State Forests (, full name: ''Państwowe Gospodarstwo Leśne Lasy Państwowe'', literally National Forest Holding "State Forests", but usually referred to as State Forests National Forest Holding) is a Polish governmental organization that manages state-owned
Polish forests
Forests cover an estimated 38.5% of Poland's territory, and are mostly owned by the state, and are increasing at a fast rate by 2035 Polands forest percentage will be 42-46%. Western and northern parts of Poland as well as the Carpathian Mount ...
on behalf of the
Polish State Treasury.
[Marek Matecki]
State Forests National Forest Holding
, 2010-06-16 The organization does not have a
legal personality
Legal capacity is a quality denoting either the legal aptitude of a person to have rights and liabilities (in this sense also called transaction capacity), or the personhood itself in regard to an entity other than a natural person (in this sen ...
and is required to be financially self-sufficient.
[
The Act on Forests of 28 September 1991, with amendments, makes the State Forests responsible for "forest management to ensure general protection of forests, sustainable
maintenance, continuity and sustainable use of all forest functions and increase of forest resources".][The State Forests in Figures 2009]
It was founded in 1924 and oversees about 7.5 million hectare
The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...
s (an area that constitutes about 25% of Poland's territory) of forested terrain.[ The territory managed by the State Forests covers about 77.8% of Polish forests.][Raport o stanie lasów w Polsce 2009]
(Report on the state of forests in Poland 2009), Centrum Informacyjne Lasów Państwowych, 2010 Notably, State Forests do not manage Poland's National Parks.[ They are, however, involved in managing of forests in Landscape Parks (which cover about 8% of Poland's territory).
As of 2008, the fixed assets owned by State Forests were worth PLN 3,659.3 million.][
In 2013, State Forests received the prestigious Sultan Qaboos Prize for Environmental Preservation, for outstanding contributions in the management and preservation of the environment (se]
an
.
Managed forests
As of 31 December 2008, State Forests managed 7,595,372 hectares. These were classified as:
* forests, total 7,264,353 ha, including: afforested land 6,972,731 ha, non-afforested land 91,714 ha
* farmland 153,261 ha
* wasteland 102,742 ha
* waters 9,392 ha
* trees and shrubs outside forest 13,118 ha
Over 70% of trees administered by State Forests are pine
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae.
''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...
and larch
Larches are deciduous conifers in the genus ''Larix'', of the family Pinaceae (subfamily Laricoideae). Growing from tall, they are native to the cooler regions of the northern hemisphere, where they are found in lowland forests in the high la ...
.[ The average age of the trees is around 60 years.][
]
Organization
State Forests is headed by the Director General.[ The General Directorate supervises 17 Regional Directorates, which in turn are divided into 431 Forest Districts. There are also 22 organisational units (departments), seven organisational units – departments with national authority, nine Forest Protection Teams and eleven Inspection Regions.][
Since 7 February 2012, the Director General is Adam Wasiak.
The 17 Regional Directorates of State Forests are:
*Białystok
*Gdańsk
*Katowice
*Kraków
*Krosno
*Lublin
*Łódź
*Olsztyn
*Piła
*Poznań
*Radom
*Szczecin
*Szczecinek
*Toruń
*Warsaw
*Wrocław
*Zielona Góra
In 2008, State Forests employed 26,054 people.][
]
Notes
a The Act on Forests of September 28, 1991, translated, states that "Forests constituting Treasury property are under the administration and management of the Lasy Państwowe (State Forests) National Forest Holding, hereinafter referred to as “the State Forests”". Organization's own website uses the term "State Forests National Forest Holding" without parenthesis or quotation marks.
b As of 2012, Poland had 9,100,000 hectares of forests, representing about 29,2% of country's total territory.[ Its overall percentage is still increasing. Forests of Poland is managed by the national program of reforestation (KPZL), aiming at an increase of forest-cover to 33% in 2050.
c National Parks constitute 2% of Polish forests, and cover about 0,6% of Poland's territory.][
]
See also
*Forests of Poland
Forests cover an estimated 38.5% of Poland's territory, and are mostly owned by the state, and are increasing at a fast rate by 2035 Polands forest percentage will be 42-46%. Western and northern parts of Poland as well as the Carpathian Mount ...
* National Parks of Poland
*List of Landscape Parks of Poland
According to the Act on Protection of Nature (''Ustawa o ochronie przyrody'') of 2004, a Landscape Park (''Parki Krajobrazowe'') is defined as "an area protected because of its natural, historical, cultural and scenic values, for the purpose of ...
* Nature reserves in Poland
* ordynacja
References
External links
State Forests National Forest Holding
(homepage, English version)
The Act on Forests of September 28th 1991 (Consolidated text)
{{Authority control
1924 establishments in Poland
Government agencies of Poland
Forestry agencies