In: Environmental Planning ISBN: 978-1-61728-654-4 Editor: Rebecca D. Newton © 2011 Nova Science Publishers, Inc. Chapter 4 ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING INPUTS BY THE FOREST SECTOR: THE SCALE F ACTOR, THE CONNECTION PLANNING-MANAGEMENT AND THE RELATIONS WITH OTHER PLANNING SECTORS IN ITALY Sebastiano Cullotta and G. Federico Maetzke Dipartimento di Colture Arboree, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Palermo, Italy ABSTRACT In the twentieth-century, Italy, as well as many other densely populated European countries, has been characterized by a progressive reduction of the forest cover, especially in the Southern Mediterranean regions. Generally, the mountain areas developed a forest-based economy, especially in the Northeast Alps and in the Mediterranean Apennine inner mountains. Several distinctions must be taken into account, for example, with regard to ownership of the woods. On the Alps, generally the forests are municipal, community or private properties. In the Mediterranean Apennines inner areas there are many wide state-owned forests, followed by municipal properties, while the private property is, on average, less diffuse. In the recent past, after the destruction and the intensive exploitation, mainly due to the two world wars, reconstitution by reforestation or improvement of the existing woods has been diffusely realized. The most recent period has been characterized by the acknowledgment of the necessity of a more sustainable use of lands and, at the same time, by the evolution of programming and management tools at different scale levels. From continental to local levels, passing through national and sub-national, the planning actions run from a list of main program points to a detailed indication of specific management practices. Nevertheless the core of forest management remained based on the management plan of the local level only, often grounded with classical schemes, with shallow planning at upper and intermediate levels. In this work a critical analysis of current programming and management tools adopted in