This paper investigates timber legality issues in the Western Balkans by examining the transposition of national policy frameworks in five Western Balkan countries (Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, ...Montenegro, and the Republic of Srpska, BH) with the European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR) requirements. The study uses a multiple-embedded case study design to investigate national policies and regulations on preventing and tackling illegal logging and those dealing with the trade in timber and timber products. A qualitative content analysis of retrieved documents was conducted to check the extent to which EUTR requirements are covered. Interviews with 36 key actors across selected countries were conducted to analyse their perceptions of the EUTR and the recently approved European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), focusing on awareness, transparency, information flow, resources, and challenges of ensuring timber legality. The study also distinguished institutional and actor-oriented factors influencing the transposition of EUTR and forthcoming EUDR requirements into national policies and forest management practices. The contribution offers a comparative gap analysis of EU requirements' incorporation within targeted countries' national policy frameworks and an overview of common and opposing perceptions on timber legality and legitimate forestry practices among key stakeholders in five Western Balkan countries.
•We analysed actors and institutional factors on timber legality in five Western Balkan countries.•We categorised factors influencing timber legality according to the ACI framework.•Legislation, enforcement, political will, collaboration and capacity building are essential for implementation.•Corruption, limited resources, and complex, multi-level bureaucracy are the main impeding factors.•Regional collaboration among Western Balkan countries is essential for combating illegal logging.•Effective policy transposition remain critical challenge for timber legality.
Eight years after the European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR) came into force, its effectiveness is still unsatisfactory due to deficient and uneven implementation among member states. In addition, ...some Western Balkan countries have poor legality monitoring systems, increasing the risk of trade in illegally harvested timber. Regardless of this, no recent work has analyzed the adaptation of national forest policies to the EUTR obligations. Our study aims to contribute to the understanding of EUTR implementation by analyzing the adaptation of policies of the Western Balkan countries (Slovenia, Croatia, and Serbia) to the EUTR. Qualitative content analysis was conducted on 22 policy documents from Slovenia, Croatia, and Serbia. Documents were coded using coding categories derived from EUTR. Our results point out that none of the analyzed countries have a policy to directly address illegal logging or prevention of illegal activities. As EU members, Slovenia and Croatia has implemented EUTR through laws. The Slovenian Forest Act addresses all EUTR obligations, while Croatian Law on EUTR Implementation does not directly address the obligation of legality. This obligation is addressed by the Law on Forests. As Serbia is not an EU member, it did not implement EUTR. Nevertheless, Serbian Law on Forests addresses all EUTR obligations, but has some discrepancies regarding Traceability obligation. With ongoing discourses on Green Deal policies and the increasing focus on “deforestation-free” commodities, stricter implementation might be expected of EUTR at EU level. Most countries would probably have to build capacities for EUTR implementation and become more transparent and responsible concerning information availability. To successfully implement EUTR, an increased number of checks as well as stricter fines will be needed.
In recent years, additive manufacturing has become a regular process in various industries, and consequently there is an increasing need to evaluate the environmental aspects of this technology and ...its associated materials. In this paper, comparative cradle-to-grave life cycle assessments between a conventional product and a 3D-printed alternative made of polylactic acid (PLA) and PLA-wood material were investigated based on the standard ISO 14044:2006. The environmental impact of each product was quantified for 18 categories. The goal of life cycle assessment (LCA) was to determine whether the use of 3D printed PLA/PLA-wood products can be a sustainable alternative to traditional metal products. The paper presents a case study in which a comparative LCA was conducted. The results show that a metal part manufactured using conventional subtractive processes (milling, drilling, welding, etc.) has a higher environmental impact compared to 3D-printed alternatives made from renewable materials. However, there are many sub-issues that need to be adequately addressed.
Posljednjih je godina aditivna proizvodnja postala redoviti proces u raznim industrijama, a posljedično se pojavila sve veća potreba za procjenom ekoloških aspekata te tehnologije i s njom povezanih materijala. U ovom su radu ispitane i uspoređene procjene životnog vijeka konvencionalnog proizvoda „od kolijevke do groba” te 3D isprintane alternative izrađene od polilaktične kiseline (PLA) i PLA-drvnog materijala na temelju standarda ISO 14044:2006. Utjecaj svakog proizvoda na okoliš kvantificiran je unutar 18 kategorija. Cilj procjene životnog vijeka takvih proizvoda (LCA) bio je utvrditi može li uporaba 3D printanih PLA/PLA-drvnih proizvoda biti održiva alternativa tradicionalnim metalnim proizvodima. U radu je prikazana studija slučaja u kojoj je provedena komparativna procjena životnog vijeka – LCA. Rezultati pokazuju da metalni dio proizveden primjenom konvencionalnih subtraktivnih procesa (glodanja, bušenja, zavarivanja itd.) ima veći utjecaj na okoliš nego 3D isprintane alternative izrađene od obnovljivih materijala. Međutim, u vezi s tim postoje i mnoga potpitanja koja se moraju adekvatno riješiti.
