Obrazovanje, Istraživanje I Održivo Upravljanje Šumskim Resursima Kao Faktor Održivog Razvoja U Bosni I Hercegovini / Education, Research and Sustainable Forest Management as a Factor of Sustainable Development in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

The sustainable forest management concept contains the essence of the sustainable development paradigm - meeting the current needs of society without compromising the needs of future generations. The strategic commitment of the Faculty of Forestry University of Sarajevo is aimed at quality education of forestry experts, conducting innovative research and the most intensive cooperation with the economy. The methodological approach in this paper is based on a critical analysis of the scope of the educational-research process at the Faculty of Forestry University of Sarajevo, and the potentials of sustainable forest management in BiH, to determine to what extent higher education and research on environmental, sociological and economic aspects of forest management can affect positive changes in BiH society. Apart from identifying the benefits of forest ecosystems in the context of contributing to sustainable development, the research on the attitudes of teaching staff related to the contribution of the educational-research process to general goals of sustainable development from the 2030 Agenda was conducted. The results of this paper show that the concept of sustainable forest management, as it is realized in educational-research process at the Faculty of Forestry University of Sarajevo, has significant potential to contribute to sustainable development in BiH. This contribution is reflected in biodiversity conservation, mitigation of climate change, carbon storage, prevention of natural disasters, impact on the stability of water and soil, energy supply from renewable sources, continuous economic growth, socially responsible production and consumption, job security, development of rural and urban areas as well as maintaining and improving the psychophysical health of the population. Based on the obtained results, it can be concluded that sustainable forest management, grounded on scientific postulates, understanding of diversity of forest ecosystem services and dynamics in society's requirements towards forests, multidisciplinary and cross-sectoral cooperation, can be an important factor of sustainable development in BiH.

Pan-European Criteria for Sustainable Forest Management - Attitudes of Forestry Professionals in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina

“…In order to meet society's needs for forest products (timber and non-timber) and services (ecosystem service bundles), it is necessary to follow trends in social, economic and technological development, as these are directly related to society's changing demands on forests. Forest management activities must be carefully balanced with the aim of meeting the needs of current generations without destroying or compromising the ability of future generations to use the productive functions of the forest, while respecting the traditional needs and uses of forests by local communities and populations (Avdibegović et al 2022). Although the vast majority of the respondents consider this criterion important, official data only include statistics on increment, annual allowable harvest and logging, but no information on nontimber goods and services (FMAWF 2022).…”

“…When it comes to the Western Balkans region and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), the Pan-European criteria and indicators for SFM are an insufficiently researched topic and there is no significant scientific research on their implementation in forestry. Some authors studied the contribution of SFM based on scientific postulates of sustainable development in BiH (Avdibegović et al 2022). One of the few papers published in the Western Balkans region that addressed the issue of SFM criteria and indicators focused on assessing progress in SFM in Croatia through the use of quantitative, improved Pan-European criteria and indicators (Lovrić et al 2010).…”