The Land Association of the Compossessorate and Urbariat Šalková informs its members:
Information and implementation of Activities in the SMURF Project, which is a European project to support small forest owners, within the First Call – cascades.
Activities funded by this call include the following:
– carrying out surveys and interviews to characterise associations, owners and forest enterprises, the legal regime and support systems
– Participation in the Small Forest Conference
– we communicate the activities and results of the SMURF project to our co-workers, friends and other land communities
Detailed description of activities
A comprehensive overview of the activities included in the project is as follows:
1. Characteristics of small forest enterprises and associations:
Surveys and interviews will cover small forest enterprises (< 500 ha) to characterise associations, forest ownership, management practices, types of forests, businesses and business opportunities and challenges, legal regime, resources and support schemes for applicants and their members.
1.1 Survey to characterize the association/cooperative: 1 survey to be completed by the director of the organization, coordinator or someone from its team according to the given template.
1.2 Interviews to characterize the association/cooperative: 1 interview to be completed by the director of the organization, coordinator or someone from its team according to a given template.
1.3 Survey on character
1.1 Survey to characterize the association/cooperative:
1 survey to be completed by the organisation’s director, coordinator or team according to a given template.
1.2 Interviews to characterize the association/cooperative: 1 detailed interview with Cesephorus according to the given guidelines to accurately characterize the association; forest ownership, management practices, types of forests, businesses and commercial, legal regime, resources and support systems.
The applicant shall also designate a national (or regional) forest authority and one national (or regional) support organisation to serve as a reference for the applicant.
1.3 Basic surveys to characterize members (small forest owners): 15 basic surveys to be completed by 15 different members of the organization according to a given template from the association for their members to characterize forest owners and forest estates.
Organisations may have members who are not forest owners, such as farmers, or
forest owners with larger holdings, but these surveys should focus on small
forest owners. They should try to show the diversity of forest owners, taking into account their types (public or private, individual or collective, etc.), their legal personality and commercial, territorial distribution, gender, age and other key facts about their sociological characteristics, etc.
Examples of references for surveys are:
– Survey of the structure of private forests in France, coordinated by RESOFOP,
– The French Observatory of Private Forests, managed by the CNPF and Fransylva, within the framework of the interprofessional forestry organization France Bois Foret Ownership of forest land in Finland, implemented by LUKE, the Institute of Natural Resources of Finland.
– National Survey of Forest Owners (NWOS) in the USA, conducted by the USDA Family Forest Research Center.
1.4 Detailed surveys of partners (forest owners) on forest responsibilities and registers: 3 Detailed surveys of 3 different members of the organisation will be carried out according to a given template on different forest holdings representative of their diversity, in order to characterise their accountability practices, registers and their economic activity and profitability.
The main source is the Farm Management Data Network (FADN) and previous initiatives to create a forest management data network. For more information, see Toscani, P. and Sekot W. (2012) ‚Forestry in Europe: an overview and analysis‘.
The main source of information is the Farm Data Network (FADN) and previous initiatives to create a Forest Data Network. For more information, see Toscani, P. and Sekot W. (2018)
1.5 In-depth interviews with collaborators (small forest owners) on responsibility and forest registers: Conducting 3 in-depth interviews according to the given guidelines and templates on the different forest holdings representative of their diversity;
in order to accurately characterise their accountability procedures, registers and their economic activity and profitability. One of the three interviews (the first) will be conducted by Cesefor to ensure that the objectives of the project are fully taken into account, leading to more effective and relevant outcomes. In addition, a report should be submitted according to a given template to provide a detailed, contextual, and nuanced understanding that is crucial for effective interview analysis.
1.6 Detailed interviews with the national (or regional) forestry office:
Participate in 1 detailed interview (conducted by Cesefor) with the National or Regional Forestry Office proposed by the association (in activity 1.2). In addition, a report should be submitted according to a given template to provide a detailed, contextual, and nuanced understanding that is crucial for effective interview analysis.
1.7 In-depth interviews with the national (or regional) support system:
Participation in 1 detailed interview (conducted by Cesefor) with the national or regional support system proposed by the association (in activity 1.2). In addition, a report should be submitted according to a given template to provide a detailed, contextual, and nuanced understanding that is crucial for effective interview analysis.
1.8 Document review: resulting national characterisation profile, legal regime and support systems: Provide a revision of 3 documents provided by the SMURF team:
– characteristics of small forest holdings and forest owners in the country;
– the legal regime in the country, and
– support schemes for small forest enterprises in the country.
2. Participation in the conference and networking:
2.1 Participation in the European Conference on Small Forests:
Participation in the conference organized by the project in spring 2025 (1 person belonging to the organization, preferably a member, employee or person responsible for the entity).
3. Communication and information activities:
3.1 Communication of information about the association/country of the SMURF team in 2025:
A total of at least 3 contributions (300 words each) presenting the activities of the organization or explaining challenges or solutions related to the management and sustainability of forest resources in a country or region. Any national or regional reports that affect forest owners can also be shared and published on the SMURF project website A minimum of 2 mini-videos (1-2 minutes) and 10 original photos showcasing the organisation or the activities of its members. The organization should identify 3 national networks that are a positive reference point for their members, and the names and references of 3 experts in the field of forest communication in that country.
3.2 Communication and dissemination of information about the activities of the SMURF among their members and
3.2 Communication and dissemination of information about the activities of the SMURF among its members and other national forest owners: Disseminate information about the cooperation of the association within the activities of the SMURF project (inform about the activities that are carried out and financed by cascade funding) through its official channels (newsletters, social media, e-mail, website). Announce participation in the European SFH Conference to members through the association’s channels.
A total of at least 10 posts on the organization’s social media (Instagram, Linkedin, X, or others) using the project’s hashtags and citing SMURF’s social media profiles.
A total of at least 4 posts on the association’s website and insertion of a visible link to the SMURF website on the association’s website.
At least 1 news or report in the media at national (or regional) level (press, radio or television).
The total number of prescribed activities within the SMURF Project is twelve. We have already completed some activities. We are continuously working on the completion of other activities, that we need to develop and submit by the set deadline by the end of November 2025.
Ing. Bc. Ivan Uhrík, PhD. Chairman of the Association
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