Funkcja społeczna lasów w różnych jej aspektach

By virtue of the Forest Act [1991], the objectives of forest management include, inter alia, the preservation of forests and their favourable impact on: climate, air, water, soil, living conditions of people and human health and on the balance of nature. The above-mentioned goals can be achieved through the implementation of sustainable forest management, which is understood as an activity aimed at shaping the structure of forests and their use in a manner and at a rate ensuring permanent preservation of their biological richness, high productivity and regeneration potential, vitality and ability to fulfil, now and in the future, all important, economic and social functions at local, national and global levels, without detriment to other ecosystems. For the average inhabitant, forests in and outside cities provide an opportunity to come into contact with the natural environment in a highly transformed anthropogenic surroundings. In the forest people see the richness of nature sometimes for the first time, get to know the natural habitat of many animals and plants, organise an excursion (hiking, cycling, horse riding), play with children. The forest has a beneficial effect on the human mind, helps to cure or alleviate the symptoms of many illnesses and to find peace and tranquillity. Its structure and diversity, different from the urban one, enriches the look of the city and changes its landscape. It refines the aesthetic experience of its inhabitants. The more time you spend in the forest and the more often you go there, the more willing you are to return to it – the forest “sucks you in”. It is a pleasant place to spend time in and we begin to think of the forest in terms of its protection and preservation for future generations. When you return from a walk in the woods, you feel a sudden surge of vigour and strength. Modern forestry, and not only urban forestry, is particularly important in responding to social needs and in making forests widely available to the public. Involving the public in the planning process of forest management operations will also serve to increase their environmental protection awareness. At the same time, the increasing in this way environmental awareness of the public will predispose them to take part in the planning and decision-making process for social impact forests or forest areas located within the boundaries of cities. This is very important because forest management in them takes place “in front of the inhabitants”, “in front of the people”, which usually evokes certain emotional reactions, usually unfriendly to foresters. Hence, in order to minimise such situations, it is necessary to undertake well in advance education and information activities concerning the types of planned management operations. The definition of urban and suburban forestry emphasises that it is the practice of mana ging urban forests to ensure their optimal contribution to the physiological, sociological and economic well-being of urban societies. It is an integrated, interdisciplinary, participatory and strategic approach to the planning and management of forests and trees in and around cities. At the scale of society, urban forestry emphasises the involvement of city dwellers in the management of trees, including through education about the value and advantages of trees and forests and fostering their responsibility for the surrounding environment. This approach is also making its way into the State Forests. This is important in the context of the observable relocation of place of residence to the periphery of cities, while people are still using the city’s functions as, for example, a place of work. It has led to the negative phenomenon of urbanisation outside the city boundaries, called urban sprawl. It is a situation where urban territories expand into areas of less intensive urbanisation, such as suburbs and rural areas located in close proximity to large agglomerations (‘rurbanisation’). Urban sprawl, as opposed to planned suburbanisation, is an uncontrolled process resulting from increasing demand for new buildings made with the use of environmentally damaging development practices. As a result, cities are becoming depopulated, the pressure on the land around them is increasing, they are literally spilling over, increasingly affecting the forest with their infrastructure. This phenomenon has increasingly given rise to the need to develop an appropriate approach to the management of commercial forests with an increased social function, under the management of the State Forests. Nevertheless, in changing natural conditions, the adopted management objectives aim to ensure the sustainability of the forest, taking into account the needs of regeneration, tending, conversion, protection and continuity of multifunctional use of the forest for future generations. The way to meet these expectations is to appropriately select, plan and carry out management measures that ensure the replacement of generations in given habitat and stand conditions or stand conversion. Indeed, forest complexes with an increased social function in State Forests are not ‘forest parks’. The paper will present issues related to forests with enhanced social function, their management, where social impact zones (intensive and sustainable) can be delimited as required. The existence of such areas will result in the establishment of a so-called social impact forest holding. The delimitation of these zones and the holding will take place with public participation in so-called Local Cooperation Teams. Such teams are already in place in the forests of the State Forests National Forest Holding, and new solutions for public participation are also being tested in the Siemianice and Zielonka Experimental Forest Districts. The functioning “Guidelines for the management of forests with increased social function on land under the management of the State Forests” are already an important element in the set of documents on the basis of which multifunctional forest management is carried out. It should also be mentioned that the subject of forests with enhanced social function is also outlined in the revised forest management rules and instructions. It can be said that the guidelines are a first step introducing new solutions. Social forest initiatives will also be presented, including: “pocket forests” in Poznan, the “Moratorium on protective forests of Poznan” and the Declaration “Together for the Mokrzanski Forest”. Documents that have been created with the participation of city residents – “Directional guidelines for the management of municipal forests of the city of Poznan” and “Charter of protective forests of the city” will be discussed.