1. Estonian Forestry and Tenure Reforms in a Nutshell Aigar Kallas Chairman of the Management Board Vientiane, Lao PDR August 28th, 2012

2. 2 I will discuss Background information on Estonia and its forests Property rights Timber industry Public forest administration Conclusions

3. 3 Eesti on metsatööstuse osakaalult Euroopa Liidu riikide seas teisel kohal (Läti esimene, Soome kolmas), selgub Eurostati koostatud ülevaatest. Sellega seoses viitab Eurostat oma raportis, et neis riikides on ka Euroopa Liidu keskmisest oluliselt rohkem metsa. BNS, 02.09.2008 Eesti on üks suurima metsatööstuse osakaaluga riike EL-is Forest area Forest industry exports Finland76,5%16,6% Estonia55,8%18,4% Latvia49,3%25,7% European Union 42,2%<10% © Eurostat 2008

4. Land reform impact on forest industry 4 Estonia’s total area 4,5 million ha 1,5 million ha belongs to the State 1,2 million ha managed by RMK State is the largest land-owner in Estonia

5. 5 0,8 million ha forest land 0,5 million ha commercial forest 1499 nature conservation areas 8000 km of forest roads 2000 km of nature trails 3 million cbm of harvest annually turnover 137 million euro (2011) profit 37 million euro (2011) RMK – State Forest Management (and Nature Conservation) Enterprise

6. Forestry is shaped by the political history of the country 6 PeriodStatusForest area (%)Private forest (%)... – 1918Russian Province25%0% 1918 – 1940Independent State30%10% 1940 – 1991Soviet Republic50%0% 1991 –...Independent State55%50%

7. Establishment of property rights 7

8. 8 Harvest volume 1988-2011 (million m3) Source: Statistical Forest Inventory + expert opinion

9. 9 Private forest ownership structure As a result of the Land Reform, private individuals possess 2/3 of the country’s territory; 50% of forest land is in private hands The Land Reform was the single most important cause for increase in timber harvest levels Approximately 25% of the private forests belong to industrial owners who represent ca 75% of the harvest volume Majority of the industrial owners are of local origin, but also citizens of 67 other nations own land in Estonia

10. Forest industry development 10

11. 11 Forest industry contribution to the national economy The Land Reform boosted timber harvest, which in turn provided with a basis for forest industry development The forest industry is owned 100% by private capital Modernized timber industry is the single largest contributor to country’s foreign trade balance Estonia is the 4th largest exporter of prefabricated wooden houses in Europe

12. 12 Forestry administration restructuring The Soviet era all-in-one forestry administration has been split into a structure of institutions, where each has its own role: - Ministry of Environment for policy and legislation formulation - Environmental Agency for granting land use permissions - Private Forest Center for advice to forest owners - RMK for management of public lands - Environmental Inspectorate for law enforcement

13. Forest growth for main tree species (million cbm) 13

14. Results of law enforcement 14

15. 15 Forest-rich Estonia www.rmk.ee Thank You!