Kitabı oku: «A Brief History of Forestry.», sayfa 23

ITALY

Bolletino ufficiale per l’amminstrazione forestale Italiana.

Direzione generale dell’ Agricoltora: Relazione interno all’ amministrazione dei boschi domaniali inalienabili.

Various essays by Prof. Vittorio Perona of Vallambrosa in German magazines; notably in Allgemeine Forst- und Jagdzeitung, 1882, 1888.

Archeologia forestale. Dell’ antica storia e giurisprudenza forestale in Italia. A. Di Berenger. 1859.

Maffei, Revista forestale.

Italy. By Prof. W. Deeke. 1904.

Il rimboschimento dello Appennino meridionale, by Luigi Savastano, 1893. An exceedingly well written popular treatise on silviculture, which gives also briefly insight into forest conditions and forest practices.

I boschia e la nostra politica Italiana, by Bertagnolli, 1889.

Italia moderna. 1904, article by Lunadoni.

The efforts to secure improvement in the treatment of forest resources have been more active and strenuous in Italy than in Greece. They were induced especially by the urgent need of protecting watersheds, the rivers throughout Italy having been turned into torrents by deforestation. But, owing to the weakness of the government and to poverty, the actual execution of the very good laws has lagged behind. Indeed, while ample legislation has been enacted, the people, overburdened with debt, and needing the small income that can be derived from pasturing or renting the pasture in the woods, make it difficult to carry on any reform, and the enforcement of the laws has again and again led to serious trouble. “Forestry is a sore point in the national economy of Italy, as it involves sacrifice of money and time.” Italy, therefore, is still in the transition period from forestal rapine to forest culture.

Densely populated (33 million on 110,600 square miles), with fully one-fifth of its area unproductive, or at least unused, and one-quarter of this almost or quite beyond redemption, no country offers better opportunities for studying the evil effects of deforestation on soil and waterflow. As a result of the combination of geology (slates and limestones), topography (steep slopes), climate, and forest devastation or destruction, mainly by pasturage of goats (two million), the Italian rivers are invariably flooded in March and mostly dry in summer; the melting of the snow coinciding with the heavy spring rains turns them into raging torrents (fiumare), silting over the fertile lands in the valleys and occasional landslides in the mountain country, where extensive tracts are nearly bare of vegetation. Especially the rivers around Bologna, which in 1897 again caused damage in excess of one million dollars, are dreaded.

1. Forest Conditions

Situated similarly to Greece as regards accessibility and climate, and similarly torn by wars and political strife, and in unstable conditions for centuries, Italy has in proportion to population, if not to area, reduced her forest resources even more than Greece; less than one-third of an acre per capita remains, with a total of somewhat over twelve million acres, or about 17 per cent. of the land area, and this includes much useless brushland, over 2 million acres. Apparently, if the uncertain statistics may be relied upon, a reduction of several million acres has taken place even since 1870. Some 15 million acres of waste land and swamps offer ample opportunity for increasing this forest area without infringing on the 42 million acres of usefully employed agricultural soil.

Of the forest area, 25 per cent. is to be found in the Alps, about 50 per cent. on the Apennines, the one mountain range which forms the backbone of Italy; less than one-quarter is distributed over the plains, and the small balance is found on the islands, especially Sicily, which is a hill and mountain country, once magnificently wooded, now largely denuded (4 per cent. wooded), and on Sardinia, which, with nearly 45 per cent. under forest, is the best wooded part of Italy, although the condition of the forest is here no better than elsewhere.

With the exception of the slopes of the Alps (2.5 million acres of spruce, fir, beech, larch), and the tops of the Apennines and remote plateaus (4.5 million acres), and of a few special places on which now and then even magnificent remnants of virgin forest may be found – lack of transportation having preserved them – most of the area is occupied by miserable brush forest, coppice or else open forest with scattered trees among a shrub undergrowth of thorns, hazel and chestnut (called macchia, i.e., chaparral), so that most Italians have never seen a real forest. Nevertheless, Italy is by no means as treeless as this condition of forest would imply, for trees (poplar, ash, elm) are dotting the plains and slopes, planted for vine supports and boundaries, unshapely through pollarding and lopping the branches for firewood. Olive and chestnut groves on the hills (of the former 2 million acres, of the latter over 400,000 acres planted for the fruit), and 8.5 million acres in vineyards add to the wooded appearance of the country and to the wood supply. The annual product of firewood from these planted trees is estimated at 6 million cords.