This paper focuses on two main research topics: the situation in the field of wood energy efficiency utilization in households in the region of Southwestern Serbia, and econometric modelling of wood ...energy consumption dependent on the size of the heating surface, the existence of thermal insulation on residential buildings, the age of heating appliances and moisture content of wood fuels. The results of the conducted research showed that the consumption of wood energy in most household?s ranges between 300 and 400 kWh/m2. This is considered energy inefficient. Although in the majority of households the size of the heating surface ranges between just 20 and 80 m2, exactly in these households the highest and the most inefficient consumption of wood energy expressed in kWh/m2 was registered. The first reason for the high consumption of wood energy is the fact that only 29% of residential buildings have thermal insulation, while 71% do not have any thermal insulation. Additionally, the wide diffusion of heating appliances aging over ten years and firewood with the average moisture content of 37% further contribute to such unfavourable situation in terms of energy efficiency. The parameters of the obtained econometric model of wood energy consumption clearly show that the greatest savings in the consumption of wood energy in the short term could be obtained by improving the condition of the thermal insulation of the residential buildings, replacing the old heating appliances with the new and the more efficient ones, as well as by using drier firewood.
This paper deals with the operational efficiency of companies engaged in the production of wooden chairs using selected statistical and DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis) methods. Indicators that ...typically characterise the supply chain in the production of selected companies were taken as input and output variables for the DEA method. They included three input variables: inventories, material costs and production services costs and one output variable: company’s net profit. The obtained coefficients of correlation pointed to a high degree of correlation between the variables, which justified the performance of an efficiency analysis using the DEA method. The study included 12 companies engaged in the production of wooden chairs. The results of the conducted analyses show that only one company had a relatively satisfactory operational efficiency (efficiency coefficient of 0.83) for the nine-year period. All other companies, especially micro and small enterprises, had unsatisfactorily low operational efficiency. Micro enterprises had the lowest operational efficiency, with an efficiency coefficient of only 0.14. Small enterprises reached the value of 0.3, and large companies 0.67. Medium companies had the most favourable efficiency coefficient of up to 0.83.
U radu je analizirana učinkovitost poslovanja tvrtki za proizvodnju drvenih stolica primjenom odabranih statističkih metoda i DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis) metode. Kao ulazne i izlazne varijable za DEA metodu izabrani su tipični pokazatelji koji su karakteristični za lanac opskrbe u proizvodnji odabranih tvrtki. To obuhvaća tri ulazne varijable: zalihe, materijalne troškove i troškove proizvodnih usluga te jednu izlaznu varijablu – neto dobit tvrtke. Dobiveni koeficijenti korelacije pokazali su visok stupanj međusobne povezanosti odabranih varijabli, što potvrđuje opravdanost primjene DEA metode za analizu učinkovitosti poduzeća. Istraživanje je obuhvatilo 12 tvrtki koje se bave proizvodnjom drvenih stolica. Rezultati provedene analize pokazuju da je samo jedna od njih u posljednjih devet godina imala relativno zadovoljavajuću učinkovitost poslovanja (koeficijent učinkovitosti 0,83). Sve ostale tvrtke, posebice mikropoduzeća i mala poduzeća, imale su nezadovoljavajuće nisku učinkovitost poslovanja. U mikropoduzećima je zabilježena najmanja učinkovitost poslovanja, s koeficijentom učinkovitosti 0,14. Mala poduzeća postigla su koeficijent učinkovitosti od 0,3, a velika poduzeća od 0,67. Srednja poduzeća imala su najbolji koeficijent učinkovitosti: 0,83.
Timber companies must continually strive to improve or at least maintain their market share. There are several methods to achieve this, and advertising is one of them. When timber companies make ...decisions about advertising, many of them choose radio advertising instead of television advertising, because it is less expensive. Companies should prepare advertisements that consumers will find attractive and appealing. To achieve this, they must take into account a number of criteria, as well as the fact that some of them are more important than the others. In this paper, the AHP analysis was used to determine the opinion of market professionals about the importance of criteria in radio advertising of timber products. Based on the results, a model for evaluating radio advertisements was developed and tested with random respondents, who evaluated a sample radio advertisement of timber companies.
The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the forest-products industry locally and globally, including the availability of raw materials, supply chain, production, and product sales. ...Therefore, it was essential to study the effect of COVID-19 in Central and Southeast European countries, including Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the forest-products industry plays a vital global role. An international group of wood scientists developed and implemented the web-based questionnaire that consisted of four parts: demographic questions, production changes, COVID data gathering, governmental response to COVID-19, and lessons learned. Participants were mainly from furniture production, joinery, and wood processing. Results indicate that more than 80% of respondents reported negative changes. The COVID-19 pandemic has seriously affected the supply chain, and the most significant changes were in the availability of solid wood (23%) and engineered wood products (21%). Among the most critical issues were increased prices of all materials, increased transportation costs, extended delivery times, limited quantities for all materials, and total disruption of supply chains.
