Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) – After a multi-million dollar emergency plan with short-term help for the severely damaged forest, the state wants to set the course for the coming decades with a new forest strategy. The aim must be to create a long-term program to make the forest climate-stable by 2050, said Forest Minister Peter Hauk (CDU). Today he wants to present the 21 key points of the forest strategy together with Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann (Greens) in an online forum.
In the past few months, the most important content for such a forest strategy had been exchanged and recorded in discussions and working groups. The forestry and forest owners as well as nature conservationists, tourism, regional and youth associations, urban planning offices and scientists were involved. The cornerstones of the long-term strategy should affect forest management in times of climate change as well as the forest as a recreational area, communication and biodiversity, wildlife management and digitization.
The forest is increasingly becoming a patient not only in Baden-Württemberg. According to the current forest status report by the Ministry of Forestry, 46 percent of the forest area is considered to be significantly damaged; in the previous year the value was three percentage points lower. According to the report, damage can be attributed to the consequences of heat and drought, and the bark beetle also leaves its mark. Above all, the spruce, still the most common tree species in the country, is developing worryingly.
Since this summer, the state has been supporting forest owners with 30 million euros per year – the funds are designed for four years. Private and municipal forest owners are entitled to help. According to Hauks, there is state aid for the processing, storage and transport of the damaged wood, among other things. Also for finding the trees infested by the bark beetle and for building climate-stable forests. The country also wants to invest additional money in research.
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