|
„The Foresters’ Union Is Looked Upon as a Supporting Force“
Forester Day is commemorated on every third Saturday of September in Lithuania. On the occasion of this event, an interview with Dr. Edmundas BARTKEVIČIUS, President of Foresters’ Union, is exclusively to “Business and Politics”.
"Business & Politics"
Gintautas KNIUKŠTA
On 08/09/2000, the then Minister of Environment D. Lygis announced that every third Saturday of the month of September shall be called the Forester Day. He’s done this by order No. 373 “Concerning the Forester Day”, after the proposal by Lithuanian Foresters’ Union, and with an approval of the College of Ministry of Environment.
Since 27/04/1991, after the restoration of independence of Lithuania, every April, Lithuanian Foresters’ Union initiates an invitation for society to participate in the events of Forest days.
The year 1998 was especially memorable when Lithuanian Foresters’ Union, together with the Society for Adornment of Lithuania, Civil Rally and the Association of Lithuanian Municipalities, in order to commemorate 80th Anniversary of the State of Lithuania by terrific initiatives, invited Lithuanian people into a rally “The Month of the Tree of Unison” which lasted the entire April.
The Gathering of Young Forest Buddies of the Lithuanian Foresters’ Union was one of the first in the country to address the society with an offer to commemorate the anniversary of the Millennium of the Name of Lithuania. Thus the young forest buddies, supported by state forest enterprises and administrations of counties, have been planting the oakeries in all counties for over 10 years (since 1998 to 2008) to commemorate this occasion.
Lithuanian foresters’ Union has been founded in 1929, its conventions have been taking place every year. A. Požėla, V. Žemaitis, J. Vilčinskas, J. Viliušis and others had been elected as Presidents.
The Union was forbidden in 1940 when Lithuania was occupied by soviets. The most active members of the Union, who left Lithuania, summoned a conference of foresters in Germany in 1945, and 1949, already in Chicago, founded Lithuanian Foresters’ Union in Exile. They continued the activity of the Union, took care of the expatriate foresters, developed publishing work, had been publishing a journal “An Echo of a Forest”.
Foresters’ Union in Lithuania, with an initiative by the Movement of Foresters (1989), has been restored in February of 1990. It legitimized the continuity of foresters’ organization which was active in 1929-1940. Its conventions are taking place every 2 years, A. Valavičius, A. Brukas, V. Antanaitis, A. Tebėra, E. Riepšas have all been working as Presidents of LFU.
At the moment, the Union bands together over 1100 foresters. Last year in November, doc. E. Bartkevičius, Dean of the Faculty of Forests and Ecology at the University of Aleksandras Stulginskis, has been elected as President of LFU for one more term.
Edmundas Bartkevičius has told to “Business and Politics” that Foresters’ Union has always supported rational reforms, evolutionary, but not revolutionary way. He noted that evolutionary reforms are constantly taking place in state sector of forests to optimize the activity of forest companies.
„Any kind of government reform must guarantee the protection of state forests, and they have to perform different functions, not only be turned into wood stock suppliers for industry. Social, ecological and environmental value of a forest is several times bigger than the value of wood. The reform must be based on clear arguments, destiny of a forest should not be determined by narrow group interests “, –E. Bartkevičius is firmly assured.
State forest property of a country definitely suffered different attacks after the restoration of independence. Foresters’ Union always supported complex farming in the forests, state forest property remained normally functional during the times of crisis, it provided a lot of income for the state and wood stock for processors, managed to keep the workplaces. For example, there were some ideas to found public company for management of state forests and merge it with PLC ,,Visuomis Holding Company". “It would have been a cover-up to break the complex forest property” said the President of a Union.
Foresters’ Union declared time and again that the model of harmonious and complex farming in state forests is acknowledged in the forests of European Union. According to this model, income received from selling wood is used to restore, preserve, and maintain the forests, as well as for recreational and other types of work to improve the forests.
According to the tradition, good relations have been established between Lithuanian foresters and foresters’ unions of Baltic States, as well as the ones from Poland and Germany. A harmonious cooperation between Lithuania and Germany is also evidenced by the fact that Regalia of Honours Doctor of the Lithuanian University of Agriculture have been presented to Professor Dr. Albrecht Bemmann of the Dresden Technical University at the convention of LFU. This world-renowned forester has done a lot in investigations and preservations of forests not only in Germany, but also in Eastern Europe.
