Dauerwald (permanent forests) in Germany

By Tibor-Sándor Kádár, Romania, September 2017

Since 2008 I work for private forest management companies in Romania, in the eastern part of Transylvania. We are managing the forest properties of local communities, owners associations, private persons forest. I am assigned with forest regeneration and additionally corporate communication, forest pedagogy, forest certification, project management and innovation.
Being a forester in Romania I was very enthusiastic to apply for a Forest Expert training experience in Germany. This was important to me because forestry in Romania but especially in Transylvania has the theoretical and practical bases in 19th century German Forest practices. German forestry is heading now towards the conservation of biodiversity and maintaining a stable ecological and environmental state in the frame of climate change, however forestry in Romania is changing also. This change is triggered by the implication of civil society and interested factors.
My professional interest is about nature close forest management practices and continuous forest cover management system. These two professional objectives of mine are implemented at a very high professional standard and competence in Germany. My primary objective was to experience these management systems and the possibility of implementation of parts of it in the Carpathian forests.
During my stay in Thüringenforst I had insight to a complex natural resource management. My goals in this program was to experience from first hand and on site among forest practice all related activities, fields, stakeholder interests or other aspects which determine forestry or often conflict with foresters work. The experience was complex and started from the bottom practical level, accompanying foresters from the field to experience their daily tasks. Continuing with planning processes at mid organizational level up to decision making and strategic planning at top management and with umbrella organizations of forestry sector lobbying at federal level. This was complemented by related segments as research, education and business models. I was focused during my stay on fields and activities which are innovative, are missing or not working in Romanian practices. Among these are: training professional forest workers, strategic planning for forestry sector, business models, innovations, environmental educations, research on forest structure change in frame of global warming and scenarios for climate change, political lobbying.
Beside state forestry I was acquainted with the private forestry sector, nature conservation and professional organizations of foresters. I had the opportunity to meet, discuss and learn from very experienced people who are well known within the forest and nature conservation sector. An important goal for me was also networking, follow up and dissemination of the experience and the program opportunity among homeland forest professionals. (...)

I left Germany with a very good impression with the aim of strengthen my relations with those whom I met there, try to build up professional relations and use all the instruments of the European Community to tighten relations with my former hosts. I intend to disseminate my experience in Thüringenforst and Germany through the Forest expert program to all the professional circles I am familiar with.

Conclusions
The Forest Expert program was a great opportunity for me and filled a gap which I had no other way to fill in my professional progress. I am thankful for all those who made it possible to have this once in a lifetime experience. I covered all my interests during the program. My objectives to see a research based advanced forest practice which replies to the new challenges was fulfilled. I am confident that with this experience I returned home with more competence and a clear view about what is to be done and where we have to start the hard work

Tibor Kadar