On the sand dunes and near the seashore, especially in the marshes, the Maritime, the Aleppo Pine, and the umbrella-shaped Pinus pinea, and picturesque Cypresses are sometimes found in small groves, while the calcareous hills in this region up to 1200 feet are studded with olives, cork and evergreen oak. Osier growing is here also quite extensively practiced. In the mountains, above the 2700 foot level, conifer forest, composed of Pinus silvestris and laricio, and Abies pectinata, has been reduced to less than 7 per cent. of the whole, mixed conifer and deciduous forest represents 4 per cent., the bulk being deciduous forest of oak (several species) and beech, with chestnut. Forty-eight per cent. of the forest area is in coppice (ceduo), and of the 52 per cent. of high forest, the bulk is managed under selection system (a scelta), a small part under clearing system (ad alto fusto), although management can hardly be said to exist except in small groves.

That supply of workwood is insufficient for the needs of the population, and is decreasing, is attested by the fact that the importations more than doubled in the decade from 1892 to 1903 to near 14 million dollars, 80 per cent. of which was saw material, in addition to 2 million dollars of wood manufactures, while nearly 5 million dollars’ worth was exported in the last named year, mostly cork, casks, thin box-boards, olive wood manufactures, and charcoal. No better picture of the forest conditions can be had than by a statement of the home production, which, in 1886, (last official data) was placed at 48 million cubic feet of workwood, valued at 3.4 million dollars, 223 million cubic feet firewood, valued at 4.1 million, 106 million cubic feet charcoal, worth 3.6 million, and by-products to the large amount of 6.4 million dollars, altogether a little less than 17.6 million dollars. Firewood and charcoal, which represent over 80 per cent. of the product, are, of course, furnished by coppice, and in addition by the pollarded material, almost the only fuel to be had.

The ownership of the forest area is for the greater part private (53 per cent.) and communal (over 43 per cent.), the State owning a little over 400,000 acres, less than 4 per cent. The State property being so small, supervision of communal and private forest has become the policy.

The State forest is of two classes, the alienable, under the Department of Finance, the larger part, about 375,000 acres, and the inalienable, so declared by law of 1871, which was then about 115,000 acres, and was placed under a forest administration in the Department of Agriculture; but of this about 20 per cent. is not forest, and even in 1896, some of this small area was sold so that now only 40,000 acres remain. This area is to serve for demonstration of model management, and to supply government needs. Beech and oak with fir, pine and larch, mostly in timber forest, characterize this property, which is managed mostly in selection system. Curiously enough, in 1888, the difficulty of disposing advantageously of the old timber is complained of, due to lack of means of transportation. The personnel of the administration consists of a central bureau with one Inspector General, three Inspectors, and a Council. For each province, and in some cases for two or more provinces together, an Inspector with several Sub-inspectors and a number of guards or brigadieri are charged with the management of the State property and the enforcement of the forest laws.

2. Development of Forest Policy

For centuries, since the fall of the Roman Empire (476 A.D.) until the end of the eighteenth century, Italy has been the victim of war and strife with neighbors or within its borders, being divided into numberless commonwealths, almost each city being independent. Hence, no economic improvements could take place until, under the influences of the French Revolution, the regeneration period began. Not, however, until the seven or eight states, which the Congress of Vienna (1815) had established, were moulded into one united Italy under Victor Emmanuel, during the years 1859 to 1870, could an effective reconstruction be inaugurated.

It is true that some of the republics in earlier times paid attention to their forest property. Notably in Venice, old forest ordinances¹⁴ date back to 697, and, in 1453, a regular forest administration was instituted, especially to take care of the large forest area in Istria and Dalmatia, which fell into the hands of the Venetians about 1420. A tolerably conservative management continued here until the beginning of the eighteenth century when, in consequence of political complications, supervision became lax, and devastation began which continued through the century, leaving to the new century, and finally to the Austrians, the legacy of the Karst (see p. 173).

