Technical report

Foundation IUCN Poland, together with BELTRA RESOURCES Ireland, have elaborated and implemented a project entitled "Promoting the environmental protection and sustainable development of Poland's forests" in the framework of the Phare Access Macro-Projects Programme since 2 June 2001.
     The project was elaborated to address the environmental protection and sustainable management and development of Polish forests, in particular private forests, by focussing on the Małopolska region in a way which can be replicated throughout Poland at a later stage. This project brought together different stakeholders in a partnership approach for the purpose of ensuring the environmental protection and sustainable utilisation of Poland's forests.
     Although Poland's National Forest Policy has adopted ecological principles of forest management, full implementation of the sustainable management principle is required, especially in the private forests, which in some parts of the country amount to half of the forested area.

Project aims

The aim of the project was to promote the concept of Sustainable Forest Management (SFM). This is a holistic and integrated approach to forest management which respects ecological principles while providing for economic and social leading to sustainable development of local societies. The project encouraged the inclusion and participation of private sector individuals, faced with risk of being economically marginalized in activities related to forestry and environment protection, local democracy and self-governance, by establishing Forest Owner Associations (FOAs) and by enabling the development of Community Associations (CAs).
     Activities within the project began with an awareness raising campaign aimed at raising awareness regarding SFM, followed by the establishment of forest owner associations (FOAs) and civic associations (CAs), training in confidence and capacity building and providing extension services for private forest owners.
     The project aimed to ensure the protection of nature and biodiversity in Poland's forests and to promote the multifunctionality of forests and their sustainable utilisation. It also promoted democracy and socio-economic development in Poland, by encouraging self-governance and by providing information, advice and essential training.

Background

The rural area of Małopolska is economically underdeveloped (60-70% Gross National Product¹). The population density is the highest in Poland (119 persons/km2) but the level of unemployment is relatively low (10-15%). The number of persons employed in agriculture (55 persons per 100ha) is the highest in Poland (country mean 23 persons/100ha). The inhabitants of the rural areas in Malopolska are generally more socially active (47% took part in social activities vs. average Polish (33%). In 2001 in all of rural Poland there was only 750 production groups (grupy producenckie). Law on producers groups edited in 2001 resulted in 17 formally established producer groups during one year. Number of NGOs working for the development of rural areas is estimated in Poland on roughly 500. Generally, in Polish countryside there is an increase in level of social activities. In Małopolska 45.3% of rural inhabitants take part in elections. Generally, in Polish countryside ca 40-45% of inhabitants in rural areas have positive approach to integration in EU, against is ca 29-42%.
     There are ca.186 000 ha of private forests in Małopolska (51% of all forest cover) the average forest size is ca 1ha. Owners having more than 2-3 ha of forest are regarded as "big" forest owners. Forests sites of the Małopolska region belong to the most productive (up to 900 m3/ ha) in all of Poland (300m3/ha). There is a big share of broadleaved species, and there is a big diversity of species. Many of the forests, including the private owned forests, in Małopolska have a high natural value. Big areas of private forests belong to national parks or other areas protected by law.
     In Małopolska the share of abandoned agricultural land is c.10-15%. The worst soil erosion cause by high rainfall in Poland exists in Małopolska region. These factors should promote afforestation. There is a big interest amongst farmers in afforestation (Law on afforestation of agricultural land - Dz.U. 2001 nr 73 poz. 764).
     Traditionally, in Małopolska there were no great movements of people, most of the forest owners having lived in the same area for generations. There is a very strong relationship with land ownership. Despite this situation most of the forest areas do not have regulated ownership. Sometimes several dozen people share ownership of a single hectare. This is especially relevant with regard to forest areas. During communist times most people expected the state to take over the forests, so there was no reason to devote time and money on regulating ownership. Unregulated ownership of forests is the main problems for owners, because it generates conflicts regarding forest management and utilisation.
     At present, there is a very strong negative approach to different forms of "cooperation", as most of these ideas were abused during the past system. On the other hand, in Małopolska countryside still exists very strong and functioning tradition of mutual help in fieldwork ("odrobek") and common usage of agricultural equipment ("sprząganie"). From XIXth century specific forms of common ownership exists in Małopolska - called Urbars. These were areas of forests given by the landlords to village citizens for common usage. Each of the inhabitants has a share within the Urbar, which is heritable. Some of the Urbars function perfectly, e.g. Zawoja and Wspólnota Witowska. Others do not satisfy members' requirements.
     Most of the owners are sceptical with regard to the EU. Generally, farmers do not trust foreigners, although there is a great deal of respect and hospitality with regard to people coming from EU countries. The Southern forested half of Małopolska is inhabited by highlanders, who have specific customs and habits and maintain a very strong local identity and reverence for traditional values. They are known for impulsive character and lack of trust to foreigners.
     On the other hand, most of the Małopolska inhabitants have relatives in western countries or in USA, so they know about western societies and they can identify with the benefits of the economies in those western countries. Some areas of Małopolska are characterized by a great deal of small private enterprises; some of the areas are well known in Poland for the production of handicraft, like Podhale - carpenters or Kalwaria Zebrzydowska - furniture. Małopolska is also a well known area for recreation, ca 2.500 farms offers leisure facilities for more than 30.000 persons (highest number in Poland).
     The Polish public only knows about the private forests in Małopolska as a result of the infamous conflict of Wspólnota Witowska with Tatra National Park, in which the owners want to exclude their forests from the area of protection.

Project activities

Project Initiation

The plan of implementation for the project was finally established in September 2001. The project coordinators were selected by reference to the most efficient NGOs working in Małopolska region (Regional Centre for Ecological Education, Polish Ecological Club). Two persons of well known and proven management capabilities and well acquainted with the problems in the forestry sector, together with NGOs having capacity building resources, were selected for project local coordination:
     Dr Tadeusz Zając (a scientist working in ecology, an employee of Institute of Nature Conservation of Polish Academy of Sciences, head of Monitoring Section at Main Board of Polish Ecological Club) and Msc. Jacek Ślizowski (owner of private company contracting extension services in forestry).

1. the localities chosen should reflect all private forests situation present in the area, and
2. there should be some form of social activity and/awareness already present in the chosen area, otherwise it would be difficult to start with a local self governance initiative. Also it was assumed that FOAs should operate within the level of gmina in order to make it operative.

