European forests growing, good news for climate: report

Yahoo News 14 Jun 11;

OSLO (AFP) – Europe's forests have expanded over the past 20 years and are thus absorbing more carbon dioxide, a report published in Oslo Tuesday showed, offering some good news in the battle to limit climate change.

According to the report published during a ministerial conference on the protection of Europe's forests, the continent, including Russian territory, today counts 1.02 billion hectares (2.5 billion acres) of forest, accounting for about a quarter of the world's woods.

"Over the last 20 years, the forest area has expanded in all European regions and has gained 0.8 million hectares each year," reads the report, entitled "State of Europe's Forests 2011".

During the same period, Europe's total stock of forests, which takes into account the density and height of the trees, has grown by 8.6 billion cubic metres (303 billion cubic feet), which is equal to all of the forests in France, Germany and Poland combined, the report said.

And since trees absorb carbon dioxide as they grow, the expanding European forests removed some 879 million tonnes of the greenhouse gas from the atmosphere each year between 2005 and 2010, the report said.

That corresponds to around 10 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions in Europe in 2008.

However, the report also points to problems of air pollution that affect the soil in many forest regions, as well as destruction caused by insects, disease and natural disasters like storms and fire.

The ministerial conference, known as Forest Europe, was created in 1990 with the aim to encourage protection and sustainable development and management of forests.

Ministers from its 46 member states are meeting in Oslo this week to try to draw up a legally binding international agreement to further that agenda.

Europe's forests 'vital for climate goal'
Mark Kinver BBC News, 14 Jun 11;

Europe's forests can play a key role in helping mitigate the impact of climate change, a report described as the most comprehensive of its kind concludes.

Europe is home to 25% of the world's forests, which absorb about 10% of the EU's annual emissions, it added.

The study said that improved policies had increased tree cover but that the risks of fire and disease were growing.

The report was published at a summit where ministers considered developing a legally binding deal on forest policy.

"We are benefiting now from the wise and brave decisions made in past," said Kit Prins, former UN timber chief, as he presented the findings to delegates at the Forest Europe conference in Oslo.

"The State of Europe's Forests 2011 report looks at the decisions being taken now, and we hope that people in the future will look back on these decisions positively," he observed.

Mr Prins added: "We believe that the study supplies the best information ever on Europe's forests."

Growing threats

Highlighting some of the findings, he explained that Europe was the most forest resource-rich region in the world, with one billion hectares that covered about 45% of the region's land area.

Roughly 80% of this total was located within the Russian Federation. Overall, the forestry sector across the continent accounted for four million jobs and 1% of GDP.

Although net tree cover was increasing by 800,000 hectares each year, Mr Prins added that there were a number of challenges that needed to be addressed.

Nitrogen deposition as a result of pollution exceeded "critical levels in many areas and is putting forest soils at risk".

He also pointed out that disease and insect infestations were on the increase, with figures suggesting that one in five trees was affected.

Forest fires were of particular concern in Russia and southern Europe, he told delegates. "Despite efforts to address the problem, the overall area affected is not falling."
'Safety net'

In his opening address, Crown Prince Haakon of Norway said forests provided almost a third of the world's population with food, fuel or medicine, as well as acting as a "safety net in natural disasters".

"Capacity building, good governance and increased international co-operation are necessary in order to secure sustainable forest management," he told the conference.

"Forests that are sustainably managed are becoming an important part of the solution for global climate change.

"Growing forests sequester carbon, wood products store carbon throughout their lifetime, and renewable energy is provided with biomass."

The prince concluded by describing Forest Europe, which has its secretariat based in Norway, as an "important initiative" because it showed what could be achieved through international collaboration.

The ministerial conference in the Norwegian capital concludes on Wednesday.