Storms, drought, bark beetle infestation: the forest is doing badly. At the meeting of agriculture ministers, there was consensus. But how can the forest become more climate-proof?
In order for the forests in Germany to be protected and preserved, the Federal Forest Act is to be amended. That said Federal Minister of Agriculture Cem Özdemir (Greens) on Monday after consultations with his country colleagues.
He was glad that there was broad agreement. “We are modernizing the provisions, some of which are over 40 years old,” said the Green politician. This should create a Germany-wide standard for forest management. The changes would also affect state laws, Özdemir said.
In addition, additional services for forest owners for climate protection and biodiversity are to be launched. A model was developed for this. The first modules are to be implemented this year, with more to follow. As one of the measures, Özdemir named reduced human intervention in forests, which are of particularly high value for biodiversity.
Financial backing
By the end of the legislative period, 900 million euros are to be made available for rewarding climate protection and biodiversity services. According to Özdemir, the first module is to be equipped with 200 million euros. “This is good news to give the forest owners the support they need for sustainable forest conversion,” said Brandenburg’s Forest Minister Axel Vogel (Greens). However, the nuances of the colleagues gave an idea that the amount of money available led to more intense discussions. In view of the damage, this amount is probably not what the forest owners had imagined, said Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s Minister of Agriculture, Till Backhaus (SPD).
Overall, there was great agreement at the ministerial conference, according to various sources. According to Özdemir, a total of 400,000 hectares of damaged areas have been created since 2018. “This forest damage makes it clear to us how existential the climate crisis can be for us,” said the Federal Minister of Agriculture.
Time is running out
The forest owners welcomed the promised support – albeit with restrictions. “In view of the climate crisis, it is a good signal for forest owners that the federal and state governments are focusing on the forest,” said the President of the Working Group of German Forest Owner Associations, Andreas Bitter. However, time is of the essence. “The financial aid to adapt the forest to climate change must now reach the forest owners quickly.”
The conference of agriculture ministers also discussed intensively the risk of forest fires and possible preventive measures. In the drought, there are more forest fires, said Saxony-Anhalt’s forestry minister and the chairman of the conference of agriculture ministers, Sven Schulze (CDU). Only last weekend it had burned again in the Harz Mountains. You have to work together to identify and fight forest fires across countries, said Schulze. Green politician Axel Vogel added that the Conference of Agriculture Ministers had therefore asked the federal government to work with the states to launch a nationwide prevention strategy to protect forests from fires.
Source: Stern
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
