ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses specifically on the manifestation of corruption in the Romanian public forest sector and how this impacts on the country's ability to follow through with sustainable forest management principles, including socially accountable governance of the forest resource. Smith note that corruption poses a corrosive challenge to improved governance' and highlight the importance of legitimate and accountable institutions at all levels of government for reducing corruption. Corruption in Romania can be understood in two ways: as an illegal conduct; and as a breach in basic social values. Forests form an important part of Romanian culture and economy. The contribution of the forest to local livelihoods may be direct or indirect via a substitution income effect. Over-regulation of forest activities in both the public and private sectors is a recognized source of corruption and illegal logging. In post-socialist Romania, forestry is still legally governed through a system of strict, centralized control.
