Forest Sector in Bulgaria: Key Issues for Further Development

The paper presents data on the forest resource development in Bulgaria during the 20th century, as well as contemporary challenges. It is summarized that during the last 14 years, forestry in Bulgaria has passed through numeral structural and economic changes, directed to its adaptation to market economy. The forest industry in the transition to market economy after 1989 overcame the state monopolism but went to the opposite extreme. The weak sides of the forest industry in this period are summarized as: decreasing of the production; insufficiency of quantity and quality raw material for the existing processing capacities; lost markets for the production of the wood processing industry; problematic credit allowance. The strong sides of the Bulgarian forest industry are the high qualified specialists and the low labor price. The main challenge for sustainable development of economically viable forest sector is implementation of multifunctional forest management. Among the identified new priorities are: restoration of the economic activities in the state-owned forests; comasation of the small forest plots of land; interruption of experiments in the management of the forestry sector. The quantitative criteria for meeting the new challenges by the Bulgarian forest industry is achievement of annual growth of production and export by 10%.