Huge Deficiency of Growing Stock

Huge Established Deficiency of Growing Stock

From the Documents of Croatian Forests Ltd

Management of all forests and forest land owned by the Republic of Croatia, covering approximately 36% of its total mainland state territory, has been entrusted to the state-owned company Hrvatske šume d.o.o.

The importance of forests in the Republic of Croatia is demonstrated by the fact that they are protected under the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia, specifically Article 52, which states, among other things, that forests—along with other assets defined by law as being of interest to the Republic of Croatia—are subject to its special protection. Furthermore, the same Article of the Constitution states that the law shall determine the manner in which assets of interest to the Republic of Croatia may be used and exploited. In addition, Article 3 of the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia states, among other things, that the preservation of nature and the human environment, as well as the rule of law, represent the highest values of the constitutional order of the Republic of Croatia.

The Forest Act states that the method of management, stewardship, use, and disposal of forests and forest land must be based on the principles of sustainable forest management, economic and ecological acceptability, and social responsibility.

For the implementation of European criteria for sustainable forest management and in recognition of the public interest in forest stewardship, forest owners are required, among other obligations, to manage forests in accordance with forest management plans.

Forest management plans are the fundamental documents for the management and use of forests and forest land in the Republic of Croatia. They define the conditions for sustainable forest management and interventions in the area, and they are revised every ten years.

Hrvatske šume d.o.o. manages state forests through 649 management units distributed across 17 branch offices of the company’s Forestry Administration.

For each individual management unit, Hrvatske šume prepares a Forest Management Plan (Osnova gospodarenja), which is approved by the Ministry of Agriculture. Under these plans, Hrvatske šume is obliged to manage forests for the following ten-year period.

During the investigation of irregularities in the operations of Hrvatske šume d.o.o. and in proving the implementation of excessive logging, Zeleni odred used data precisely from these Forest Management Plans, as they provide the most accurate representation of forest conditions at the beginning of the management cycle, as well as the condition of forests after the ten-year management period.

The most accurate overview of the total initial timber volume at the start of the ten-year management period, as well as the total timber volume measured at the end of the Forest Management Plan period, can be found in the so-called “Calculation Control Table” (Tablica računske kontrole). This table clearly indicates the timber volume calculated through computer-based methods and its comparison with the timber volume actually found and physically measured in the field.

For the purpose of analyzing operations and determining a possible discrepancy between the expected timber volume and the actual timber volume in forests on the ground, we requested in 2019 that Hrvatske šume provide all Calculation Control Tables from all Forest Management Plans that were valid at that time for all management units under their responsibility.

Out of a total of 649 tables requested, we received 583 (approximately 90%), which we analyzed in detail and reached catastrophic results: in 16 out of the total 17 branch offices of the Forestry Administration, an overall deficit of timber volume amounting to 16,738,899 m³ was recorded, with an estimated value of €868,665,989.

Overall consolidated results of the analysis of the timber volume deficit caused during the ten-year forest management period:

This information is not listed in this abstract, as it has not yet been fully completed.

Established growing stock deficiency until 2019 by branches of the Croatian Forests Ltd administration:

* Although we asked all Branches to provide us with all Accounting Controls from the currently valid Management Basis for all management units for which they are responsible, many were not submitted to us.

** A total amount of basic selling timber price per m3 of Croatian Forests Ltd with VAT added

*** The Senj branch on 15 December 2019 submitted all the data we requested, which showed the positive results of management in the previous decade.

From the 649 requested Tables of Accounting Control, 583 of them were submitted, which is 90%.

Further, the analysis of logging during 2020 and 2021 in which we see a huge increase in felling in the entire territory of the Republic of Croatia, and according to incomplete data, the total shortage of growing stock grows to more than 20,000,000 m3, worth more than €1 billion.