Ecological Economics and Sustainable Forest Managementin the Ukrainian Carpathians

Join us for an Atelier in the historic city of Lviv and the Carpathian Mountains!

This event will bring together experts, practitioners, stakeholders and students in an effort to apply the principles of Ecological Economics to sustainable forest management (SFM) in Ukraine’s transition economy. Forests can be harvested for raw materials essential to economic production but, if left intact, supply critical ecosystem services equally essential to human well-being. This transdisci-plinary, problem-based workshop/field-course seeks to develop and promote public policies that will contribute to the sustainable, just and efficient allocation of forest resources between economic products and non-market ecosystem services. The atelier will examine options for achieving this goal, ranging from market mechanisms and the valuation of non-market resources to public ownership, common property regimes and regulation. Expected outcomes include a policy paper, a journal article and a proposal for ongoing research.

When:September 22nd through October 1st, 2007

Where:Lviv, Ukraine

The Institute of Ecological Economics Ukrainian National Foresty University

FOR INFORMATIONwww.uvm.edu/gieeDr. Joshua Farley at jfarley@uvm.eduDr. William Keeton at wkeeton@uvm.edu

Sponsored by

Trust for Mutual Understanding www.tmuny.org

The Pennsylvania State University Woskob International Research in Agriculture Program www.cas.psu.edu/international

Hosted by

Institute of Ecological EconomicsUkrainian National Forestry Universitywww.enareco.narod.ru

The Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources The Gund Institute for Ecological EconomicsUniversity of Vermont www.uvm.edu/giee

Ecological Economics and Sustainable Forest Managementin the Ukrainian Carpathians

Background

Who Should Attend?u Stakeholder representatives

from communities of place and communities of interest

in the Ukrainians Carpath-ians, who are interested in sustainably managing their forest resources for both ecosystem services and economic production

u Forest resource managers, forest industry representa-tives, developers, non- governmental organizations, environmentalists and policy-makers

u Local, state and federal government representatives

u Students, researchers and the interested public

FOR INFORMATIONwww.uvm.edu/gieeDr. Joshua Farley at jfarley@uvm.eduDr. William Keeton at wkeeton@uvm.edu

The forests of the Carpathian Mountains of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) are a unique ecological region that play a crucial role in ecosystem functioning. They have outstanding regional and global significance in terms of their constituent biological and cultural resources. The mountain forests of the Carpathians help to regulate climate, protect water resources, store large amounts of carbon, and provide critical habitat for flora and fauna. Although they comprise only 10% of the Carpathian Mountain range, the Ukrainian Carpathians have several unique characteristics, including the largest contigu-ous stand of old-growth European beech (Fagus sylvatica) forest in the world, and play an important role in the economic, social and cultural development of region.

The Carpathian Mountains are the backbone of Central and Eastern Europe. Covering an area of more than 200,000 square kilometers, they stretch for over 1500 kilometers across seven countries from the Danube in Austria in the northwest to Romania in the south. The mountains are home to a wide array of wildlife, diverse nationalities and rich cultural heritage. The region has the highest degree of endemism in Europe and harbors some of the last remaining populations of large European mammal species, including predators. The loca-tion of the Carpathian mountain forests is a critical interface with the densely populated and highly urbanized European continent.

AtelierThis atelier aims to improve the design and implementation of public poli-cies regarding SFM in Ukraine during the transition economy. The atelier will incorporate public participation to identify problems and possible solu-tions, and will generate useful SFM strategies that can be applied by a host of stakeholders. Forest resource managers and economists who have knowledge of ecosystem services and public policy will work with local stakeholders to meet the challenges in the sustainable development of the mountain forests of the Ukrainian Carpathians. This atelier is of regional importance and lessons learned can be applied to the other Carpathian countries of CEE.

Ecological Economics and Sustainable Forest Managementin the Ukrainian Carpathians

Opening Session

Goalsu Educate stakeholders and the

public about ecological eco-nomics, ecosystem services and SFM

u Advance the theory behind SFM and ecological economics

u Apply the principles of ecological economics and SFM to solving real life problems in forest manage-ment and protection of natural resources

u Prepare a policy paper, journal article and/or grant proposal advancing the principles of Ecological Economics as a mechanism to meet the challenges in SFM problems

FOR INFORMATIONwww.uvm.edu/gieeDr. Joshua Farley at jfarley@uvm.eduDr. William Keeton at wkeeton@uvm.edu

Opening remarks:Distinguished Professor, Dr. Yuriy TunytsiaFounder of the Institute of Ecological Economics and President of the Ukrainian National Forest University In Lviv

Plenary and panel sessions covering:u What are Ecosystem Services? Forests supply climate regulation, erosion control and aesthetic beauty.

