Recently, Albania has had major transition from a state-controlled to a market economy. The economic reformation has led to widespread liberalization of prices, external trade, and domestic marketing. These changes have been positive for some segments of the economy, but to date the forestry sector has been negatively affected by the transition. The decline of forest resources accelerated and continues. Inefficiencies, price distortions, government fiscal austerity, rapid expansion of livestock, and illegal harvesting point to further deforestation. This study identifies the social and political factors leading to the decline of Albania's forest resource through an examination of relevant information. Then, using the process approach of policy analysis, it assesses the barriers and incentives that impede or distort the intended effect of the current policy implementation. Third, it suggests new policies and/or changes with the aim to manage the forests sustainability and to attract investments in Albanian forestry. Policy issues for areas and sectors important or related to forestry, including agriculture, livestock industry, tourism, and rural development are discussed. Successful implementation of forest policies will be achieved by encompassing all issues pertinent to rural development. The focus is on formulation of forest policy, the evaluation of the current forest law, the role of the statute in the policy process, and guidelines in the preparation of the laws. However, the enactment of laws alone cannot ensure the success of a policy. Special consideration is given to the implementation part of the process, especially interpretation, organization, application; tools (regulations, incentives, taxation), opportunities/constraints, priorities and suggestions for successful implementation. Finally, the topic of evaluation is addressed: its intention, possible analytical techniques and standards of performance, role and expectations of participants and analysts, and major obstacles to an effective evaluation. Recommendations include changes in existing policies to allow the transfer of some state land to private and communal ownership, the expansion of the national parks to include more old-growth forests, and the adoption of concessionaires for the management of the state forests. Other policy proposals, such as a massive reforestation effort, promotion of community-oriented forest management, and forest certification, follow. / Ph. D.

During the past three decades, in Newfoundland, there have been repeated high level recommendations made concerning the formulation of an integrated land-use policy. In particular, the forest sector has expressed the need for such a policy through recommendations made by several Royal Commissions on Forestry, a Federal-Provincial Task Force on Forestry, and through a number of other documents and forums. This research study began as a problem solving mission, i.e., to answer the questions: Why has an integrated forest land-use policy not been formulated? What are the limiting factors constraining the policy formulation process? After a preliminary review of the literature and an initial listing of some possible constraints, it became obvious that the complexity of the policy formulation process all but precluded any neatly bounded solutions. Therefore, the problem solving mission evolved into an exploratory process. Based on some empirical observations, I decided that the higher education system might be one of the weak links in the land-based policy formulation process in Newfoundland. At the same time, the higher education system appeared to hold great promise in finding long-term pervasive solutions to land-use problems. My thesis is that the higher education system is one of the weak links, if not weakest link, in the forest land-use policy formulation process in Newfoundland. To examine and clarify this position, I have conducted a comparative analysis of the higher education systems in three peripheral jurisdictions that have much in common: Newfoundland, Tasmania, and Alaska. Each is peripheral in their respective federation, has a population of approximately one-half million, and has a comparable forest land-base and industry. The comparative analysis consisted of an: assembly, review, and analysis of relevant documents; on-site reconnaissance in Newfoundland, Tasmania, and Alaska; and interviews with non-replaceable respondents. Specifically, I analyzed the teaching, research, and service functions of the higher education system and how they relate to the integrated forest land-use policy formulation process. It is concluded that overall Newfoundland's higher education system has contributed less to the integrated forest land-use policy formulation process than the systems in Tasmania or Alaska. For teaching, Memorial University of Newfoundland has the least number of related faculties and departments, offers no professional or graduate level degrees in land-based renewable resource management, and has the least number of related individual courses. Memorial University has also conducted less research on related policy topics. As well, related service functions fall behind contributions made by the University of Tasmania and are roughly on a par with the University of Alaska. From this comparative analysis, I have begun construction of a conceptual framework that places higher education and natural resource public policy formulation in a wider context. It is suggested that there may be an imbalance between liberal, scientific, and professional approaches in the higher education system and that this may have significant implications for natural resource/environmental policy formulation and implementation. This study is original in two respects. It is the first research project to compare Newfoundland, Tasmania, and Alaska; and it is one of the first, if not the first, empirical study to examine linkages between the higher education system and formulation of forest land-use policy. / Forestry, Faculty of / Graduate

Thesis (M.Sc.)--University of Alberta, 2010. / Title from pdf file main screen (viewed on January 11, 2010). At head of title: University of Alberta. A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Forest Economics, Department of Rural Economy. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2001. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 452-470). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

Thesis (M.E.S.)--York University, 2001. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 172-183). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pMQ71712.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Edith Cowan University, 2004. / Submitted to the Faculty of Computing, Health and Science. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--Carleton University, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 134-145). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2001. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 452-470). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Queensland, 2003. / Includes bibliography.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 96-118).