Assessing forest governance in Albania

10.31195/ejejfs.473633 Eurasian Journal of Forest Science 2019 7(1): 30-39 http://dergipark.gov.tr/ejejfs Assessing forest governance in Albania Albora Kacani1,* , Leonidha Peri1 1,* Faculty of Forestry Sciences, Agricultural University of Tirana, 1029 Tirana, Albania Corresponding author: Abstract In the last 20 years, Albania has transferred the ownership and the responsibility of the management of 80% of forest area from central government to local government. The process was part of a wide decentralization reform aiming to tackle the challenges related to illegal logging activities, weak institutions, and capacities, unclear laws and regulations, frequent reforms in forest administration, high sector informality etc. Due to decentralization forest governance involve two levels of government and a range of stakeholders with different interests (local communities, forest owners, private sector, etc.). Although the reforms are under implementation, there is a lack of assessments, to analyze the governance challenges for the sector. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to provide an assessment of the status of forest governance in Albania, using a comprehensive analytical framework developed by FAO and PROFOR. The framework is based on three columns (i) policy, legal, institutional and regulatory frameworks, (ii) planning and decision-making processes and (iii) implementation enforcement and compliance. A set of 84 indicators, considered to be relevant for Albania, has been chosen out of 130 indicators proposed by PROFOR. The assessment is carried out through a survey, with a cross-section of 30 experts from various forest - related institutions (state and non-state). The results show that forest governance in Albania is far from good forest governance, despite some positive efforts. The reasons for this are no clear set of policy directions, conflicting or confusing laws, complex forest law and bylaws, no secure access to forest resources by local communities, low capacities of government (central and local) and non-government stakeholders, lack of transparency and accountability etc. Key words: decentralization reforms, forest governance, stakeholders, analytical framework, assessment INTRODUCTION It is increasingly recognised that governance problems underlie many forest problems (Mayers J et al. 2002, and 2006) and that governance is gaining importance in the forest sector (Muller E et al. 2010). According to Brito B et al. (2009), first, governance has to do with the process – that is how decisions are made, rather than what those decisions are. Second, actors and stakeholders beyond the government and beyond the forest sector are involved in governance. Consequently, this Initiative focuses on “governance of forests” to capture the range of actors and interests that affect forest management. Forest governance has been defined in many different ways over the years. World Bank 2006 refers to forest sector governance as the ways in which officials and institutions (both formal and informal) acquire and exercise authority in the management of the resources of the sector to sustain and improve the welfare and quality of life for those whose livelihoods depend on the sector. According to Mayers J et al. (2006), forest governance has different meanings for different people – but is generally used as a means to tackle the qualities of decision-making processes rather than the formal political structures of government. Forest governance includes the norms, processes, instruments, people, and organizations that control how people interact with forests according to Kishor N and Kenneth R (2012). 30 Eurasian Journal of Forest Science – Assessing forest governance in Albania by Kacani and Peri 2019 FAO 2012 describes ‘Forest governance’ as the way in which people and organizations rule and regulate forests. This relates to how they allocate and secure access to, rights over, and benefits from forests, including the planning, monitoring, and control of their use, management, and conservation. While, recognizing the importance of forest governance research, the journal Forest Policy and Economics dedicated a special issue on the topic (Giessen L et. al. 2014). They propose a wide definition of forest governance which comprises a) all formal and informal, public and private regulatory structures, i.e. institutions consisting of rules, norms, principles, decision procedures, concerning forests, their utilisation and their conservation, b) the interactions between public and private actors therein and c) the effects of either on forests. On the other hand, there is an increasing interest in the international community how to measure forest governance. Although there are significant gaps in our knowledge to identify and plan reforms to improve the governance of the sector, the challenges are best addressed by carrying out an in-depth diagnosis of forest governance through a comprehensive framework (WB 2009). Since the declaration of the Forest Principles at the Rio Conference in 1992, several initiatives have been taken by international organisations to develop indicators and criteria to assess and measure issues specific to the forest sector such as FSC Principles and Criteria for Forest Stewardship Council (1996), The CIFOR Criteria and Indicators Toolbox Series Center for International Forestry Research (1999), The Pyramid - A diagnostic and planning tool for good forest governance WWF, World Bank, IIED (2002), Revised ITTO criteria and indicators for the sustainable management of tropical forests International Tropical Timber Organization (2005), FAO and PROFOR (2011) Framework for Assesing and Monitoring Forest Governance, revised indicators of the World Resources Institute’s Governance of Forests Initiative (2013) etc. MATERIAL AND METHODS Among the global initiatives mentioned above, a more widely accepted framework (Avdibegović M et. al., 2014) for assessing and monitoring forest governance is the one developed by FAO and PROFOR in 2011. It facilitates description, diagnosis, monitoring, assessment and reporting on the state of governance in a country’s forest sector. The foundation on which the framework is built consists of 3 main pillars and 6 principles generally accepted as the principles of "good" forest governance (Figure 1). Each pillar is divided into components and subcomponents (elements of a component that can be identified and assessed) (Maidell M et. al. 2012). Subcomponents can be considered as a starting point for assessing and monitoring different forest governance aspects. For monitoring and evaluation purposes, depending on interest and objectives, it can be focused only on a few subcomponents, changing them, or adding new subcomponents. Subcomponents are evaluated and measured by indicators that are quantitative, qualitative or descriptive qualities/attributes. The indicators reflect six common principles of good governance: Accountability, Effe (...truncated)