In a press conference held on April 8, the DFWR put the damage to the forestry sector at € 13 billion. Federal and state emergency aid programs are important, but with € 1.5 billion, they only cover a fraction of the damage. “In order to preserve the forest and its functions for society and to adapt it to climate change, funds of this magnitude will be required annual,” emphasized Georg Schirmbeck, President of the German Forestry Council.
“The extent of damage caused by storms, droughts and bark beetles in the years from 2018 to 2020 by far exceeds the financial possibilities and reserves of most forest owners and forestry companies,” says Prof. Dr. Bernhard Möhring from the University of Göttingen who is the head of the study. Damaged wood keeps flooding the timber market and generates little revenue, which the forest owners would need though, for example for the reforestation of damaged areas with mixed forests or for making ecosystem services available to society.
The emergency aid programs launched by the federal government and the states of Germany are very helpful, but they are limited to four years. “The forestry sector needs a long-term follow-up program, such as an extension of the GAK subsidy, which goes beyond 2023, because overcoming the crisis in our forests is a task of the century,” underlined Schirmbeck.
“The German forestry sector is facing its greatest test, which it can only master together with politics and society. In addition to reliable framework conditions and funding instruments for sustainable forest management, further restrictions and bans on forest management and the use of wood must be prevented. They slow down attempts to reach climate protection goals and the options which are necessary for a way out of the fossil fuel age and towards climate neutrality,” said Schirmbeck in conclusion.
