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The European Commission
has adopted a Green Paper which sets out options for a European
Union approach to the protection of forests and to information
about forest resources and their condition.
Responses to the Green
Paper from the public, Member States, EU institutions and
other stakeholders will guide the Commission on whether additional
action is needed at EU level.
Content and aims of
the Green Paper
The Green Paper[1]
sets out the main challenges
facing Europe's forests. It presents existing forest information
systems and the tools available to protect forests and raises
a series of
questions relevant to the development
of future policy options. The paper is
part of the follow-up to the White Paper[2]
on adapting to climate change,
adopted by the Commission in April 2009.
Since competence for forest policy
lies primarily with the Member States, the debate should focus
on how climate change is modifying forest management and protection
in Europe and how EU policy should evolve to enhance its contribution
to Member State initiatives.
Forests and climate change
Forests serve multiple and inter-related
social, economic and environmental functions. They provide
jobs, income and raw materials for industry and for renewable
energy. They protect soil, human settlements and infrastructure,
regulate freshwater supplies and conserve biodiversity.
In climate
terms, forests act as 'sinks' that absorb carbon dioxide
(CO2) -
the main greenhouse gas - when they are growing - but they
are sources of CO2
when they are cut, burned or damaged
by storms and pests. Forests also regulate local and regional
weather.
Forests and
other wooded areas cover some 176 million hectares of the
EU - or more than 42% of the EU's land area. EU forests have
continuously expanded for over 60 years and today account
for 5% of the world's forest area. Most EU forests have grown
in terms of their wood volume and carbon stock, thus removing
more CO2
from the atmosphere.
Globally, however,
the loss of forests - mostly in developing countries - and
other land use changes are now responsible for about 12-15%
of global CO2
emissions, recent information shows.
The average temperature in Europe
has risen by almost 1°C during the past century and the most
optimistic projection sees an increase of 2°C by 2100. This
rapid rate of man-made climate change is overwhelming the
natural ability of ecosystems to adapt. It will alter the
suitability of whole regions for certain forest types, forcing
a shift in the natural distribution of tree species and leading
to changes in the growth of existing forest stands.
Extreme events - such as storms,
forest fires, droughts and heat waves - are expected to become
much more common and/or severe, thus adding to pressure on
forests.
Next steps
A public consultation on the Green Paper
will run from 1 March to 31 July 2010 on the Your
Voice in Europe website
As
part of the consultation, the Commission will organise a workshop
and stakeholder meeting in Brussels as part of Green Week
on 3 June. The Green Paper will also be discussed at a forest
protection conference being organised by the Spanish presidency
in Valsain, Spain, on 6-7 April.
The Commission will publish the
contributions to the debate on the Europa website and provide
its own feedback on the main outcomes of the consultation.
[1]
COM(2010) xx. Green
Paper on forest protection and information in the EU: Preparing
forests for climate change.
[2] COM(2009) 147. Adapting
to climate change: towards a European framework for action.
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