A resolution which was passed in the last convention of foresters proposed to the Ministry of Education and Science to award the study programme of forestry with the public funding in accordance with the need for specialists. “Why the specialists of forest property have to be trained with the funding from private sector? Study programme of forestry should be awarded with the number of so called student baskets which meets the need for specialists in the future”, – the leader of foresters is assured.
Over the last two years, LFU published quit a number of publications, including the book “Testimonies of Life: Memories, Speeches, Declarations” by a professor and former minister of forest property Vaidotas Adomaitis.
***
Forester Day is commemorated every third Saturday of September. What does it mean to you?
This day is special for every forester who works in this area because of calling, but not because of some other reason (foresters of this kind make up the absolute majority). On this day, you can rethink the works completed, meet the colleagues, and, of course, set the guidelines for the future.
How would you evaluate the activity of Foresters’ Union?
The activity of Foresters’ Union develops towards different directions. First of all, suggestions are prepared for state institutions. Foresters’ Union emphatically opposes the privatisation of state forests, division of the activities of complex state forest property and management, and the creation of one company and merging into the composition of PLC “Visuomis Holding Company”.
Absolute centralisation and creation of monopolistic company would not only slow down the development of state forest property, but also would unsettle the state forest property which is functioning in stable manner. We would live to see negative social, economic, and environmental consequences. This primarily is related to the ruination of initiative and economic effectiveness in the lower levels.
Lithuanian Foresters’ Union publishes a journal “Our Forests” which performs an important role of ecological education of society. Foresters’ Union dedicates a lot of attention to the work with young forest buddies. Various events, competitions, camps are organized. Coordinators of these activities in state forest enterprises take an important role in this action.
An extra “Little Forester” of “Our Forests” which is dedicated to young forest buddies has become popular, and it is even being read by the professors. An important part of LFU activities is organization of conferences, discussions, and seminars. I would like to note a conference “Oaks will be green in the land of Lithuania” which we organized with the administration of Marijampolė County Chief and the Association of Wood Processors. A competition “The Most Successful State Forest Enterprise in Implementation of Unsmooth Deforestation” is currently being organized.
We keep close relations with foresters’ unions of Baltic States. When evaluating the activities of Foresters’ Union it is important not to forget that a public organization and its capabilities are limited. We do not have the capabilities to expeditiously collect and publish the newest information on forestry in a Union’s website. This requires staff employees and quite a lot of funding.
How would you prefer to be called – forester, scientist, teacher?
I had no doubts what to study, forestry was my choice. I liked nature so much in my childhood that I even rewrote some of the books by a very well known naturalist Tadas Ivanauskas. The teachers tried to talk me into studying music because I graduated from music school, I also play accordion.
It has turned out in my life to be that when I was studying in Forest Faculty, professor Vaidotas Antanaitis invited me to work at Forest Management Department. People have been waiting for me in my native Kelmė for a couple of months; they were keeping a forester workplace for me at the Office of Agriculture. But I remained here, together with professor Vaidotas Antanaitis at the then Lithuanian Academy of Agriculture.
I have been doing research at the department. Right around that time, pineries started drying out in great numbers near Jonava, therefore we started investigating an influence of polluted environment on the ecosystems in the forest. The then Academy of Agriculture was under the supervision of Moscow, therefore funding for scientific research would come from over there.
During the times when money stopped coming from Moscow and there was no funding from Lithuanian sources, we faced a dilemma – to be or not to be. During this period, I made a living out of research on air pollution of the cities by the method of biotesting. I offered to evaluate air pollution by this method to some different municipalities. Panevėžys and Alytus were the first ones to reply, later – Kaunas, but the funding was not continuous.
I worked as a keeper for a couple of months because just like all the others I was waiting for an apartment, and if I quit the academy I would have fallen out of the line to get it as well. Later on I was invited to Forestry Department to teach environmental studies to the students of all faculties, I worked as a vicedean, dean.
A job in administration takes up a lot of time and energy, therefore there is no time left for research. So I never give any prominence of how people call me. All of my areas of interest are very interrelated with each other.
What kind of goals do you set for the Union as its President?
Lithuanian Foresters’ Union has to become a spreader of ideas, not a “fire-fighter”.