According to these assumptions and after consultations with a number of people and NGOs, 6 localities were chosen:

1. Niedźwiedź - generally the area of the Gorce Mountains is covered with forests, also well known for high density of private forest ownership and good quality of forestry. The neighbourhood of Gorce National Park, where private forests are included, requires especially good cooperation between the private forest owners and the nature conservation administration, as well as good training in forestry and ecology in order maintain forests of such high natural value.
2. Słopnice - it is a typical mountainous gmina, mostly oriented towards agriculture, but with specific, typical for Małopolska, mosaic structure of landcover as well as ownership laws. What is important here is that this gmina belongs to the poor and undeveloped gminas in Poland, so this condition affords this project with the opportunity to test the concept of FOA in the most difficult social environment. Having no opportunity to trade with timber, the inhabitants still maintain a very traditional and extensive form of forest management, mostly for domestic purposes.
3. Wieliczka - town and gmina of Wieliczka is a specific gmina which is located in the neighbourhood of a large town - Kraków. Here forests mainly play a protective, environmental role and also as a place for recreation. The gmina here is working on afforestation programme and have a very bad situation with regard to private forest quality (private forests destroyed, commonly used as dumping places, however still saving a lot of high natural values). However, both local authorities as well as local community are very well known for having a very strong dedication to nature conservation and good civic activity.
4. Zawoja - the situation here is very similar to Niedźwiedź, where private forests were included into Babia Góra National Parks. Contrary to the Gorce area however, Zawoja is located in the neighbourhood of Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, an area very well known for carpentry and the production of furniture in the private sector. This situation provided an opportunity to test an FOA functioning not only with regard to environmental protection but also in relation to the economic importance of forests.

The other two localities considered: Nowy Targ region and gmina Sułkowice despite the initial interest did not show any engagement.

Public Awareness-Raising Campaign

The official launch of the project was on 10th October 2002, in Kraków in a conference room at the Institute of Nature Conservation of Polish Academy of Sciences³. The launch was proceeded by press release.
     There were about 50 persons present, including amongst others: representatives of state administration with Wojciech Jastrzębski representing the Ministry of Environment, Department of Forestry, Nature and Landscape Conservation; representatives of local authorities (with dr Bożena Kotońska - Voivodeship Conservator of Nature), heads of powiats and gminas, representatives of Regional Direction of State Forests as well as some private forest owners. This launch had earlier been identified by the project partners as been strategically very important and as having enormous implications for the future success or failure of the project. In particular, the partners felt that this launch would be the litmus test for the concept of partnership and multistakeholder participation and commitment. During the course of this launch a number of presentations were made. Included among those presentations were the following: a presentation by Wojciech Jastrzębski from the Ministry of Environment dealing with the role of this Ministry in the sustainable development of the private forest sector. In particular, Mr Wojciech Jastrzębski in welcoming the project and its objectives stated that the Ministry could do nothing until first of all the private forest owners come together and form "groups". Dr Zenon Tederko, IUCN, presented the project and called on all those present to support its aims and objectives. Mr George O'Malley, Beltra Resources, speaking on the theme of partnership, explained its relevance to the development and sustainable utilisation of Poland's private forests and called for its application by all stakeholders in Malopolska. Others to speak included Mr. Jan Widełka, from Regional Directorate of State Forests, dr Bożena Kotońska Voivodeship Conservator of Nature, Major of Wieliczka Mr. Tadeusz Juras, and Starosta of Myślenice Mr. Ignacy Paniak. Those presentations were followed by a lunch for all participants and then by an active discussion and question and answer session. During the preparations for this event, Zenon Tederko, IUCN and George O'Malley, Beltra Resources had considered various options available to them based on how they would perceive the prevailing atmosphere as the launch progressed. One such option, assuming positive developments at the launch, was to seek declared support from the participants. This resulted in 20 letters of support for the project. This importance of this result cannot be overstated and it was to prove extremely important later on. The public launch was a great success (Appendix no 1. Letters of support, Appendix 2, Photographs).
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     During November and December, after recognizing the situation of the target group, informational and promotional materials were prepared and produced in colour and black and white leaflets and posters, inserts to newspapers. Articles were written for the newspapers and posters were produced. Special emphasis was put on local newspapers, edited by gminas at the very local level, as they have a very good impact on local societies. As Christmas is the usual time for preparing and distributing these type of newspapers an emphasis was made to attach extra materials about the project and use these channel of distribution. The materials were distributed in this way in "Biuletyn Gminy Słopnice", "Nasze Strony", "Pod Diablakiem" (Appendix no 3 Press publications).
     Local coordinators were engaged: Mr. Tadeusz Florek at Slopnice, Mr. Mieczysław Gomółka at Niedźwiedź, Mr. Maciej Mażul at Zawoja, Mr. Paweł Adamski at Wieliczka.
     Contact was made with the Regional Directorate of State Forestry, dr Alfred Król, who declared his strong support to the project. Dr Król promised to send representatives of State Forestry to the most important meetings, which were being planned with private forest owners.
     The local project coordinator, dr Tadeusz Zając, was invited to the Convent of Starostas, held in Kraków on 6.11.2001 in Starostwo Powiatowe of Kraków, where in presence of all starostas from Małopolska region he presented the project. The project idea was strongly supported but simultaneously the big difficulties with creating social activities were stressed.
     An article in "Trybuna Śląska" published in November resulted in contact and promise of cooperation with "Frantschach Świecie" - the biggest paper factory in Poland. Consultations with the Sales Director Mr. Jarosław Kruk revealed that "Frantschach Świecie" is very interested in the development of FOAs and that in this company there is a department devoted to cooperation and education with private forest owners (lead by Mr Bogdan Jodda). Director Kruk declared the company's intention to cooperate and help FOAs after finishing pilot project.
     Also, cooperation with dr Andrzej Czech, a leader of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) in Poland was established. Dr Czech declared cooperation with the project and declared attempt of develop a forest certification scheme for emerging FOAs. He took part in informative meetings, advocating cooperation and disseminating information on forest certification schemes.
     At this stage work began on elaborating "Articles of Association" or "Statutes" for the legal establishment of Forest Owner Associations (FOAs). Models of such documents from other countries were used as a foundation as well as legal advice.