Wetlands offer protection from storms and floods. Grasslands supply habitat and genetic resources. Ecosystem functions that support human welfare are defined as ecosystem services and include the myriad life support functions that sustain our civilization. Dr. Robert Costanza will discuss the importance of ecosystem services to human survival and well-being.

u Ecological Economics, Sustainable Forest Management and Scientific Ateliers

Ecological economics views the economic system as part of the sustaining and containing global ecosystem. The major economic problem is how to allocate ecosystem structure between economic production and ecosystem services. But most ecosystem services are non-excludable, meaning that one person cannot prevent others from using them, and non-rival, mean-ing that one person’s enjoyment of the service does not preclude others’ enjoyment. Therefore, there is little or no market incentive to provide them. In contrast, most ecosystem goods are excludable and rival and can be sold in markets. The result is that market economies have a systematic bias in favor of the harvest of ecosystem structure for market production over its conservation for the production of ecosystem services. Using for-ests as an example, Dr. Joshua Farley will describe options for addressing this systematic bias on the part of private markets, ranging from payments for ecosystem services to common asset trusts. He will also introduce the atelier process and explain the goals of this atelier.

u What are the current challenges of sustainable forest management in Ukraine?

Encroachment, forest health, illegal logging, privatization, and lack of coherent forest policy are among the many problems facing forestry in the Carpathians. Lack of appropriate technology coupled with inadequate inventory and monitoring compound long-term, landscape-level planning. Changes in forest practices have shown considerable progress in the last decade but corruption and non-compliance with regulations continue to be a major problem. Implementation of third-party certification is a

Ecological Economics and Sustainable Forest Managementin the Ukrainian Carpathians

Opening Session

What is an Atelier?A scientific atelier is an applied integrated research and teaching tool pioneered by the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics. The main elements of ateliers include: (1) transdis- ciplinary problem-based learn- ing and problem solving; (2) community/client sponsorship; (3) deep stakeholder participa- tion; (4) blurring of the distinc- tions between stakeholders, faculty and student, research and education; (5) adaptive man- agreement and flexible working groups; and (6) appropriate and practical communication of results. For more information on Gund Institute Ateliers visit: www.uvm.edu/giee

FOR INFORMATIONwww.uvm.edu/gieeDr. Joshua Farley at jfarley@uvm.eduDr. William Keeton at wkeeton@uvm.edu

(cont.) promising trend but adherence to traditional silvicultural prescriptions

and funding are major impediments to SFM. Dr. William Keeton, Dr. Per Anglestam, Yurij Bihun, and Ukrainian forestry experts will discuss the current obstacles and possible solutions to SFM in Ukraine’s Carpathian ecoregion.

u Experience Elsewhere The Gund Institute has implemented ateliers on ecological economics in

a dozen countries around the world. Participating experts in sustainable forestry bring a wealth of knowledge of successful forest management practices. Gund Institute members will present a broad overview of in-novative and successful global policies for ensuring the provision of eco-system services in general, while foresters will describe successes specific to forest management.

u Technical Improvements A panel of experts will address ways to improve existing market and

non-market mechanisms for implementing SFM including how to better understand the linkages between ecosystem structure and the services it provides, how to identify who benefits from the services, how to improve upon valuation of ecosystem services, and how to reduce transaction costs among others.

u Implementation and Governance A panel of experts will discuss governing the commons, political obstacles,

and the role of government in the implementation of ecological econom-ics and SFM.

Ecological Economics and Sustainable Forest Managementin the Ukrainian Carpathians

Sponsorsu Trust for Mutual

Understanding is a New York-based foundation sup-porting cultural and environ-mental exchange between the United States and the former countries of Soviet Union and Eastern and Central Europe.

u The Pennsylvania State University Woskob International Research in Agriculture Program aims to: improve current programs and develop new courses; implement new teaching skills, methods, and tools obtained at Penn State Uni-versity; expand knowledge and expertise in their fields of study; stimulate adoption of new changes in their home universities in program de-velopment, academic credit-ing, implementation of new teaching techniques; provide a link for on-going academic, research, and outreach ex-changes.

