This paper investigates timber legality issues in the Western Balkans by examining the transposition of national policy frameworks in five Western Balkan countries (Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, and the Republic of Srpska, BH) with the European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR) requirements. The study uses a multiple-embedded case study design to investigate national policies and regulations on preventing and tackling illegal logging and those dealing with the trade in timber and timber products. A qualitative content analysis of retrieved documents was conducted to check the extent to which EUTR requirements are covered. Interviews with 36 key actors across selected countries were conducted to analyse their perceptions of the EUTR and the recently approved European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), focusing on awareness, transparency, information flow, resources, and challenges of ensuring timber legality. The study also distinguished institutional and actor-oriented factors influencing the transposition of EUTR and forthcoming EUDR requirements into national policies and forest management practices. The contribution offers a comparative gap analysis of EU requirements' incorporation within targeted countries' national policy frameworks and an overview of common and opposing perceptions on timber legality and legitimate forestry practices among key stakeholders in five Western Balkan countries.

中文翻译：

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影响选定西巴尔干国家木材合法性的制度和行为者导向因素：克罗地亚、黑山、塞尔维亚、斯洛文尼亚和斯普斯卡共和国（波斯尼亚和黑塞哥维那）的多个案例研究


本文通过考察五个西巴尔干国家（斯洛文尼亚、克罗地亚、塞尔维亚、黑山和塞族共和国、波黑）的国家政策框架与欧盟木材法规 (EUTR) 要求的转换，调查了西巴尔干地区的木材合法性问题。该研究采用多重嵌入案例研究设计来调查国家有关预防和打击非法采伐以及涉及木材和木制品贸易的政策和法规。对检索到的文件进行定性内容分析，以检查 EUTR 要求的覆盖程度。我们对选定国家的 36 个主要参与者进行了采访，以分析他们对 EUTR 和最近批准的欧盟毁林条例 (EUDR) 的看法，重点关注意识、透明度、信息流、资源和确保木材合法性的挑战。该研究还区分了影响 EUTR 和即将出台的 EUDR 要求转化为国家政策和森林管理实践的制度和面向行动者的因素。该贡献对欧盟要求纳入目标国家的国家政策框架进行了比较差距分析，并概述了五个西巴尔干国家主要利益相关者对木材合法性和合法林业做法的共同和反对的看法。