Benefits of those can not remain unseen, especially at a time when Europe and the rest of the world struggle with the economic downturn.
Ensuring the sustainable development of Europe in the new economic situation may be the most important task in years to come, perhaps one of the most viable strategies for the future. The European forest sector, based on a renewable resource, has probably the longest history of balancing economic, ecological and social values. The multifunctional management of forests guarantees the sustainable use of a major natural resource. It contributes to the development of rural areas as well as the human well-being, without putting other demands by society to risk.
The supply of timber, biomass, clear water and fresh air are just some examples of goods and services that forests provide. All these make family forestry multifunctional. Currently, of all the outputs of forests, the ability to remove carbon from the atmosphere may be the most important. These and other values have to be adequately recognised while shaping the future of the European Union. Family forest owners who mange 60 % of the forest area in Europe have to be a part of this process.
“Europe can benefit even more from its forests. This requires an appropriate policy framework which allows the forest based sector to reach its full potential. Our investments in the forests reach beyond our lifetime. Stable conditions and secure property rights can only add to the sense of responsibility. This is crucial for us, forest owners who face the same challenges as the rest of European citizens – the responsibility for securing a sustainable future” states Mr Christer Segerstéen, President of CEPF.
Forests owners call the newly elected European Parliament to work together in order to define clear solutions to current and future challenges identifying mutually agreeable strategies towards:
- A sustainable and prosperous society based on a carbon neutral economy; with the support of a leading role of the EU in developing a natural resource policy based on wood as the most renewable raw material, and a natural product. Concern about the climate change and the environment has never been higher.
- A genuine sustainable policy framework for European forests; based on a long- standing tradition of sustainable forest management, an integrated concept which equally addresses social, economic and environmental goals and the recognition of property rights. Forest owners have been and will remain the backbone and respect all aspects of sustainability equally.
- A living countryside with respect for both the environment and people; which encourages the contribution of forests and forest sector in reaching future goals of the post 2013 rural development policy. This shall include bio energy production as well as climate change mitigation and adaptation. The EU must investigate and pursue the opportunities for creating a system for payments for the ecosystem services provided by the European forests.
- Taking a global responsibility and giving a local answer; with the enhanced role of the EU in curbing deforestation by combating illegal logging effectively, without causing an extra burden for the European forest sector.
The upcoming regulation on “due diligence” should minimize risk of placing illegal wood on market. Additional efforts are needed to address the role of sustainable forest management in negotiating the UN Climate change measures on the reduction of emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD). These two must be closely connected in the continued effort to stop deforestation and forest degradation.