| This work is meant to contribute to the challenge of achieving sustainable forest development on national or regional levels. Applications of adaptive management and environmental management systems (ISO 14001) in some countries is successful on a smaller scale. However, despite these local efforts, operational scheme incorporating principles of sustainability in nation-wide management of forests is still missing.; Here, an attempt was made to design a framework, which could be used for assessing and facilitating sustainability in the development of forest resources. The study in general is based on the concepts of program evaluation discipline, where the administration of forest resources on a national level is seen as an individual program. The ultimate goal of this program is sustainable forest development.; Three countries, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, were chosen for the purposes of this study. These countries were selected due to their unique situations, favorable for comparative research. This study concentrated on identifying the gaps (failures) in forest management programs and discussing possible solutions to the problems.; Among other things, it was found that development paths taken by the administrators of forest resources differ between three countries. These different paths resulted in a variety of failures in national forest programs.; The conclusions reached by this study, in the context of sustainable development, argue that the human factor plays a crucial role in facilitation of national forest programs. In order to accomplish the sustainability of forest resource management, sector administrators should select forest policy instruments relevant to the beliefs and traditions of those both responsible for implementation and addressed by the instrument. For better results, more attention should be paid to the education of the general public and forestry professionals. Only with willful and considered efforts of all stakeholders will the sustainable development of forest resources be accomplished. |
