Forest fires, storms,
unsustainable management and mass tourism
are major causes of forest fragmentation
The 'State of Europe's forests 2011' report
aims at catalyzing action at ministerial
meeting in June where negotiations commence
on first legally binding instrument for
sustainable management of forests in Europe
Geneva 31 May 2011 -
European forests may be expanding by around
7,000 hectares a year but many are still
under threat from 'fragmentation' as a result
of felling, fires and conversion to agricultural
land, according to experts with the United
Nations.
These isolated and fragmented
forest systems are not only more vulnerable
to climate change, they are less able to
support wildlife, stabilize soils and supply
sufficient water to the cities, companies
and communities that rely on such ecosystem
services.
The United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) is working with scientists
at the European Commission who are drawing
up maps pin-pointing where increased tree
planting can assist in restoring Europe's
green corridors in order to reconnect fragmented
forests.
It is hoped to have
the maps ready by, or shortly after, a key
ministerial meeting taking place in Oslo,
Norway, in mid-June, which comes half way
through the UN's International Year of Forests.
Some of the challenges
facing Europe's forests are highlighted
in the Carpathian Mountains. Here, the number
of hotels has increased by almost 60 per
cent in the last ten years and popular destinations
are being affected by mass tourism.
Since the 11000s, the
process of re-privatization and the transfer
of forest areas to private owners has resulted
in the disintegration of forest management
and the fragmentation of forest coverage
in the Carpathian states, according to UNEP.
Forest fires, especially
in the Mediterranean basin and in the Russian
Federation, are another challenge. The European
Forest Institute estimates that 500,000
hectares are burnt each year in the Mediterranean
region as a result of more than 50,000 fires.
Forest abandonment, coupled with climate
change, is increasing the risk of forest
fires in the basin. The Institute also estimates
that without better forest management necessary
for combating desertification, 80 million
people living in the Mediterranean region
may have access to less than 500m3 of water
each year by 2025.
The meeting in Oslo
of the Ministerial Conference on the Protection
of Forests in Europe, Ministers, aims to
move forward on the fragmentation issue
and more effective forest policies.
It is expected that
the conference?coordinated by FOREST EUROPE?will
lead o the adoption of new targets and goals
including on fragmentation and restoration
as part of European Forests 2020.
A key item to be addressed
at the conference is the elaboration of
a strengthened policy framework for sustainable
forest management throughout Europe. In
this context, the ministers are expected
to open negotiations on a legally binding
agreement on forests in Europe.
The ministers of the
seven Carpathian States have just taken
the lead on legal instruments. Last Friday,
27 May, High Level Representatives of Czech
Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia,
Slovak Republic and Ukraine decided to further
cooperate and strengthen their efforts to
protect, maintain and sustainably manage
forests in the Carpathians.
The legal framework
has been established through the approval
of the Protocol on Sustainable Forest Management
to the Carpathian Convention.
The Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna
and Flora (CITES) already provides a legally-binding
regulatory scheme ensuring that international
trade in listed timber species and non-timber
forest products is legal, sustainable and
traceable.
Up-to-date picture of
the status and trends of Europe's forests:
The ministerial meeting
in Oslo will be informed by a new report
entitled "State of Europe's Forests"
compiled by FOREST EUROPE, UN Economic Commission
for Europe and the UN's Food and Agricultural
organisation.
The key findings of
this detailed 'zoom in' or snapshot of Europe's
forests on our forests are released today
from Geneva, on the eve of World Environment
Day 2011:
Forests cover almost
half of Europe's land surface and forest
area continues to increase
There are 1.02 billion
hectares of forest in Europe, which make
up 25 percent of the world's total. Over
the last 20 years, the forest area has expanded
in all European regions and has gained 0.8
million hectares each year. Over the same
period, the total growing stock of forests
in Europe has increased by 8.6 billion cubic
metres, an equivalent to the total combined
growing stock of France, Germany and Poland.
Growing stock has increased faster than
area, which means that average standing
volume of wood per hectare in Europe has
increased.
Eleven million hectares
or 1 percent of Europe's forests are affected
by forest damage, most frequently caused
by insects and diseases
The level of damage
from insects and diseases is significant
but under reported. One percent of the European
forest area is affected by one or more damaging
agents (6 percent for Europe without the
Russian Federation). Damage due to storms,
wind and snow was mainly observed in Central-West,
Central-East, North and South-West Europe,
while damage due to forest fires has mainly
been reported for the Russian Federation,
South-West and South-East Europe.
The majority of European
forest landscapes have been influenced by
humans
About 70 percent of
Europe's forests are classified as semi-natural,
as a result of many centuries of human influence.
Long historical use of wood, high population
density, fragmented forest landscapes and
forest ownership structure, with many small
private forest holdings, have been driving
factors. Undisturbed forest amounts to 26
percent and is located primarily in remote
and inaccessible areas of eastern and northern
Europe, and in the Russian Federation. Plantations
cover 4 percent of the forest area and are
located mainly in Central-West Europe. The
assessment of forest landscape pattern indicates
that expanding forest area, by natural succession
or restoration, does not necessarily enhance
forest connectivity.
Fellings are well below
forest growth
In almost all countries,
the net annual increment is higher than
the annual fellings. In the European region,
approximately 40 percent of the increment
is utilized. In the Russian Federation the
felling rate has decreased from 41 percent
in 11000 and stabilized around 20 percent
since 2000. In Europe without the Russian
Federation, the felling rate increased from
58 percent in 11000 to 62 percent in 2010.
Europe remains one of
the largest producers of roundwood in the
world
In 2010, more than 578
million cubic metres of roundwood were produced.