Public meetings

Apart from small personal meetings with all persons, which may help the project (local authorities, local business, national parks, local NGOs, Urbars, etc.), general informative meetings were organized in January 2002 for private forest owners. This type of meeting was prepared as the most extensive and convincing method of direct presentation of the project and as a way to clarify all ambiguities and difficulties, as well as to activate private forest owners. Meetings were organised in the presence of and with the active participation of Beltra Resources consultants, who were very convincing as private forest owners and as members of Forest Owners Associations from the EU.
     Public informative meetings were started with a presentation of the situation in private forests in Poland and then by facilitating discussion with private forest owners. The objective during the course of those meetings was to convince through reasoned discussion and dialogue that forming forest owner associations was the only realistic option to ensure the protection and sustainable utilisation of the private forests in Poland. The partners aimed for a voluntary declaration by the forest owners present at these meetings to actively pursue the establishment of an FOA.

     The first such meeting was held in Słopnice, on 13.01.2002. This was attended by 31 forest owners including one woman and the gmina representative (Mr. Tadeusz Florek). After the presentation of the project by the partners, a broad discussion started. Generally there was a lack of trust in the European Community and a general view of foreign representatives as trying to get profit at the expense of Polish⁴. The forest owners stressed the important role of statute regulations, which gives control over FOA activities and thus bringing self-confidence. This issue of "control" of the association was seen by the partners as been a key factor for the success of the project, i.e. real "ownership" of the association by the forest owners themselves and not outsiders. Very concrete questions on perspectives of FOA functioning were raised, about minimal area of forest covered by FOAs in western countries (answer U. Larsson, Sweden situation), what is the minimal area of PFO (private forest owner) joining FOA, methods of management on small areas (Christmas trees plantation as a solution - small discussions about situation with this in Poland), what are sources of finances for FOA in EU - fees, activities benefits, donations. A critical role was played at this meeting by the State Forestry. Mr J. Czernek, the local private forests supervisor, who had very good contact with the people in this locality, supported the idea of establishing an FOA. Finally, Mr Jan Giemzik came forward and became the first person to sign a declaration to establish an FOA in Słopnice. He also became the first person in Poland to make such a declaration.

     The second large informative meeting was held in Zawoja, on 16th of January 2002, at 18.00 in "Filip" hotel and in the absence of Beltra Resources. This meeting was attended by representatives of local authorities (gmina) and local NGOs. After the standard presentation a discussion started, which showed that people were not convinced and were also afraid of engaging in a project, which they perceived as having no possibility of being successful due to general situation in Poland - economical recession, unemployment. It was evident from this meeting that the forest owners were lacking in self-confidence and had little trust in their own capabilities. The prospect of establishing an FOA here, in such circumstances, was poor. However the timely intervention of a highly successful NGO from a nearby village proved crucial. This NGO suggested that in the absence of sufficient local support for the formation of an FOA, that it instead would establish one. This automatically transformed the mentality and way of thinking at the meeting. The meeting concluded with 20 persons declaring for an FOA out of the 33 present.
     The third informative meeting was held in Wieliczka on 24th of January 2002 at 12.00 in Major hall, with the presence of 30 persons and 3 journalists, representing regional newspapers (Dziennik Polski, Gazeta Krakowska), representatives of local authorities (gmina and powiat) and State Forestry. As in previous meetings, after the standard presentation a discussion started among the attendants. A statement was made that there was a need for this type of association in the Wieliczka area. The rest of the meeting was devoted to getting information on EU forestry from Beltra Resources as well as for asking concrete questions with regard to forest management to representatives of State Forestry. Once again the State Forestry played an important part in this meeting. Out of 30 persons present, 28 declared access to the Association.
     At Gorce, due to a large number of forest owners and the possibility of joining two gminas together, following suggestions of Mr. Marek Mąkowski, vice Major of gmina Niedźwiedź, we decided to split informative meeting to village meetings of forest owners with supervising state foresters. This approach eventually proved to be incorrect as the State Forestry did not organize even a single meeting. A general meeting in Niedźwiedź was finally organized on the basis of Gorce National Park, on 9th of April. Despite the earlier expectations this meeting failed as no more than 8 private forest owners were interested in founding an FOA. Due to the final lack of interest, we decided to cease our activities in Niedźwiedź. The experience here proved the absolute importance of having local stakeholder commitment.
     In order to establish the 4th FOA, we organised an information meeting 16th of April in neighbouring gmina Kamienica. This proved to be unexpectedly successful and resulted in founding meeting of FOA on 24th of April, with 17 founding members. This FOA has very good cooperation with Kamienica gmina.

Development of Forest Owner Associations

The next step in our activities was starting the procedure of FOA registration. First founding meetings of FOA in the project was held in Zawoja. "Zawojskie Stowarzyszenie Właścicieli Lasów Prywatnych" was founded on 8th February with 27 founding members. Statute and protocol from founding meeting attached in Appendix 4 Registration procedures. This meeting was announced throughout Poland by TVP2 in main edition of "Panorama" and in the number of newspapers (App. 3).

     Second founding meeting was held in Słopnice, 10th of February, with 15 founding members.
     Third founding meeting was held on 1st March in Wieliczka. (photographs in Appendix 2 Photographs.)
     After establishment of initiative groups for Forest Owners Associations (FOAs) in 3 localities (Zawoja, Wieliczka, Słopnice), a series of meetings were carried out in order to identify needs of each FOA in relation to management, capacity building and extensions services for forest owners united in associations.
     The basic needs expressed by private forest owners were first of all related to the governmental programme for afforestation in Poland. Due to a very weak information campaign, most of the private forest owners or farmers did not know anything concrete with regard to this programme. The next main problem expressed by private forest owners was related to fragmentation of ownership and lack of regulated ownership.
     Other needs expressed by forest owners can be grouped as follows:

1. woodland maintenance, with special emphasis on safety problems and modern equipment used by forest workers in western countries, afforestation techniques, forest tending, thinning, economic and financial aspects of woodland management.
2. local community welfare, with special emphasis on activating local communities in fundraising.

