Strategic Options for State Forest Institutions in Poland: Evaluation by the 3L Model and Ways Ahead

Abstract

State forest institutions in Poland, where 80% of the forest is state-owned, bear high responsibility for the sustainable development of this natural resource and strive to fulfil economic, ecological and social goals. To examine how far these goals are met and which strategic option(s) can be identified for the future the 3L Model was applied and comprehensive performance of the State Forests National Forest Holding (State Forests) and the Ministry of Environment evaluated. The field study relied on a mix of techniques and the data, collected 2014 and 2015, showed the achievements of both institutions clearly: (i) the requirements of sustaining forest stands are met in practice; (ii) the State Forests makes profits and has enough resources for the active management of forests and goal achievement, thereby establishing some independence from the public budgets; (iii) the improved cost efficiency could vastly contribute to the stability of the State Forests, which is true for its marketing and the fact that innovative forest products have not been put forward yet; (iv) both the State Forests and the Ministry complement each other in the role of a speaker for forestry, which can contribute to making forestry more visible in media and political discussions; (v) mediating all conflicting interests in the forest is not a goal that is strongly followed by forest institutions in Poland yet.