Ich möchte den Leserinnen und Lesern dieses Blogs ein Merkblatt für die Praxis aus der Schweiz (WSL) empfehlen, das ich relevant finde für die pan-europäischen…
1 CommentMonth: September 2018
How does the Danish Nature Agency address the trend of rewilding? What are the plans to transition managed forests into forest biodiversity reserves in Denmark – and what are the expected benefits and challenges? We discussed these and other questions with Mogens Krog, Deputy forest officer at the Danish Nature Agency.
Mogens, rewilding is a trend in Denmark now – who are the ones who argue for large connected wild nature areas and no further management? And what is the approach of the Danish Nature Agency?
In Denmark there is a growing interest among nature conservationists and nature conservation NGO’s for large connected wild nature with large herbivores (plant eater). A large area in a Danish context is considered to be 500 ha. Some argue for re-introduction of species which have been part of nature in Denmark in pre-historic time, e.g. wild horses, European bison, moose, and even elephants. Others find domestic animals such as cattle and horses, sufficient to create natural disturbances in nature areas for the benefit of biodiversity.
Denmark is a much regulated landscape with agriculture covering more than 60 % of the land area. Therefore, it may be relative expensive to include private land in rewilding projects Also, in order to avoid major conflicts with agricultural interests, rewilding is likely to be limited to large fences. State owned land is the focus of rewilding interests. In Denmark, state owned land is primarily managed by the Danish Nature Agency under the Ministry of the Environment and Food and covers app. 5% of the total land area in Denmark (210.000 ha).
The project oFOREST, funded by the Federal Office for the Environment FOEN, Switzerland aims at
- identifying and reviewing relevant examples of integrated forest management
- providing an overview over existing principles and concepts
- establishing and maintaining a network of forest expertise and increasing the «tool-box» of management options in multifunctional forest management.
The main product will be a book publication that includes real forest management examples on an enterprise basis and theoretical background chapters on the specific framing situations in forestry across Europe. Influencing factors on developments but also the potentials for adaptations and changes will be analysed for the different regions.
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What does resilience mean to you? Is it the ability to endure stress and still be able to perform? Or the capacity to recover after a catastrophe? Either answer could be right, as the definition of resilience is under a continuous debate. However, as current forest policies advocate building resilience with forest management, they create a point of frustration for forest managers: how do you implement something that you are not exactly sure of what it means in the first place? We tackled this problem with a workshop “Operationalizing Forest Resilience”, that was organised on the 6th and 7th of September 2018 in Bonn. We invited scientists from Europe and the USA to discuss how we can help forest managers to implement resilience in practice. And it is not as easy as you would think.
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How can we approach young urban populations and inform them about the importance of forest use and protection? The easiest way might be to connect an important function of the forest and an important part of their life: recreation.
When we asked the participants of the “Mighty Forest Event” on Saturday, September 15th in Düsseldorf, what the forest means to them, said young urban population confirmed this connection. We were happy to hear numerous statements like “The forest is a place to relax”; “We enjoy the fresh air provided by the trees”; as well as: “I like to walk or do sports in the forest”.
As the name might suggest, the event was all about sneakers and forests. Afew, a fashionable sneakers store in Düsseldorf, designed and produced the sneaker “Mighty Forest” with a few extra details to support reforestation and to raise awareness of the situation of forests worldwide. The release took place in the framework of the “German Forest days” (Deutsche Waldtage), where organizations and institutions all over Germany organized events in and around the forests with a special focus on sports and recreation. The “Mighty forest” was limited to 300 pairs. As part of the project, Afew supports the planting of ten trees with the help of Plant-for-the-Planet for every pair of sneakers they sell. We as European Forest Institute’s Resilience Programme provided the project with the scientific knowledge behind the booklet which educates about crucial forest related facts and accompanied each pair of sneakers.
Der Hambacher Forst ist derzeit wohl der meist diskutierte Wald in den deutschen Medien. Dieser Wald liegt nur rund 50 Kilometer westlich von Köln direkt an Europas größtem Braunkohletagebau. Von dem ehemals 5.500 Hektar großen Wald sind heute noch rund 500 Hektar übrig. Ab Oktober diesen Jahres wird vom Energiekonzern RWE die nächste Rodungssaison geplant, nach der noch knapp 200 Hektar des Waldes verbleiben werden. Doch seit Jahren regt sich Widerstand und macht den Wald zum Schauplatz eines Kampfes „um Kohle, Wald und Klima“, wie die Deutsche Welle kürzlich titelte. Was 2012 mit einer Besetzung des Waldes durch Umweltaktivist*innen begann, umfasst heute eine breite Protestbewegung vielfältiger Akteur*innen mit Bürger*innen aus umliegenden Dörfern oder auch von weiter weg, Umweltverbänden, Kirchengemeinden und vielen weiteren, die sich für den Erhalt des Waldes aussprechen.
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The European project Spurring INnovations for forest eCosystem sERvices in Europe (SINCERE) is officially launched. SINCERE is a four year project on the variety of ecosystem services provided to people by our forests. Funded through the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and coordinated by the European Forest Institute, the project aims at contributing to a potential foundation for a new European forest related policy.
SINCERE is all about ecosystem services related to forests – with a focus on but not limited to European forests. Ecosystem Services in short are goods and services which benefit society. They are multifaceted and reveal themselves in many ways – from economic over material to health and emotional contributions. You can check out our introductory video for a more detailed explanation.
While you may immediately think of carbon sinks, water cycle and wood biomass, forests are also associated with cultural and spiritual benefits.
Gastbeitrag von Hans von der Goltz
Der Wald muss für Eigentümer und Gesellschaft wirtschaftliche, ökologische und soziale Funktionen erfüllen. Wir brauchen einen stabilen Wald und seine Funktionen zum Überleben.
Die Stürme der letzten Jahre, vor allem aber der Jahrhundertsommer 2018 werden insbesondere in den ohnehin schon trockeneren Gebieten Deutschlands zu Auflösungstendenzen des Waldes führen. Seine Wirtschaftsfunktion für die Forst- und Holzwirtschaft mit 1,1 Mio. Beschäftigten, die bisher fast makellose ökologische Vorbildfunktion des naturnähesten bewirtschafteten Ökosystems Wald und die für die Gesellschaft so wichtigen Erholungs- und Trinkwasserschutzfunktionen werden Schaden nehmen.
Die Nachhaltigkeit unseres Waldes ist in Gefahr.
Laut einer dpa-Meldung vom 7. September 2018 hat Bundesminsterin für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft Julia Klöckner zu den Schäden für den deutschen Wald Stellung bezogen, die unter anderem durch die lange Dürreperiode ausgelöst wurden. Besonders Fichtenbestände sind betroffen, aber beinahe alle Baumarten haben unter den extremen Wetterlagen gelitten. Das Ausmaß des Schadens kann laut Klöckner erst mit Verzögerung festgestellt werden, konkrete Zahlen werden im Herbst diesen Jahres erwartet. Natürlich spielt auch das Wetter in den kommenden Wochen eine Rolle.
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How does the German forest look like for visitors from the north? There are taller trees and the exotic European beech, but the Norway spruce…
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