In 50 years, the forest has grown by an area the size of Burgenland

“The forest is more than the sum of its trees,” says Georg Starhemberg, chairman of proHolz Oberösterreich. He creates wood, extracting carbon dioxide and producing oxygen. The forest is therefore a climate protector.

And he’s growing. In the past 50 years, the forest area in Austria has grown by an area the size of Burgenland – to around four million hectares. The forest is both a habitat and a place for leisure, says Starhemberg: “It filters water and air and offers natural protection against natural hazards such as erosion, flooding, rockfall and avalanches.”

And wood is a source of foreign exchange and an economic factor. There are around 70,000 income earners in Upper Austria along the value chain, as proHolz emphasizes.

You can find interesting facts and figures in the graphic.