The overall value of marketed roundwood
is still increasing and reached EUR 21.1
billion[1] in 2010. Europe's forests continue
to be one of the main roundwood producers
in the world. The demand for wood fuel is
increasing at a high rate in many European
countries.
Non-wood goods can be
an important source of local income
The importance of non-wood
goods differs between countries, thus a
comprehensive view on all types of these
goods across Europe is difficult to obtain.
However, the reported data clearly shows
that non-wood goods can be an important
source of local income. The total reported
value of marketed non-wood goods amounts
to EUR 2.7 billion and has almost tripled
since the 2007 assessment ? although some
of the increase may be due to improved reporting.
In 2010, Christmas trees, fruits and berries,
and cork were the most important non-wood
income sources. The value of marketed non-wood
goods represented 15 percent of the value
of marketed roundwood in countries that
reported both values.
Outside the Russian
Federation, 50 percent of forests are in
private ownership
All forests in the Russian
Federation are publicly owned ? they represent
80 percent of the forest area in the FOREST
EUROPE region. Outside the Russian Federation,
ownership is distributed equally between
private and public, with considerable variation
between countries. The proportion of private
forests and numbers of private forest holdings
have increased over the last 20 years, mainly
because of privatization and restitution
processes in a number of countries.
Potential for further
mechanization vary substantially between
regions
Around 4 million people
work in the European forest sector, including
wood processing and pulp and paper industries.
The general trend is a decrease in occupation,
but there are substantial differences between
regions, which reflect the mechanization
level and the potential for increased productivity.
As the forestry workforce is ageing, a challenge
is the recruitment of new workers to the
sector. Forest work still reports a very
high accident rate, and relatively few improvements
were identified over the past decade.
+ More
Countdown begins to
World Environment Day 2011
Nairobi, 31 May 2011
- Whether through a litter clean-up around
Mount Everest, a training programme in forest
management Costa Rica or a music festival
in Belgium, millions of people across the
world will join forces to mark World Environment
Day (WED) on 5 June 2011.
This year's WED theme
is 'Forests: Nature at Your Service', which
highlights the crucial environmental, economic
and social roles played by the world's forests.
As WED host nation for
2011, India will be the focus of worldwide
celebrations, with major events planned
in New Delhi and Bangalore. The World 10K
Race on 5 June will see some 25,000 runners
pound the pavements of Bangalore in support
of WED. Organizers and participants will
also inaugurate a 'World 10K Forest', to
which more trees will be added at future
races.
UNEP will also release
the Forests in a Green Economy report in
New Delhi on 5 June. In the face of continuing
deforestation (currently estimated at 5.2
million hectares worldwide per year), the
report outlines how increased public and
private investment in forest management
and forest resources can boost employment,
drastically reduce deforestation and help
tackle climate change.
Beyond India, WED celebrations
are already taking shape in cities, towns,
villages and communities across the world,
including:
NEPAL: UNEP is supporting
a clean-up expedition to remove an estimated
9 tons of litter in and around Mount Everest.
Enlisting some 60 climber volunteers, the
long-term aim of the initiative is to develop
more sustainable waste management facilities
and recycling plants in the region
CONGO-BRAZZAVILLE: A
major international summit on tropical forest
basins will be held from 31 May to 6 June.
The event will focus on the sustainable
management of forest ecosystems in the Amazon,
Congo and Mekong Borneo basins
BRAZIL: The 'MudaRock
Project' - a free music download service
- will be launched on 3 June. For every
song or video downloaded by users, a tree
sapling will be planted in a reforestation
area in Brazil. The project aims to plant
one million native trees within a year.
COSTA RICA: A major
success story in reforestation (having increased
its forest cover from 22 percent in 1995
to 51 percent by 2010), Costa Rica will
host participants from 15 neighbouring countries
for a training course on sustainable forest
management
CANADA: Toronto is the
regional host city for World Environment
Day celebrations in North America. To date,
over 50 WED events have been registered
in Canada including environmental workshops
for students, a high-level consultation
on the Green Economy with 40 environmental
leaders and a series of book readings for
children.
BELGIUM: WED celebrations
will kick off on 5 June with an environment
fete at Parc Cinquintenaire in Brussels,
featuring activities, stands and a music
concert. Brussels will also be welcoming
UN Youth Ambassador and Disney star Monique
Coleman as well as comic book hero Marsupilami
and his illustrator Batem.
BAHRAIN: UNEP's Regional
Office for West Asia will help co-ordinate
a beach-cleaning and tree-planting campaign
In the run-up to World
Environment Day, UNEP Goodwill Ambassadors
Gisele Bündchen and Don Cheadle are
going head-to-head in the WED Challenge.
Before WED officially
kicks off, individuals, groups, families
and schools - even entire communities -
can post details of their planned green
events online at http://www.wedchallenge.org
When registering a WED
activity on the website, you'll be asked
to pledge your activity to either Don or
Gisele. Full of goodwill, Gisele has pledged
to plant a tree for every activity registered
in her name. Full of confidence, Don Cheadle
has pledged to plant two.
When the votes are counted
on 5 June, the result will be a new forest
inaugurated by the winner, leaving a lasting
green legacy from the global WED community.
Bollywood stars Priyanka
Chopra and Rahul Bose are also facing off
for World Environment Day in the WED Challenge
India. More details are available at http://www.wedchallenge.org/india
Whether it's switching
from plastic bags to cloth bags, car-pooling
with colleagues or organizing a tree-planting
day, WED activities can be big, small, local,
international, noisy, quiet...just as long
as they're green.
Visit www.unep.org/wed
to browse the A-Z of WED ideas, find your
inspiration and tell the world what you're
doing.
For a comprehensive list of WED events in
India and around the world, please visit:
www.unep.org/wed
