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In Romania, the changes of the land fund occurring over the last decades due to land restitutions have led to some difficulties in the management of the marked forests and to excessive harvesting in all geographical areas, but especially in the Carpathian Mountains. Although these topics have been intensely publicized, the general reaction of the population and, implicitly, of the local communities, towards these signals has been week and isolated. Consequently, the study aims at examining the perception of local Carpathian communities, as actors involved in sustainable development, which are required to assume an active participation in the sustainable management (SFM) of the forests lying in the vicinity of residential areas. In order to accomplish this, an interview was applied in eight pilot areas from the Southern Carpathians. The results reveal that, regardless of education level, the respondents have a deep environmental knowledge about forest ecosystems, a perception in which the interest goes primarily to forest maintenance and only then to economic harvesting. The perception regarding the forests' condition, the activity of the administrators and the specific legislation is predominantly negative. In order to overcome the dysfunctions the members of local communities support legislation improvement, the increase of environmental awareness by education, being willing to get involved in a wide range of activities to enhance SFM. The study may be a useful tool for policy makers and for improving the activities by involving local population, which is the main target of SFM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]