To deal with first two basic problems, a series of meetings with a lawyer were organised for all FOAs, which had initiative groups. Those meetings were associated with workshops, were documents brought by owners were directly reviewed and commented upon by the lawyer. Also a relevant article regarding regulation of ownership was prepared for publication in local newspapers and the web site of the project⁵.
     To deal with problems of woodland maintenance, a series of Forest Days was organised in Zawoja and Wieliczka together with Beltra Resources (Mr. Urban Larsson, Mr. Richard Bradshaw, Mr. David Ogg). During one such day a forest workshop focusing on tree felling and safety issues was organised in Zawoja on 8th April. Included among the c. 50-60 participants here were local forest owners, as well as representatives of Sucha Beskidzka State Forest District and journalists representing Dziennik Polski, Gazeta Krakowska, TV Katowice and Radio Kraków. It is worth emphasising the very comprehensive and interesting reportage edited by Radio Kraków on 2nd May 2002 at 20.15 devoted to the Forest Day entitled "Talks during felling forest" by Katarzyna Fortuna.
     To deal with problems of woodland maintenance, a series of Forest Days was organised in Zawoja and Wieliczka together with Beltra Resources (Mr. Urban Larsson, Mr. Richard Bradshaw, Mr. David Ogg). During one such day a forest workshop focusing on tree felling and safety issues was organised in Zawoja on 8th April. Included among the c. 50-60 participants here were local forest owners, as well as representatives of Sucha Beskidzka State Forest District and journalists representing Dziennik Polski, Gazeta Krakowska, TV Katowice and Radio Kraków. It is worth emphasising the very comprehensive and interesting reportage edited by Radio Kraków on 2nd May 2002 at 20.15 devoted to the Forest Day entitled "Talks during felling forest" by Katarzyna Fortuna.