Convention of foresters’ unions of Baltic States will soon be taking place at our university. I try to compare activity areas of the unions. Both in Latvia and Estonia these unions are a little different – more like cultural organizations. Over there, foresters’ unions don’t get involved in the formation of forest policy.
Foresters look at the union in Lithuania as a supporting force. Foresters put a lot of hopes in the union when a certain danger arises for the foresters – be it privatisation of forests, or a reckless reform that may destroy everything. Since we are a social organization, to be this kind of support is not an easy task.
What are the nearest tasks, goals and objectives of the Foresters’ Union? In whose name these activities are being developed?
The Union is a unifying organization. Foresters are scattered around the whole republic, therefore the Union is sort of summons all of the foresters.
The nearest tasks are the Convention of foresters’ union of the Baltic States which will be taking place in Lithuania at the current University of Aleksandras Stulginskis. We will be discussing on a very hot and interesting topic: “A relationship between wild animals, forest and humans”.
We recently came back from Norway where the Championship of Orienteering of European Foresters was taking place. This championship will be taking place in Lithuania, Druskininkai, next year in May. We hope to see a lot of foresters from all over Europe, there the preparations for that must start right now.
Is there enough unity between the foresters?
I think that people from many other fields are jealous of unity between the foresters. The foresters are especially good at coming together as a whole. The foresters are particularly united when there is danger for the forests.
In this case, the foresters are bounded by a really great unity. But anything can happen in everyday life. Every expressed opinion must be respected under the conditions of democracy.
While I was talking with the foresters about a point of view of the owners of private forests I have noticed that majority of them are concerned with a desire of those owners to make as much money as possible as fast as possible without thinking about what’s going to happen after ten or more years. Maybe we haven’t yet matured enough and we don’t know how to appreciate the forests?
The relations between state foresters and the owners of private forests are totally normal and good. They receive support and advice in state forest enterprises, and the relations are excellent.
The works in state forests are performed in accordance with the plans, they are lined up for many years to come. Farming in private forests is a lot more liberal than in the state ones, according to normative documents.
An owner of private forest has more freedom to act if he has a lot of matured forest. I would say that massive deforestation of the private forest (by those who had a right to do so) has already taken place. I think that now farming will normalize, the owners will plan and deforest wisely, there will be no such thing as up until now.
Owners of the private forests certainly experience a lot of problems. For example, the problem of forest roads. There is no power which would force the owners of the private forests to cooperate and neaten the roads. The cut down the forests, damaged the roads, and there is no one to clean it up.
Our union is absolutely open to the owners of private forests as well but as of today the majority of foresters are the ones who take care of state forests. And quite a large part of them are the owners of the forests.
How are you doing in interaction with politicians?
I would say that the interaction is normal. Our statements and opinions are being heard. We are especially happy about the resolution of the Parliament “Concerning the Preservation of State Forests” which was supported by the majority of the members of the Parliament.
How good was this year for the foresters?
This year was special because 2011 has been declared International Year of the Forests. And this year the Forester Day is special because we decided to celebrate it in the capital city of the country. Economic indicators also show that the foresters have come out of the crises: this was a profitable and financially stable year.
The foresters felt the economic crises extremely fast because the prices of wood had gone down. Department executives who forecasted it deserve some respect because they provisioned the means to overcome the crisis, supplied a few scenarios to overcome the crisis. A proper preparation for the crisis helped the foresters to survive. It has been foreseen in a careful manner which works can be abandoned so the quality of the forest would not suffer.
How would you, as a scientist and the President of a Union, evaluate if a country is on the right track when looking for the resources in public companies, primarily – in state forest enterprises?
State forests are the wealth of a country, and the state forest enterprises are state companies. The State must take care of its wealth, but I think it should do so equally in all fields. As far as I know, state forest enterprises pay a lot more money into the government budget this year.
The foresters pay quite a lot compared to the other state companies. State companies should not retreat into and work only for themselves. Instead, they need an objective evaluation, it is important not to harm a particular sector.
Prime Minister has recently declared that if they would be private companies instead of public ones, the budget might have received a lot more money. It is also true that in the next sentence he stated that he would not agree with the idea of letting it go to the private hands. How would you evaluate the model of the management of state forests?
