State forest administration performance in the Czech Republic: A case study of forestry legislation implementation in the South Bohemian Region

In the Czech Republic, the present state forest administration is incorporated into general state administration. Municipalities with extended competence (MECs) as first-instance forest administration bodies thus perform the so-called “mixed” administration. Besides forestry, MECs cumulatively perform hunting and fishing administration, observing several different laws. On an example of three MECs in South Bohemia (České Budějovice, Týn nad Vltavou and Písek), the paper analyses the decision-making processes and control activities concerning the implementation of administrative activity, particularly the Forest Act. The findings show that during the observed period 2011–2015, the most frequently conducted administrative proceedings under the Forest Act involved binding opinions regarding permission for buildings at a distance of fewer than 50 m from the forest and decisions on timber harvesting. Other frequently performed acts somewhat surprisingly concerned issuing licenses for professional forest managers and decisions whether or not the land fulfils forest functions. Based on the findings, the paper also suggests stimuli and suggestions (de lege ferenda) for changes in the Forest Act and other regulations relating to this issue.