiss, Gerhard & Hujala, Teppo & Keary, Kevin & Lawrence, Anna & Avdibegović, Mersudin & Dobšinská, Zuzana & Feliciano, Diana & Górriz-, 2020. "Two decades of forest-related legislation changes in European countries analysed from a property rights perspective," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    3. Andra-Cosmina Albulescu & Michael Manton & Daniela Larion & Per Angelstam, 2022. "The Winding Road towards Sustainable Forest Management in Romania, 1989–2022: A Case Study of Post-Communist Social–Ecological Transition," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-29, July.
    4. Nichiforel, Liviu & Duduman, Gabriel & Scriban, Ramona Elena & Popa, Bogdan & Barnoaiea, Ionut & Drăgoi, Marian, 2021. "Forest ecosystem services in Romania: Orchestrating regulatory and voluntary planning documents," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    5. Johanna Gisladottir & Sigurbjörg Sigurgeirsdottir & Kristín Vala Ragnarsdóttir & Ingrid Stjernquist, 2021. "Economies of Scale and Perceived Corruption in Natural Resource Management: A Comparative Study between Ukraine, Romania, and Iceland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-26, June.
    6. Johanna Gisladottir & Sigurbjörg Sigurgeirsdottir & Ingrid Stjernquist & Kristin Vala Ragnarsdottir, 2022. "Transparency and Leverage Points for Sustainable Resource Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-17, December.
    7. Alexandru Giurca & Liviu Nichiforel & Petru Tudor Stăncioiu & Marian Drăgoi & Daniel-Paul Dima, 2022. "Unlocking Romania’s Forest-Based Bioeconomy Potential: Knowledge-Action-Gaps and the Way Forward," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-24, November.

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