Challenging issues and future strategies of forest research and education in central and eastern European countries

Abstract

Forestry is considered the sustainable utilization of forests. Rapid changes in society have determined the future development of research and education including forestry and forestry science. Due to the wide range of human demands on forests, universities and other institutions need to recognize the role of forestry in society and organize specific courses for educating professionals. Some international processes and changes such as globalization and integration impose new requirements related to the role, organization and function of education at the European level. As the result of these global initiatives, there have been many reforms of the education system in Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs). This paper presented provides some general information on forestry and its respective research and education of CEECs in transition over the last decade. Using an example the author's country, the Czech Republic, this paper examines the basic problems that foresters have faced since the creation of the market economy in the beginning of the 1990s. Important problems as well as the challenges to find solutions are mentioned. This concerns those countries joining the EU this year, as well as those undertaking the same path. A seminar on the challenges of forest science 5 years ago, which underlined some of the most important problems, was dedicated to forestry in developing countries. However, there is one question remaining, “What has changed since that time?”. © 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.