Sustainable forest management in Lithuania

This paper discusses relationship between nature protection, use of nature resources (i.e. forest) and sustainable development. It gives a conception of sustainable forest management, formulated by Ministers, responsible on forest management, at the Conference of Europe Forest Protection, Helsinki 1993. The paper also examines socio-economical and environmental importance of forests, Lithuanian forest resources, overlooks the tendencies of its change and their annual felling. It analyzes Lithuanian Forestry policy and it's Implementation Strategy, approved by Minister of Environment of Lithuania 2002. The main regard of the paper is given to Forestry related legislation and its links with Environmental legislation, with Protection of Biodiversity and Sustainable Development. The main law, which creates equal legal preconditions for implementation of sustainable forest management principles, is Law on Forests. The paper also examines dividing of forests into groups depending of their given functions.