Nieuwe manieren nodig om Europese bossen te beschermen (en) - Montesquieu Instituut

The Spanish Minister, Elena Espinosa, with the Norwegian Minister of Agriculture and Food, Lars Peder Brekk (left), and the Polish Deputy Environment Minister, Janusz Jaleski, during the opening of the Conference on the Protection of Forests. EFE

Finding “new ways” to protect Europe's forests from global change should be a priority for the European Union, Spain's Minister of the Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs said on Tuesday during the opening of the Conference on the Protection of Forests.

The Spanish minister underscored the importance of understanding and calculating the impact of climate change on different kinds of European woods and forests, as well as understanding the role that these ecosystems play in mitigating global warming.

Espinosa also presented the EU's Green Paper on Forest Protection and Information, which was adopted on 1 March by the European Commission and is intended to spark a debate in order to update the EU's Forestry Strategy, so that forests can continue to carry out their productive, socio-economic and environmental functions.

According to the Green Paper, 5% of the world's forests are found in the European Union, and European forest mass has grown constantly for more than 60 years. This means most European forests have experienced an increase in timber-yielding volume and carbon storage capacity.

In terms of the socio-economic functions of forests, the Green Paper says that around 350,000 people are directly employed in forestry management, while the primary forestry industry employs more than two million people with a turnover of 300 billion euros.

Solutions to forest fires and the loss of traditional forest management

During the opening of the conference, Espinosa called on participants to seek solutions to mitigate the problems caused by the disappearance of traditional forest management practices and large areas of forest-covered countryside being abandoned.

In relation to forest fires, the minister said it was important to stop these from starting in the first place and to take steps to minimise them, which would help offset the effects of climate change and biodiversity loss.

The Conference on the Protection of Forests, jointly organised with the European Commission and taking place in Valsaín (Segovia), is one of the activities being held by the Ministry of the Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs during the Spanish Presidency of the European Union.