In the latest debate on the sustainable management of forests, the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Rohholz (AGR) has voiced clear criticism of the German government. The reason for this is the decision to set aside over 90,000 hectares of forest land, which the AGR believes could contradict climate protection.
In the past legislative period, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture has taken significant forest areas out of use as part of several funding programs. In particular, the "Climate-adapted forest management" program of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) has come in for criticism. With the massive involvement of taxpayers' money, large stands of wood have been withdrawn from active management, which essentially points to a problematic raw materials policy.
As a renewable raw material, wood plays a central role in climate-friendly raw materials policy, as it can be used not only as a building material but also as a sustainable energy source. The AGR argues that the closure of forest areas considerably restricts access to this essential raw material and thus runs counter to the long-term goals of climate protection. For the working group, it is paradoxical to remove climate-relevant areas from economic use, while these could represent significant CO2 sinks through sustainable management.
The German government, especially the BMEL, sees the decommissioning of forests as an opportunity to promote biodiversity and support the adaptation of forests to climate change. However, according to the AGR, these measures neglect the importance of wood as a renewable resource, which is needed even more urgently today in order to substitute fossil raw materials and thus reduce CO2 emissions.
The AGR therefore calls for a review of current strategies and a better balance between nature conservation and economic forest use. The future of forestry policy should be based on the principles of sustainability without sacrificing the availability of raw materials and thus economic value creation. The debate on the correct use of forest resources is a powerful indicator of the urgent need to harmonize ecology and economy in the context of modern climate policy.
