Commons as Traditional Means of Sustainably Managing Forests and Pastures in Olt Land (Romania)

The compossessorates in Transylvania (Romania) are traditional varieties of commons. During the inter-war period two types of compossessorates were most common in the Olt Land, between the Olt River and the Southern Carpathians: those of the former boyars and the ones owned by the former serfs. An analysis of the 1904 Austro-Hungarian Regulation on the organization and management of the commons, of the 1910 Romanian Forest Code that was implemented in Transylvania after 1918, and of the by-laws of compossessorates, derived from the aforementioned documents, unveils the concern of both legislators and members of compossessorates for the preservation, balanced exploitation and regeneration of the forest fund and their focus on sustainable management of forests. The compossessorates were disbanded upon the instauration of the communist regime in Romania and re-established after 1989. Nowadays, compossessorates in the Olt Land continue the local tradition of sustainably managing the forests and the pastures. Their activity in this regard can be improved. Collaboration of the communal schools and the university with the compossessorates, the use of the Internet to promote their image and the involvement of NGOs in their support would be effective in this respect.