     During the workshops, techniques of felling trees were presented both by western guests and by local forest owners. During the works an intensive exchange of information took place, with special emphasis devoted to works safety, ensured by special equipment presented by Beltra Resources. From the Polish side the technique of using horses for log extraction was presented, as using horses in forest works becomes more and more popular in western countries for environmental reasons. In the afternoon the Beltra Resources team presented a lecture on the structure and functioning of Swedish FOAs, which was a very interesting presentation for forest owners in Poland.
     During the second day in Zawoja there was an excursion of western guests with local forest owners to Babia Góra National Park, where the problems of maintenance of private forests under nature protection regime were discussed. Western guests suggested using some modern techniques (e.g. cable crane) of logs extracting in very difficult physical environment. On the other hand they were very interested in exploited forest rebuilding under regime of National Park. Zawoja forest owners presented private forests, which are maintained within National Park without creating conflicts, which are so overwhelming in Tatra National Park.
     During the next day the same programme of training was presented in Wieliczka, in the private forest of Mr Józef Cygan. During the same day a private company owning ca 10 ha of riverside forest in Wieliczka gmina was visited. Due to the need for rebuilding the structure of considered woodstand (an old poplar plantation), the workshop on forest rebuilding and maintenance was held there.
     In Słopnice a program of training in forest maintenance was developed based on local resources. The forest owners indicated a necessity to get knowledge from local foresters (from Limanowa State Forest Districts) with respect to local conditions. This kind of training was developed for them during the last days of April and first days of May. The course culminated with participants taking an exam and those who were successful received certificates (see www site of the project).
     A series of trainings delivered by Mr Mirosław Gawęda, Executive Director of Regional Centre for Ecological Education in Kraków, including training in writing applications were held for the purpose fund raising by local communities, was held in Zawoja towards the end of April and early May. Those trainings resulted in ready-made grant proposals, which awaited the formal registration of the FOA by court. Then can then be sent to appropriate funds. For all Associations Mr. Gawęda prepared a handbook devoted to raising funds and the functioning of associations - see Appendix 5. Handbook for associations.
     Also in Zawoja efforts were continuing to find a suitable office for the local FOA. This objective was finally realised in June. Using own resources the forest owners prepared a separate room in Gmina Center of Culture, which will be the official office for the FOA.
     On 10th of May the Chairman of Zawoja Forest Owner Association got a letter from XII Dep. of Registration Court informing that Zawoja FOA was registered and has a law personality. On 15th of May one of the founding members from Wieliczka FOA got a letter from the XI Dep. of Registration Court regarding supply of additional "statements of will" from founding members of FOA. The same letter, regarding supply of "statements of will" came to Kamienica FOA founding members on 29 of May. It is surprising, that with exactly the same set of documents, Zawoja FOA was registered within two months, whereas other FOA needed additional documents. No such a call for documents came to Słopnice FOA. Until the end of June none of the remaining FOAs were registered by court.
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     The next trainings of forest owners united in Associations were undertaken during 23-27 of May, with the participation of project coordinators (Mr. T.Zając and Mr. J.Ślizowski) and Beltra Resources represented by Mr. Urban Larsson and Mr. David Ogg. The first day of trainings were held in Wieliczka in forest of Mr. Józef Cygan with about 15 members of the Wieliczka FOA in attendance. Basic silviculture was the subject and the importance of species choice based upon site conditions was explained, and the basic silvicultural requirements up to the age of first thinning. Urban Larsson and David Ogg explained the methodology behind thinning and then discussed selective and clear felling and minimum coupe sizes. This was supported by practical demonstrations using equipment brought by the Beltra Resources and IUCN teams. The techniques of measure the height of a tree were also presented, as well as the method of assessing stand volume using 0.01 ha sample plots.
     The second day of training started from meeting of leaders of FOAs with three representatives from Regionalna Dyrekcja Lasów Państwowych (Regional Directorate of State Forests). The representative of the Regional Director, Mr. Edward Gurgul, identified problems relating to private forests, and also spoke about cooperation between the State and Private sectors.
     In the afternoon a meeting with Zawoja FOA in the Village Hall was held. The main topic of training was forest certification. Mr. David Ogg briefly explained the Group Certification System and showed concrete examples of the timber market in the UK with regard to beech timber. Mr. Urban Larsson then discussed the marketing of forest skills abroad. Skills ranged from basic silviculture to chainsaw and skidder drivers.
     On 25th of May the training in Slopnice took place in the forests belonging to Mr. Zdzisław Kulpa - a member of Słopnice FOA. Almost all members of this FOA were present. There were also representatives of State Forestry from Limanowa district as well as some invited persons from other gminas, interested in the programme. Training started with an introduction to silviculture, problems of species composition and habitat requirements, clearing, thinning and felling. Mr. Urban Larsson demonstrated health and safety problems and over the course of the next 2 hours, 4 trees were felled (3-4 cubic meters each, which is a technical challenge needing excellence in chainsaw operation) with extensive discussions and considering technical problems. A tree measuring competition was organised, based upon visual assessment followed by the physical measuring of the felled tree. Prizes were given at the end of the session, during barbecue organised by Słopnice FOA. It is worth noting, that this Słopnice association, regarded initially as having the lowest capacity, perfectly organized this Forest Day, incorporating into FOA activities people from adjacent gminas (Dobra and Limanowa).
     In Kamienica the meeting with local FOA (their first serious activity within the project), took place under cover due to torrential rain. However, this meeting was also very successful with the same information and subjects being discussed as above.
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     On 21 June a meeting of FOA leaders with Voivodeship Conservator of Nature, dr Bożena Kotońska, was held in Kraków, in a conference room of the Institute of Nature Conservation PAS in attendance of FOAs leaders. During the meeting, there was intensive training held regarding nature conservation system in Poland and opportunities for cooperation with forest owners. It is interesting to note here that the private forest owners were open to the issues of environment and nature protection, declaring interest in these issues and their will to cooperate. The meeting was attended by Deputy Chairman of Polish Ecological Club (PKE), prof. dr Zbigniew Witkowski, who declared his intention to establish cooperation between FOAs and PKE.
     During summer time most of the works with the owners were rather restricted as the most of them were completely engaged with farming (harvesting) and tourism related activities. It is important to mention the very successful enterprise named "Blues and Country pod Diablakiem" coorganised by Zawoja FOA in Zawoja on 20 July 2002⁶ together with Gmina Center of Promotion in Zawoja, Blues Club Klinika 35 from Kraków, Impresario BLAART from Sucha Beskidzka and Diablak Hotel.
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     A team of foresters working with private forests owners or skilled in different topics of forestry was included in team (Mr. Paweł Byrtek, Mr. Zdzisław Spendel, Mr. Jacek Ślizowski). Cooperation resulted in publishing a booklet "Lasy prywatne. Poradnik dla właścicieli", which contains primary knowledge of forestry and information required for successful FOA operation (see Appendix 6 Brochure for forest owners). This booklet was well received by the FOAs (see review of professional forester, Mr Tadeusz Florek, employed in Słopnice local authorities - App. 6) and by State Forests districts, which distributed ca 500 specimens among private owners within their area. Brochures will be also distributed by national parks, which cooperate and supervise forests of private owners.
     In August, most of the FOAs got court registration, which enabled them to acquire donations with equipment. Each of the cooperating associations was equipped with computer, multifunction machine (scanning, printing, copying, and fax), software (Windows, Norton Antivirus, MS Office), and basic equipment needed for trainings and education: overhead projector, screen and flipchart. After signing agreements between Foundation IUCN Poland and the Associations, equipment was transferred to the offices of the FOAs.
     Mr. Urban Larsson, Beltra Resources, developed direct cooperation between Polish and Swedish forest owners. In Sweden there is a significant shortage of workers for forest clearing and afforestation. In Poland many forest owners lost their jobs in State Forests Districts, due to their bad economical situation. Because this kind of worker is needed in Sweden cooperation between Polish and Swedish associations can result in mutual benefits. The first group of Polish owners is expected to go to Sweden next spring.
Respective WWW sites were developed for associations⁷.
     The implementation of the project was finalised with the Concluding Conference held on 5 October in Wieliczka Town Hall⁸ followed by a folk picnic on 6 Oct in Zawoja (tree-fellers and other competitions), accompanied by discussions amongst the conference attendants, aimed at establishing cooperation. The conference was attended by ca 120 persons (counted on the basis of chairs) they took 89 headphones; presence list was subscribed by 81 persons⁹. They represented not only FOAs but also State Forests, local administrations and local authorities. Although this concluding conference was initially planned only for Polish participants, both IUCN and Beltra Resources decided that the project result should also be presented to a wider audience. Accordingly, both IUCN and Beltra Resources invited representatives from a number of international organisations including the World Bank, EBRD, CEPF and FAO. As similar problems exist in most other Central European countries, representatives from the regulatory authorities for forests from all the CEEC and Baltic countries were also invited together with NGOs and forest owner organisations. It was hoped that this concluding conference would provide positive stimulation for other CEEC and Baltic countries in approaching the resolution of similar problems and that it would also initiate co-operation amongst the private forest owner fraternity in Europe as a whole. Furthermore Beltra Resources had previous experience of working with the development of the private forest sector in Hungary, Estonia, Czech Republic, Slovakia and had just completed a similar project in Lithuania. Despite the relatively short notification period (8 weeks), this conference was attended by all the CEEC and Baltic countries, with the exception of Latvia, Slovenia, Romania and Albania. Had it been possible to hold this conference later in the year it is conceivable that all CEEC and Baltic countries would be represented. The venue for the conference was the town hall in Wieliczka. Care was taken to ensure a pleasant and welcoming atmosphere including the placing of national flags for all participating countries around the hall. Summary copies of the project were made available in the conference hall together with other printed outputs, photographs and newspaper reports. The first day of the conference was devoted to presenting the project objectives and results and presenting the current situation in the FOAs and their vision for the future. A conscious decision was taken by the project partners to focus attention throughout the conference proceedings on the forest owners and their respective FOAs. Accordingly it was decided to nominate Mr. Janusz Jekiel Vice President of Wieliczka FOA as conference chairman for the morning session and Mr Władysław Sadowski from Gorce FOA as chairman for the afternoon session. The entire conference was organised by the project partners in collaboration with the FOAs from Wieliczka, Kamienica and Słopnice; which acted mainly during the first day of the conference and Zawoja, which organised the second day of the conference in Zawoja, which was a folk picnic in Zawoja including competitions and accompanied by more intimate and informal discussions amongst the conference attendants, aimed at establishing cooperation.

     A total of six multi lingual translators facilitated the conference presentations and question and answer session. The centre-piece of the morning session was presentations by representatives of all four FOAs. All presentations were really outstanding, presenting almost all approaches to the problem and all giving very good marks to the project, despite the doubts, characterizing the beginning of the project. During the afternoon session presentations were made by some of the delegates from participating countries. The first presentation was made by Mr. Janos Kapscandi from the Hungarian Forest Service. Mr. Kapscandi outlined the structure of Hungarian forestry and some of the problems requiring attention, including the issue of sustainable development of the private forest sector. Ms. Maria Petrova from The Bulgarian Chamber of Forestry made a presentation in which she concluded that Bulgaria needs a project similar to this project here. Presentations were also made by Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
     One of the most important guests was Mrs. Zofia Chrempińska, a Director of Forestry Department in Ministry of Environment. Mrs Zofia Chrempińska stated that this project "hit the bull's eye" as regards what was needed for the sustainable development of the Polish private forest sector. She officially invited a representative of FOAs to the Forestry Council, which is being established at Ministry of Environment.
     During the second day of the conference attendants took part in folk picnic organised by Zawoja FOA¹⁰. The main event during the enterprise was a ceremony presenting titles of Honourable Members of Zawoja FOA to project coordinators. Those members were Mr. Jacek Ślizowski and Mr. Tadeusz Zając from IUCN team as well as for Mr. Urban Larsson from Beltra Resources. It was very evident during this day that Zawoja FOA had grown in confidence and had developed considerable capacity. This was visible not only in organising folk music, stage, food, fire, and the competitions; but also by successfully integrating people from different countries and establishing international contacts.
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     Information on the conference and outcome of the project was published in "Dziennik Polski" the biggest regional newspaper and was also reported in Radio Kraków, which also included interviews given by Mr. Zenon Tederko from IUCN and Mr. George O'Malley from Beltra Resources.
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Study tour