I think that the current model is quite effective. Maybe we can discuss about the size of state forest enterprises but objective economic indicators should be present and not infringed in order to perform any kind of reorganization.
When compared with European or world countries, our model of the management of state forests seems to be very correct. Every country administers the forests very differently, all of them have their own way. I can only say that in the majority European countries the foresters receive donations.
Probably there would not be any discussions about the reforms if the foresters would sustain themselves. The reforms are implemented in Germany and Austria with a single goal that forest property should be supported with the money from budget as little as possible.
Do you think that the way when the state helps is good?
The way is good therefore our country should only be happy about the fact that the foresters do not ask for help, and it should not pressurize them a lot. Since we know what is the situation in our country it is hard to believe that it will support the forest property in the near future.
A desire of the state to make as much money as possible hurts the foresters really bad. The forests and foresters have no chance of saving the budget of a country. But to ruin the forests is very easy. In Therefore the Union is actively working that this scenario does not come true.
Is there enough cooperation between the University, Ministry of Environment, and Directorate General of State Forests?
The relations are really objective, specialists in other fields are jealous of it. Consensus is obvious in all areas. Employees of the Ministry of Environment participate in discussions about study programmes, defences of master degrees. Chairman of Final Thesis Defence Committee is usually from the Ministry of Environment. Over the last couple of years, Doctor V. Vaičiūnas, Director of Department of Forests, was in charge of it.
Representatives of Directorate General of State Forests are rarely not present at the events of the Faculty of Forests and Ecology. In turn, our lecturers actively participate in organization of seminars, discussions in state forest enterprises and so on.
Do you ever think about a more active involvement of foresters in politics, or a possibility to have your own representatives in the Parliament?
It is really necessary but so far not a whole a lot of foresters participate in politics. At the moment, we only have one forester in the Parliament – Justinas Urbanavičius. Probably we should try harder in the future to have more of them.
What are the relations between foresters and the greens?
I think that in Lithuania the relations between foresters and the greens are ideal. In other countries, the greens tie themselves in protest to the trees, disrupt the development of activities and production. A point of view in Lithuania is healthier. I think that other countries should learn from us how to keep good, objective relations between foresters and the greens.
How did the students who come to learn this specialty and the Faculty of Forests and Ecology of the University change over the years of independence?
Our faculty really stands out of the others because people who truly love the nature come to study here. I have always been saying that you can be a forester just because of the calling. I don’t force my kids to be foresters either, if they have no intention of going to the forest when it’s raining.
This specialty has always been popular, we never had a lack of students. More problems became apparent over the last years when we started to live in accordance with the new law of science and studies. We are popular between the entrants but we do not have a lot of state funded places. Even 109 high school graduates chose the forestry study programme as number one, but we only got two baskets.
If we would count admissions according to the old times one might say that 54 people were competing for one spot. It happened so because we are assigned to the study field of biomedical studies, therefore we have a lot of strong competitors.
This competition is getting bigger. If earlier one wanted to be admitted to our faculty he only needed twelve points, but this year the number has risen to eighteen.
To accumulate this number is really hard for children from rural areas, you need to hire tutors and it is not easy for those who live in districts. So the result is that we have very few baskets. But we keep on trying, we cooperate and try to pursue the ministry and we hope that already next year we will finally have the objective funding for the studies of agriculture and forest farming.
I clearly memorise an idea by Vigantas Kraujalis that chasing people out of the village, the land or the outer wood does not add any attractiveness to our country. What the government has to do that the youth would like to come back to work in their homeland?
I think that the village is getting better, the farmers are getting stronger. Agriculture has survived the crises quite successfully. People really should go back to the villages. There are quite a number of people who are willing to study at the Faculty of Agronomy.
Majority of students who are studying at our faculty are from the villages, people from the city are a minority. We do not feel a lack of students but regrettably they need financial support from their parents at the moment because, as I have said before, we have a very limited number of places funded by the state.
You are a member of University Council. What has to be done in order to achieve an even closer cooperation between university and businesses?
Cooperation between universities and businesses exists all over the world. A connection between businesses and studies should get stronger.
A new “Nemunas” valley which is in the phase of creation should also serve this purpose. The labs of Influence of Climate Change on the Ecosystems of the Forests, Hunting Investigations, Wood Investigations, Plantation Sprouting and others are provisioned to be established in it.
|
