Zmiany wskaźnika zrównoważonej gospodarki leśnej na poziomie regionalnych dyrekcji Lasów Państwowych w latach 1993–2013

The aim of our work was to assess the direction of changes taking place in forests of regional directorates of State Forests (rdSF) based on measurable indicators used to assess sustainable development. Based on the synthetic index (Z), changes in the years 1993–2013 were evaluated for the individual directorates. We identified the regions with the largest and smallest rates of change in terms of sustainable development dynamics. The analysis was carried out using spatio-temporal variables and the main criterion for selecting diagnostic variables was their availability and comparability over the analyzed period. The rdSF variation was assessed using the synthetic index (Z), using the zeroed univalidation method. In the years 1993-2013, favorable changes over time were indeed recorded which reflect the progress in implementing practices for supporting sustainable development in forestry. However, large differences exist between the regional management in this respect. For the analyzed period, the most favorable conditions from the perspective of sustainable forest management were maintained in RDSF Kraków, RDSF Białystok and RDSF Toruń, while the least desirable conditions were found in RDSF Zielona Góra, RDSF Piła and RDSF Warsaw. The greatest ratesof beneficial changes, on the other hand, were found in RDSF Szczecin, RDSF Kraków and RDSF Wrocław. In turn, the lowest rates of change of the synthetic index (Z) were observed in the directorates of Katowice, Piła and Łódź. In summary, measurable indicators of sustainable development are a good instrument for measuring the pace of changes in sustainable forestry. They are an effective tool for assessing and reporting progress over time and should also be used when planning and implementing development strategies.