Florence too, managed to prevent the deforestation of the summit of her mountains until the beginning of the eighteenth century, and in other republics, kingdoms and duchies, similar efforts at forest administration existed. Yet Genoa, which in Strabo’s time was the principal timber market of Italy, had by 1860 nearly all its mountain slopes denuded.

Before the general legislation for all Italy was enacted there were at least a dozen laws in operation in the various provinces; in Lombardy, the law of 1811; in Naples, the law of 1826; in Rome, of 1827; in Umbria, of 1805; in Bologna, of 1829; in Tuscany, of 1829; in Piedmont, of 1833; in Sardinia, of 1851; etc. If these had been heeded much better conditions would have been inherited by the new kingdom.

With the arrival of a national spirit, many schemes for the promotion of forestry and of forest policy were discussed. The academies of Florence, Milan, Modena, Palermo, and Pesaro offered premiums for reforesting of mountains, and called for popular treatises on silviculture. A forestry journal came into being, furthering the propaganda. In 1860 a very well written account of “Present Conditions of Forestry and Production of Sulphur in Sicily,” a collection of reports, was published by Shiro. In 1860 also, an investigation of forest conditions in each province was ordered by royal decree, and propositions for their improvement were called for, which led to legislative proposals, introduced in 1862, and legislation enacted in 1863.

The law of 1863 still treated each province independently: forest inspectors for each province, and for Naples an Inspector General, with district foresters and a large number of forest guards were appointed.

Another law, applicable only to certain parts of the Kingdom, was enacted in 1874, intended to check the progress of deforestation and prevent turning waste woodlands into pasture; these absolute forest soils were to be reforested within five years. The law remained a dead letter, yet it is still in force in part, with modifications enacted in 1886.

The final unification of the country as far as legislative unity is concerned, was completed in 1877, and in that year the first general forest law for all Italy was also enacted.

This law, which has mainly in view the protective influence of forest cover as a factor in the public welfare, leaving all private property not falling under the character of protection forest entirely free, established provincial forest commissions – conservation boards – unpaid, who were to enact rules and regulations best adapted to their localities. The Board of Commissioners consisted of the prefect of the province, ex-officio president; an inspector of forests, the technical officer who administers the government property; an engineer appointed by the governor; and three members chosen by the provincial council; in addition, each communal council was to send one member to take part in the deliberations of the board as far as his particular commune was interested.

By this law the country is divided into two sections vertically, namely the territory above the limit of chestnut, and that below this limit, the latter representing the farming country, the territory above being unfit for agricultural use. To the former the restrictions of the law apply as a rule (terreni soggetti al vincolo forestale– ban forest), to the latter, as exception, namely where the removal of forest or brush cover might cause landslides, or affect stream flow or health conditions unfavorably. The chestnut limit naturally varies in different parts, but, generally speaking, lies between 1,800 and 2,000 feet elevation. The determination of these areas was to be made by the provincial forest committees, and it is significant to note that in these the State forest administration did not have the majority.

The territory under restriction, was in 1887, after various revisions, established as comprising 7.5 million acres of forest and 2.5 million acres of brush and waste, nearly 71 % of the forest area being thus placed under restriction; leaving 2.5 million acres of forest and over 2 million of brush and waste outside the working of the law; these latter areas are left entirely without restrictions, except as general police regulations apply. The execution of the law and regulations is left to the State Forest Department with an organization of forest guards (some 3,000 in 1883), appointed by the prefect of the province with the advice of the forestry commission, but acting under the State forest administration. Their pay was to come to the extent of two-thirds from the communes, the other third from the provincial treasurer.

In the forests placed under the law, clearing and agricultural use is forbidden. Fellings and cultures must be made under direction of the Committee. No compensation is made for this limitation in use except where hygienic influence was the basis for placing the forest under ban.

If the regulations of the commissions had been observed to their full extent, all would have been well in time, but it is evident from subsequent legislative efforts that the execution of the laws was not what could be desired. Political exigencies required leniency in the application of the law. An interesting report on the results of the first quinquennium shows that during that time 170,000 acres were cleared, over 40,000 without permission, and by 1900, it was estimated, deforestation had taken place on about 5 million acres.

