1006 A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 



the World War, 68 percent of the private forests were free from any 

 state supervision. 



Since 1900, and particularly since the war, the scope of public 

 control has been greatly broadened in some countries, and extension 

 of control is being urged in most of the others. The maintenance of 

 timber supplies has again become a prominent factor in the legislation 

 of many countries. The fear of a general timber famine, to be sure, 

 has not played such a prominent role as it did in the earlier legislation. 

 Post-war efforts to build up sustained timber production arise partly 

 from the growing spirit of nationalism which makes each country 

 desire to be as nearly self-sufficient as possible. In many countries 

 the movement is based also to a considerable extent on the economic 

 necessity of reducing unfavorable trade balances, and of utilizing the 

 land so as to afford employment to as many persons as possible. 



So far as information is available, the essential provisions for public 

 control over private forests in foreign countries are summarized in 

 the following pages. 



Unfortunately, satisfactory information is not available as to the 

 effectiveness of these control measures. In some countries, existing 

 legislation is too recent for its results to be apparent. This is partic- 

 ularly true of those countries where it involves radical changes from 

 former methods. In other countries, the principles of sound forest 

 management are well understood and have long been practiced by 

 many forest owners, especially on the large holdings. Even with 

 these, however, the break with old traditions, the dissolution of family 

 estates, and the changed political and economic conditions in general 

 have recently tended to weaken the position of forestry. This has 

 been partly responsible for recent agitation for more restrictive 

 legislation in several countries. 



Public control is probably most effective in Switzerland, where 

 there are almost no large private commercial forests and where prac- 

 tically everyone realizes the necessity of maintaining a forest cover 

 for protective purposes. In France and Germany, the various pro- 

 posals for new and more restrictive laws indicate that existing legisla- 

 tion is believed to be inadequate. In Norway, Sweden, and Finland 

 the laws are generally effective. In those countries control is thor- 

 oughly decentralized, and forest owners have a voice in it. Most of 

 the large holdings were already managed along sound lines before 

 regulatory laws were passed. Moreover, forests are so important a 

 factor in the economic life of all three countries that their importance 

 is well understood by everyone. 



ARGENTINA 3 



Upon completion of the requisite exploration and surveys, the 

 Argentine congress is to be asked to provide for expropriation of lands 

 classified by the forest service (Inspection General of National Forests) 

 as of public utility, including forests which affect the topography of 

 mountains and slopes, help to prevent erosion of soil in ravines and 

 torrents, protect springs and streams in general, or help to stabilize 

 maritime dunes and prevent erosion of shores. 



3 Decreto reglamentando la explotacion de bosques y yerbales (Presidential decree of Oct. 4, 1906, on 

 exploitation of forests). Fablet, Luis E., and Brebbia, Carlos, " Monografia forestal de la Republica Argen- 

 tina." In Actes Congres International de Sylviculture, vol. 2, p. 295-327. Rome, 1926. 



