Slovakia Plans to Hand State Forestry Powers to Small Private Chamber

Slovakia's Ministry of Agriculture has proposed sweeping new legislation that would transfer significant state authority over forestry management to a narrow private professional body, alarming experts who say the move would concentrate power in the hands of a small, ideologically conservative group. The draft law, submitted for public consultation, concerns the Slovak Forestry Chamber, a professional guild currently representing just over 400 members. Under the proposed changes, the chamber would assume competencies currently held by district government offices, the Ministry of Agriculture, and the National Forestry Centre — a state institution responsible for research and expert oversight of Slovak forests. Critics, including forestry specialists consulted during the drafting process, have described the proposal as alarming, warning that it effectively dismantles a functioning regulatory system and hands control to a small, unrepresentative group known for its conservative and extractive approach to forest management. Slovakia's forests cover roughly 40 percent of the country's territory and are a significant economic and environmental resource. Forest management policy has been a contentious issue in recent years, with ongoing tensions between commercial logging interests and conservationists, particularly in protected areas such as national parks. Transferring regulatory authority from democratically accountable state institutions to a private professional chamber with a narrow membership base raises questions about transparency, public interest safeguards, and environmental oversight. Experts warn the proposal could undermine decades of institutional infrastructure built around sustainable forestry governance.