Social and Legal Dimensions of Societal Participation in Sustainable Regional Forestry Activities

In this study, within the context of developing sustainable regional forestry strategies, we examined the recently adopted concepts of multifunctional planning and its essential stages and the process of integration of forestry into the social life. For this purpose; the role of participants on forestry processes; main approaches in forest management and administration, integration of forestry sector into sustainable economic development, various approaches, thoughts and practicing methods on forest functions were briefly evaluated. In addition, as taken an example of practicing in some Balkan Countries, the impact of societal participation on the legal basis for sustainable forest management was analyzed. The purpose of this study was to establish forestry strategy and to bring a holistic perception to the current forestry problems by examining all the procedures of national, regional and local planning, and societal participation.