From the Polish side 12 persons took part in study tour to Sweden: 7 from FOAs, 3 from civic associations and project coordinators - Tadeusz Zając and Jacek Ślizowski, who also undertake translation.

Cecylia Bochniarz - Friends of Gorce Association

Józef Cygan - Wieliczka FOA

Jarosław Czyrnek - Słopnice FOA

Tadeusz Florek - Słopnice FOA

Mieczysław Gomółka - Gorczańskie FOA

Małgorzata Jarosz - Babia Góra Initiatives Association

Janusz Jekiel - Wieliczka FOA

Maciej Mażul - Zawojskie FOA

Maciej Mętel - Zawojskie FOA

Dorota Piwko - Babia Góra Initiatives Association

Jacek Ślizowski - Coordinator

Tadeusz Zając - Coordinator

3rd of June Study tour started in Sweden at Falkőping, where we met our study tour guide - Urban Larsson. In the afternoon we met a representatives of County Forestry Board, Västra Götaland, Skara, at famous "bird lake" in Hornborgasjőn. During the meeting we were discussing the problems of relations between state forest service and private forest sector in Sweden. The very interesting for the Polish participants was a little amount of state control provided to private forests, which is restricted to respecting main principles of silviculture and basic issues of ecology. After that we were introduced with the main practical problems of silviculture in Sweden. These were presented in field and discussed: type of timber produced (especially for ecological hitting stations), afforestation (natural vs planting), protection of young trees against wild animals (mooses in Sweden vs Red Deer in Poland). We stop for two nights at Billingens Camping, Skövde, where we had occasion to see central heating station, fuelled by waste timber from private forests. Also Billingens Camping presented a very good example of tourism management.

4th of June During the second day we spent in Töreboda town and surrounding forests. First, we visited headquarters of Södra Skogsägarna - the biggest of Swedish FOA. During the visit a representatives of Södra Skogsägarna presented basically the principles which Södra Skogsägarna relay on, then they present rules of their economical activities, as well as social activities and their relation to local societies. The presentations were interrupted and follwed by very intensive discussions about economy of big FOA - structure of organization, problems of marketing, timber market, costs of forests works etc. After that we visited some forests administrated by Södra Skogsägarna. In the field we saw thinning harvester in action, and different types of seedling protection against moose and insects. Next we visited private forestry enterprise, Vadsbo ltd., in Timmersdala near Lerdala. There we had an opportunity to meet private forest owner and to learn on basic principles of private forest owner and private forestry business, its advantages and problems. After discussions we had opportunity to see a private forest management and, which was extremely interesting, nature reserve in private forest with excellent three stands.

5th of June was one of the most interesting days. We went to Hedekas to meet with the leaders of NGO-s in Munkedal Commune (Mrs Ewa Alfredsson), where we had excellent opportunity to see activities of the small scale civic association - situation very similar to Polish circumstances. After discussion and exchange of experiences it appeared that Munkedal Commune declare to develop contacts and partnership with gmina Zawoja. Then we had a visit to local farmers in Kasebo dealing with agrotourism (agriculture, fishing and hunting in Kynnefjäll). It was very impressive to see very well organised enterprise, with traditional, beautiful small hunting houses. After visit in farm, we visited small sawmill and carpenters bench. This visit was especially interesting, because most of the private forest owners in Poland can develop business in the same scale. We saw hole "chain of custody" beginning from logs extracted from the private forest, transported to a small, but very technically advanced saw mill, and afterwards sawngoods were located in carpenters' bench, when number of products were prepared. What is worth of stress that during this visit participants of the study tour could really get acquaint with machines, organisation, logistics, marketing and advertisement of small family enterprise. Our host was extremely open, sincere and friendly, which resulted in establishing very nice direct contact. Moreover, it appeared that he visited Poland for some time before, which strengthens established contacts. We stay for overnight in Wauglens Wilderness Camp near Hedekas, where we passed through "team building" training and had insight into ecotourism problems, organisation and logistics.

6th of June we visited a small but very fit FOA Västra Värmland Dals forest owners association, in Arjäng. Here we had similar visit like in Södra Skogsägarna - discussion about structure of Västra Värmland Dals FOA and then visit to forest. During the visit in the forest, we had occasion to see the way which Västra Värmland Dals manage the forest of private owner living abroad, in England. We had occasion to see a large scale harvester and forwarder during the final clearing. We also talk to contractors employed by Västra Värmland Dals and we had opportunity to see equipment in details. Next we visited Nössemark, to visit Tristeklan National Park. We spent night in Tingvall Eko, an experimental house where ecological principles of house keeping were implemented in practice.

7th of June we spent on the Ralanda estate, near Hogstorp. Owner of the estate, Earl Greve Claes Adam Wactmeister, presented his excellence in forestry management of 200 ha productive forest stand and about 60 ha of arable land. Earl Wactmeister presented many types of habitats and results of different forest management. We also want to stress his hospitality and high level of practical knowledge of forest matters. In the afternoon we visited Bacamo - the Youth and Forest Association (with a little break for canoeing). We had opportunity to see the remains of former military station, used for the welfare of local community and youths. Last day in Sweden we spent in Tönnersjöheden R & D forestry and silviculture, Forestry Research Institute of Sweden. We visited Experimental Forests near Simlangsdalen - it was a very interesting visit, because we could have a look at forest managed in experimentally different way, and we could ask about many basic problems connected with silviculture, thinning, final cutting and protecting of young trees against insects.

     After this visit we went back to Ystad and Poland.

