An analysis of forest offense statistics in Northern Tunisia, where most of
the country's woodlands are located, showed rising trends for all types of
offenses, in addition to illegal hunting and clearing, between 1989 and 19
96. Major offenses included clearing, logging, and ploughing. while minor o
ffenses were primarily unlawful stocking, hunting, and handling of forest p
roducts. Users with the greatest destructive behavior belonged to the distr
icts of Jendouba, Kasserine, Le Kef, and Bizerte, while the lowest offense
frequency occurred in Tunis and its neighboring districts. The ratio of for
est offenses per capita was positively correlated with ruralism and the pro
portion of forest cover in the region's districts. However. forest availabi
lity and its implied open-access policy were overriding in promoting users'
destructive behavior. The positive correlation between forest offenses and
eroded soils also demonstrated the detrimental impact of open-access on th
e sustainability of forest resources. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All ri
ghts reserved.