Wrangling over the classification of the lands under ban has continued until the present, and local authorities have continued to favor private as against public interest, to withdraw lands from the operation, and to wink at disregard of the law. Moreover, rights of user to dead wood, pasturage (goats are by law excluded) and other privileges continued to prevent improvement, although several laws to effect their extinction had been passed.

The devastating floods of 1882 led to much agitation, and, upon a report of a special commission in 1886, the law of 1874, which had obligated the communities to reforest their waste lands within five years or else to sell, was revived, extending the term of obligatory reforestation in the endangered sections to ten years. By that time, out of 800,000 acres originally declared as requiring reforestation, not more than 40,000 acres had been planted, but the acreage involved had also been gradually scaled down by the forest committees to 240,000 acres. The report, on the other hand, found that the area needing reboisement was at least 500,000 acres, requiring an expenditure of 12 million dollars. The law of 1877 did not contemplate enforced reforestation of banforests; it sought to accomplish this by empowering either the Department of Agriculture or the provinces or the communities or special associations to expropriate for the purpose of reforestation. Results were nil.

A revision and broadening of the law led to the general reboisement act of 1888,¹⁵ which has in view the correction of torrents, fixing of mountain slopes and sand dunes – one of the best laws of its kind in existence anywhere.

The principal features of the law are: obligatory reboisement of mountains and sand dunes according to plans, and under direction of the Department of Agriculture, the areas to be designated by the department, with approval or disapproval of the forest committees; contribution to the extent of two-fifths (finally raised to two-thirds) of the expense by the government; expropriation where owners do not consent, or fail to carry out the work as planned; right to reclaim property by payment of costs and interest, or else sale by government; right of the department to regulate and restrict pasture, but compensation to be paid to restricted owners; encouragement of co-operative planters’ associations. The area to be reforested was estimated at somewhat over 500,000 acres and the expense at over 7 million dollars.

The execution of the law was not any stricter than before. In 1900, the Secretary of Agriculture reports that “the laws do not yet receive effective application.” The difficulty of determining what is and what is not necessary to reforest, what is and what is not absolute forest soil made ostensibly the greatest trouble and occasioned delay, but financial incapacity and political influences bidding for popularity are probably the main cause of the inefficiency.

Meanwhile the forest department tried to promote reforestation by giving premiums from its scanty appropriation and distributing from its 130 acres of nurseries, during the years from 1867 to 1899, some 46 million plants and over 500 pounds of seed, and furnishing advice free of charge.

In 1897, again a commission was instituted to formulate new legislation. This commission reported in 1902, declaring that all accessible forests were more or less devastated, accentuating the needs of water management, and proposing a more rigorous definition of ban forests, a strict supervision of communal forests, and the management of private properties under working plans by accredited foresters or else under direct control of the forest department, the foresters to be paid by the State, which is to recover from the owners. It was found that in the past 35 years of the 125,000 acres needing reforestation urgently only 58,300 acres had been planted at an expense of $1,340,000.

In 1910, conditions seem not to have much improved, for again a vigorous attempt at re-organization and improvement on the law of 1877 was made by the Minister of Agriculture; so far without result.

It is to be noted that Italy is perhaps the only country where forest influence on health conditions was legally recognized, by the laws of 1877 and 1888. The belief that deforestation of the maremnae, the marshy lowlands between Pisa and Naples, had produced the malarial fever which is rampant here, led the Trappist monks of the cloister at Tre Fontane to make plantations of Eucalyptus (84,000) beginning in 1870, the State assisting by cessions of land for the purpose. A commission, appointed to investigate the results, in 1881, threw doubt on the effectiveness of the plantation, finding the observed change in health conditions due to improvement of drainage; and lately, the mosquito has been recognized as the main agency in propagating the fever. The new propositions, however, did not any more recognize this claimed influence as a reason for public intervention. Incidentally it may be stated that to two Italians is due the credit of having found the true cause of salubriousness of forest air, namely in the absence of pathogenic bacteria.