     This visit made a very big impression on visiting representatives of Polish private forest sector. They did not realised which way forests are managed in Western Europe, they did not realise the scale of technical advancement (e.g. nobody use chain saws for felling in Sweden). Direct contacts were established which doubtless will be developed in common initiatives.

     What is worth to mention, study tour brought also very close integration of Polish team, with establishing a very direct contacts between different FOAs.

Mapping the future

     The development of FOAs seems to be the best prospect of ensuring the implementation of SFM in Poland's private forests. This is also the only way to ensure forest certification for 1.15 mln ha of private forests in Poland. During the economic crisis coming in State Forest Districts, which were financing half of the costs of private forest supervising, the existence of FOAs can guarantee safeguarding not only the economic interests of their members, but also give them actual information and advice in forestry, as well as supply them with extension services. FOAs enabled mutual contacts, also economical, between owners, which may result in real contracts.
     FOAs have started to provide local societies, school children, youths and general public with information on forestry and sustainable development. A large number of initiatives were planned in FOAs, e.g. in Zawoja the FOA is planning to get funds for establishment of a seedling nursery, based on tree genetic material taken from the area of Babia Góra National Park in order to promote local ecotypes in the state afforestation programme. Also a programme of creating nesting sites for large species of owls is being elaborated. In Wieliczka the idea has been put forward to publish a series of brochures related to private forestry (e.g. explanation of forest act, afforestation act, together with practical advices). Also Wieliczka FOA is going to develop a series of areas of ecological usage, with some educational paths. One of the main goals for all FOAs in the Małopolska region is the development of a soil-habitat map, which will be of greatest importance for appropriate sustainable development of private forests as an indispensable help in keeping harmony between habitat and forest type. Appropriate grant proposals are now developed, which will be sent to donors.
     The future envisages the continued integration of forest owners into local FOAs. After the establishment of stable local structures the national organization representing all local forest owners can be established through continued horizontal and vertical integration of forest owners.

Obstacles

     Firstly, in terms of the social and economic circumstances current in Poland, 14 months was too short for this type of project. Court procedures alone took 4-5 months at the mid way stage of the project (court procedures needs long time, whereas time for answering court demands is extremely short, especially for new established associations - see correspondence with registration court - Appendix 4). This time should have been devoted to the most intensive trainings for executives of the FOAs and in particular the elaboration of applications of grant proposals. This slowness with the registration process resulted in the reluctance of people, very often the most active. Furthermore the intended executive members of the boards of the FOAs did not want to engage in activities prior to formal and legitimate registration of association. It cannot be overemphasized, that Polish low on associations is extremely complicated and difficult to fulfil, with a lot of bureaucracy. This results in an extremely slow registration process in court, which may be a serious threat for establishing future associations.
     Although the level of social engagement of people in rural areas is rising now in Poland, still, newly formed FOAs and CAs need further encouragement and advice, which can be guaranteed by established external contacts. It should be remembered, that e.g. in Scandinavian countries people have a long tradition of organizing in this way, and thus they can be sure of success, which allows them to take bank credit for future activities. This kind of action in Poland is impossible. It must be remembered that registration fees in Poland are too high for people from rural areas. Founding 2 associations (FOA and CA) at one place needs from 1000 to 1300 NPL only for court fees.
     It should be stressed, that not only for FOA, but also for people in administration, local societies, NGO, science institution etc., cooperation with EU is extremely difficult due to lack of information, starting from procedures and ending with the vocabulary. There is no practical knowledge of these issues in Poland.
     The crucial point of the project is to find local coordinators or local "focal" people. Such people must be active, known, trustful and well respected. The failure of the project in the Nowy Targ region, Sułkowice, and the civic association in Wieliczka was as a direct result of a lack of good local coordinators. Those key persons are crucial to the success of FOAs. They are not always clearly visible and it may be necessary to outline profiles for such persons. In Niedźwiedź the failure of activities was caused by the reluctance of gmina authorities, which completely neglected our initiatives.
     Clearly, there is a "drainage of brains" from local communities to large towns. The lack of civic activities in some places might be easily explained by the lack of good examples. On the other hand, one committed and devoted person can activate whole communities. An example of such a person was father Romuald Wilk in "Przysłop Association".
     A further problem in Poland is caused by the low level of trust afforded to the NGO sector, which is seen as "parasites". Inhabitants of rural areas have no time during the day, so meetings and other types of social activities are possible only during the evenings or during weekends. This further restricts the time accessible for project activities. People have even less time during periods of intensive fieldworks (early spring, summer, and early autumn).
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Objectives achieved and impact on the target group

