In May and June 2022, three 5-days study visits to relevant institutions in Austria and Slovakia were conducted within all three project components. The aim of these visits was to share experiences, knowledge and best practice, as well as to visually demonstrate the approaches taken by the Member States. Ten representatives from Serbian institutions (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management – Directorate for Forests, Institute of Forestry Belgrade, Institute of Lowland Forestry and Environment, Faculty of Forestry – the University of Belgrade, Directorate for Agrarian Payments and Vojvodina Provincial Secretariat for Agriculture, Water Management and Forestry) attended the study visits where they had a chance meet and discuss key issues with colleagues from Austrian and Slovakian institutions, such as:
The first study visit within Component 2 took place in May 2022 and focused on the forestry support system and models of subsidies in forestry. The participants were introduced to the Austrian and Slovakian forest management systems, knowledge transfer tools, development plans for spatial planning and GIS, and types of subsidies in forestry information tools for forest seeds and planting material. Various presentations on the subject were followed by field trips demonstrating the subsidised projects, such as nursery production and the plants, forest road project construction and historical site Pusty hrad.
The Serbian representatives participating in the second study trip (Component 1) related to forest policy and forest management visited and met a range of experts at several institutions in Austria and Slovakia. The themes and issues discussed included organisation of the forest administration, sustainable forest management in different ownership models, participatory forest policy cycle, climate change adaptation and mitigation. Experts from both MS highlight the importance of strengthening the forest sector, raising awareness about forests and forestry in general, partnerships and collaborations, implementing international obligations and dealing with the challenges of communicating with private forest owners and presenting information to them. The participants also had a chance to visit the Forest Administration of Lower Austria, the Ottersteiner area, and the provincial nursery. In Slovakia, they visited the Forest Protection Service in Banska Štiavnica, a region of Horehronie, as an example of close-to-nature forest management in the FMU Sihla (PRO SILVA areas in Slovakia), as well as the open-air Forestry Museum Vydrovo.
The study visit to relevant institutions in Austria and Slovakia within project Component 3 focused on the implementation of EUTR in the imported timber sector was conducted in June 2022. The representatives of the Directorate of Forests – Forestry and Hunting Inspection, University of Belgrade – Faculty of Forestry and Institute of Forestry Belgrade met with foreign experts to discuss details on the implementation and enforcement of EUTR and FLEGT regulations, tools needed for planning and decisions making, checks on importing operators based on risk analysis, checks on domestic operators, checks on traders, penalties regimes in Austria and Slovakia. They also had an opportunity to see practical demonstrations of best practices by EU experts with specific examples – operational fieldwork and checks on transporters indoors and outdoors. The participants had fruitful discussions on preparing new legislation on EUTR in Serbia and implementing the Forest Law and EUTR regarding domestic timber, including a case study of illegally harvested timber placed on the market. The field trips were organised to districts of Vyšna Boca, Malužina (incidental fellings in the protection zone of the National Park of Low Tatras), Secondary Vocational School of Forestry Banská Štiavnica, school Kysihybel in Slovakia and a forest district managed by Austrian Federal Forests (ÖBf) in Austria.