FOR INFORMATIONwww.uvm.edu/gieeDr. Joshua Farley at jfarley@uvm.eduDr. William Keeton at wkeeton@uvm.edu

AgendaThis Atelier will introduce the theory behind Ecological Economics and SFM and offer case studies on successful applications as we seek to develop and implement policies appropriate to the Ukraine. Participants will apply theory and practice to develop solutions to real life problems.

Due to the flexible and adaptive nature of the Atelier format, this schedule is subject to revisions:

u Saturday and Sunday, September 22-23, 2007 Lviv, Ukraine Registration and Orientation Tours of historic Lviv Core group working session Park Znesinnya Opening banquet

u Monday, September 24, 2007 Lviv, Ukraine Opening Session (see above.) After dinner, participants will form into working groups to begin devel-

oping solutions to the pressing problems presented during the day.

u Tuesday, September 25, 2007-Sunday, September 30, 2007 Field Trip

A mid-week field trip field session to the Carpathians and Transcarpath-ians will allow participants to explore a real-life case study of threats to forest ecosystems, rural development and forest management practices. Meetings with stakeholders and field lectures will be given on voluntary payment schemes and third-party forest certification, and free riding by the developed nations.

Before and after dinner, working groups will continue to formulate solutions to pressing problems.

u Monday, October 1, 2007 Lviv, Ukraine

Closing session working groups and final presentations Working groups will continue to formulate solutions to pressing prob-lems. Following a field trip, they will present their results to the group and invited guests.

A dinner and farewell party will be held afterwards. Group projects will be completed collaboratively via the Internet after

the atelier has concluded.

Ecological Economics and Sustainable Forest Managementin the Ukrainian Carpathians

Speakers

FOR INFORMATIONwww.uvm.edu/gieeDr. Joshua Farley at jfarley@uvm.eduDr. William Keeton at wkeeton@uvm.edu

Dr. Robert Costanza Director, Gund Institute for Ecological Economics University of Vermont

Dr. Joshua Farley Fellow, Gund Institute for Ecological Economics University of Vermont

Dr. William Keeton Associate Professor, Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural ResourcesUniversity of Vermont

Dr. Lyudmyla ZahvoyskaAssociate Professor, Vice DirectorInstitute for Ecological Economics

Dr. Ihor SoloviyAssociate Professor, Institute for Ecological Economics

Dr. Volodymyr KovalyshynAssistant Professor, Institute for Ecological Economics

Dr. Marine ElbakidzeAssociate Professor, Department of GeographyUniversity of Lviv

Dr. Per AngelstamProfessor, Swedish University of Agricultural SciencesFaculty of Forest SciencesSchool of Forest Engineers

Dr. Anatoliy DeynekaDirector, Lviv Regional Forestry AssociationUkrainian State Committee of Forests

Dr. Mykola TchernyavskyyAssociate Professor, Department of Ecology and Landscape ArchitectureUkrainian National Forestry University

Michael Baltzer (tentative)Director, World Wildlife FundCarpathian Danube Delta Program

Yurij BihunDirector, Shelterwood SystemsProject Coordinator, the Pennsylvania State University Woskob International Research in Agriculture Program

Ecological Economics and Sustainable Forest Managementin the Ukrainian Carpathians

Registration

FOR INFORMATIONwww.uvm.edu/gieeDr. Joshua Farley at jfarley@uvm.eduDr. William Keeton at wkeeton@uvm.edu

Registration Begins August 1, 2007

Find registration information online at www.uvm.edu/giee/ateliers/ukraine

For other registration information, please contact: Dr. Lyudmyla Zahvoyska at lyudmyla@yahoo.com or lyudmyla@forest.oviz.ua

Please join us for one all or any combination of following components:

Registration and Cultural EventsSaturday, September 22-Sunday, September 23, 2007International participants [$30] Ukrainian citizens [$15]

Opening Event Monday, September 24, 2007 International participants [$75] Ukrainian citizens [$25]

Field Trip Tuesday, September 25 through Sunday, September 30, 2007 International participant [$150] Ukrainian citizens [$50]

Atelier Saturday, September 22 through Monday, October 1, 2007