     Prior to the implementation of this project, there were several attempts at establishing FOAs. In Myślenice State Forest District an attempt was made by Mr. Ignacy Paniak, also by Związek Właścicieli Lasów Prywatnych" (ZWLP; Union of Private Forest Owners) in Lublin area, also by Frantschach Świecie and by prof. Zbigniew Laurow from SGGW in Warsaw (person. Comm..). There was also at least one international project. All of those attempts were unsuccessful. In this project, the original target to establish four FOAs was achieved together with 2 civic associations. The establishment of a youth association is impossible in view of Polish law, where only adult persons can form associations. On the other hand the established FOA and CA develop cooperation with schools and youths.
     All associations formed developed links and partnerships not only with biggest Polish NGOs (IUCN, PKE, ROEE, Partnership for Environment) but also internationally (ZWOL, FOAL, FAO, CEPF and Beltra Resources). The best example of partnership was between gmina Zawoja and Munkedal Commune from Sweden. This was as a direct result of the study tour.
     The project raised awareness among the forest owners on the multifunctionality of forests. This view seemed to be especially true for owners as the purely productive role of forests decreased, due to lack of timber market. The growing areas of interest for forest owners are related to tourism, renewable sources of energy and forest certification. All of these areas require a sustainable approach to forest utilisation. This represented a real change in the minds of the forest owners, who had not previously recognized these issues.
     It is extremely promising that project released so much social energy in local communities, with the greatest success being in Zawoja. Taking into consideration that many people engaged without any remuneration for preparing educational paths, founding a tree nursery or providing local cultural center with material and work for construction of stage for cultural enterprises, proves that these people were seriously motivated towards cooperation, democracy and development of local society. Similar events were organized in Słopnice and Kamienica, whereas in Wieliczka plans more ambitious, regarding mainly publishing materials and training for owners from whole powiat area.
     The study tour in Sweden resulted in a change of perspectives. Polish owners realized that they rather should think about alternative functions of forests. They were also convinced about the advantages of cooperation as a result of learning about successful Swedish associations. The forest owners were also convinced about the suitability of democratic procedures for realizing self-governance.
     On the other hand, the project resulted in a change of mind in local forest and state administration. Those organizations began to notice, for the first time, the presence of private forest owners. In some areas there was a serious conflict between forest owners and supervising forestry service, mostly because forest owners were being forced to carry out some activities or sometimes maybe as a result of the behaviour of state foresters. In this project all of these obstacles were overcome as a result of committed support from higher level of State Forestry Administration. Great support for the project was forthcoming from the Małopolska District of State Forestry, which declared its intention to develop further cooperation with FOAs.
     The trainings given during the project were very important for the owners. First, they could get an external estimate of their skills - which are high with regard to technical matters, but are not as good with regard to principles of forest growing. The lowest level of forestry skills was met in Wieliczka FOA, where most of the people bought or inherited forest. Trainings were very important with regard to health and safety in forestry works. Such matters are currently almost unknown among forest owners.
     Lectures on forest growing and certification resulted in a change of approach to forest management plans, which were regarded by owners as useless bureaucracy. Those who were forced by State Forestry to pay for plans preparations saw their usefulness, which was important in reducing conflicts with State Forestry.
     Definitely, there is a need for training among forest owners as a big interest in the brochure for owners was shown (Myślenice State Forestry District (300), Sucha Beskidzka SFD (100), Krzeszowice SFD (50), Ojcowski National Park (100), ROEE (100) + some individuals), resulted in broad disseminating of this issue¹¹.
     In last year one of the most important issues for rural dwellers in Poland, was an implementation of the Law on Afforestation. An almost complete lack of an integrated information package resulted in many mistakes made by farmers, who did not know about the restrictions and pitfalls of this law. Many of them invested in afforestation although they did not know that they sometimes did not fulfil all the requirements for payment according to the law. Clarifying these issue was much unacknowledged by owners.
     The most important issue for Polish private forestry is regulation of ownership. It was surprising, that tradition of ownership regulation was ceased during the previous system, resulting in enormous mass in forest ownership. Project offered all relevant information for private owners, which was also published in Internet (www.iop.krakow.pl/lpr/) and some local newspapers.
     A big surprise for the project partners was training in nature conservation, which was acknowledged by owners and representative of state administration and which resulted in establishing mutual contacts. Foundation IUCN Poland established national focal point for biodiversity in Poland, based on staff of the project (at IUCN member - Institute of Nature Conservation of Polish Academy of Sciences). FOAs and focal point representatives will be engaged in international forestry events, to be organized by FAO - IUCN - CEPF ("Strengthening of Private and Community Forestry in selected Central and Eastern European Countries CEE)".
     The results of the project will be also transferred to other working in the same fields, like Union of Private Forest Owners from Lublin, SGGW, or Frantschach Świecie in the hope that together they can work together for the continuation of this project.
     The project was extremely successful in releasing energy of local communities. It resulted in establishing and strengthening relationships between forest owners and local governments. It appeared, that owners not only have very concrete needs from local government, but thanks to their own resources (timber, skills in carpentry) they can create big opportunities for development of local activities, like organizing cultural events, supplying local community with equipment, organizing lectures and trainings. Their offices, frequently staffed with their own resources and work, offers access to high technology, Internet, printing or educational devices, which were not founded by local administration so far, e.g. in Wieliczka, which is a rich gmina, the screen for final conference was supplied by the local FOA, as this gmina had a much smaller screen of worse quality. In Kamienica and Słopnice, the FOA is the only existing NGO. In Zawoja the FOA has a leading position. The FOAs are engaged in cooperation not only at gmina level but also at powiat level of local governments.
     The presence of high capacity within the newly established FOAs was appreciated by representative of Ministry of Environment Mrs Zofia Chrempińska - Director of Forestry Department who officially invited representatives of FOA to created Council of Forestry.      Associations still grow - as visible in fig. 1.
     After the publishing of information on the establishment of the first Polish FOA, Zawoja FOA received a large number of telephone calls from different parts of Poland asking for details and possibilities of establishing FOAs.
     One of the strong outputs of the project is the first WWW site devoted to private forestry. It was very quickly detected by state forests portal "Wirtualne Lasy"; since 18.04.2002 a site was visited 108 times¹². Also after finishing the project, a journal "Trybuna Leśnika" detected the web site and made contact with project coordinator, Jacek Ślizowski for the purpose of making an interview.
     Throughout the period of implementation, the project was very interesting for media, resulting in a big number of publications on the project¹³.

Assessment of the results

     Taking into account the project aims, the type of people we were dealing with and very short time schedule, we have to stress that this project was successful by any standard. There is no doubt regarding the need for FOAs in Poland. This is especially true with regard to the relationship with state and forest administration, which is currently unable to relate or cooperate with the private forest owners. The current lack of representation for the private forest owners is the main obstacle to establishing mutual, beneficial relationships between these entities.
     During the project the all planned 4 FOAs and 2 civic associations were established. The project gained significant impact on the integration of private forest owners on the regional scale (existing FOAs, signals from other gminas on initiative groups, contact with ZWLP). One of the main goals of the project, integration of the owners and raising their knowledge and skills in forestry was also achieved. The approach of private forest owners in the Małopolska region to problems of environment and nature protection indicates their positive relation to these issues. It is very likely that the implementation of sustainable forest management is easy in private forest of Małopolska as it was recognised, that most of private forest owners, united in association, respect basic principles of this type of forest management. Doubtless, promotion of democracy and development of cooperation both between citizens/forest owners and between them and local government/state administration was achieved. Still, socio-economic development and elaboration of extension services needs to be further developed, especially in cooperation with powiats (responsible for private forests supervision) and State Forestry.

EU Visibility

Taking into account that we were operating in an environment which was rather sceptical towards EU, we avoided imposing EU visibility, which is frequently annoying to locals in other Phare projects. We always stated clearly, what was the source of financing (see presentations in Appendix 8 Visibility) but we avoided giving the impression that the EU was imposing anything on Polish forest owners. Most of the visibility was ensured by posters, banners¹⁴ and by electronic ways, usually Power Point presentations¹⁵. During all interviews for radio, TV or press EU funding was stressed¹⁶.
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Additional information

Publications of the project (...)

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