The paper presents the results of researching wood pellets market in nine
countries in South East Europe and Slovakia. Objective of the research was to
observe the actual situation regarding the ...number of producers, size of
installed capacities, production volume, foreign trade flows and existing
problems and obstacles which significantly limit the sustainable development
of wood pellets market in the selected countries. Selection of such an
objective results from the fact that according to the stated elements there
are no sufficiently reliable data, wherefore this region is a huge gap in
numerous reports of international and national organizations and
institutions. Results of the conducted research show that in the middle of
2014, 245 producers were engaged in wood pellets production in South East
Europe and Slovakia, 116 of which were located in Bulgaria and Serbia. Most
of the producers of wood pellets has installed capacities of 1,000-5,000 tons
annually, while only 18 factories in the entire region have the installed
capacity over 30,000 tons/year. Observed collectively in all stated
countries, the total installed capacities for wood pellets production were
2.2 million tons in 2013 and the realized production was 1.36 million tons.
The largest part of the produced amounts of wood pellets in this region is
exported. 1.06 million tons were exported from the region in 2013, which is
77.9% of the realized production. Such high export is the result of the
underdevelopment of the local market (Slovenia is the only exception) and the
problems which exist and limit its faster development in most countries.
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Selected South-Eastern European countries (SEEC - Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia) represent significant producers and exporters of wood ...flooring in Europe. In 2018, 9.4 % of Europe’s wood flooring production originated from this region. The region is a net exporter of wood flooring since it exports over 50 % of total production. The most important market for the export of wood flooring is the European Union with a share of over 60 % in total exports. Trends in this market are important for manufacturers and exporters from the region. Therefore, the analysis of the impact of the European Union imports on wood flooring production in the SEEC was conducted by application of econometric modelling. The parameters of the obtained model show that the increase of approximately 0.75 % could be expected in the production of wood flooring in selected South-Eastern European countries for each precentral increase in the European Union imports. In addition to these results, the paper presents the analysis of the competitiveness of wood flooring export from the region measured by the Competitiveness Growth Index (RCA1). The aim of this analysis was to quantify the level of their price and non-price competitiveness in the European Union market. Conducted analyses show that the Competitiveness Growth Index (RCA1) had positive values (higher than one) for most significant countries from the SEEC for most of the observed period.
Odabrane zemlje jugoistočne Europe (SEEC – Albanija, Bosna i Hercegovina, Hrvatska, Crna Gora, Sjeverna Makedonija, Srbija i Slovenija) značajni su proizvođači i izvoznici drvenih podova u Europi. U
2018. godini 9,4 % europske ponude drvenih podova proizvedeno je upravo
u toj regiji. Regija je neto izvoznik drvenih podova jer izvozi više od
50 % ukupne proizvodnje. Najvažnije je tržište za izvoz drvenih podova Europska unija, na koju otpada više od 60 % ukupnog izvoza. Trendovi na tržištu Europske unije vrlo su važni za proizvođače i izvoznike iz promatranih zemalja SEEC-a. Stoga je primjenom ekonometrijskog modeliranja analiziran utjecaj uvoza Europske unije na proizvodnju drvenih podova u SEEC regiji. Parametri dobivenog modela pokazuju da se sa svakim postotkom povećanja uvoza u Europsku uniju može očekivati rast
proizvodnje drvenih podova u odabranim zemljama jugoistočne Europe za oko 0,75 %. Osim rezultata provedene analize, u radu su izneseni i rezultati analize konkurentnosti izvoza drvenih podova iz zemalja SEEC-a
mjereni indeksom rasta konkurentnosti (RCA1). Cilj analize bio je kvantificiranje razine njihove cjenovne i necjenovne konkurentnosti na tržištu Europske unije. Provedene analize pokazuju da je indeks rasta konkurentnosti (RCA1) za najznačajnije zemlje SEEC-a u većini godina promatranog razdoblja imao pozitivne vrijednosti (veće od 1).
This study explores attitudes toward sustainable-timber resource management and climate-change mitigation by extending the life cycles of wood products and their cascading in Central and Southeastern ...Europe. A comprehensive survey involving the general public and professional organizations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, and Slovenia, reveals significant support for wood product reuse in construction, emphasizing ecological aspects and sustainability. Despite doubts about wood product quality, motivation for reuse remains high. Challenges, including limited availability and cost, are acknowledged. Reusing and recycling wood products at the end of their life cycle can extend the life of the wood resource and reduce carbon emissions. Cascading is a promising way to combat climate change and prolong the life cycle of wood products. This study highlights the potential of cascading wood use, underscores the necessity to improve the quantification of wood usage through material intensity analysis of buildings, and emphasizes the requirement for more comprehensive education and explanations to promote sustainable practices.
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