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Representatives of European Family Forestry had intense discussions during their spring General Assembly on 12th April 2005 in Brussels.
Members of the Confederation of European Forest Owners (CEPF) were concerned about the current naming of the upcoming action plan for implementing the EU forest strategy.
The CEPF members welcomed the European Commission's report of March 2005 concerning implementation of the EU forestry strategy. They were happy about the Commission's dynamic and farsighted approach. Nevertheless, the definition "EU action plan for sustainable forest management" gave some reason for concern. Should not this latest baby of EU policy making rather bear the name "Action plan for Sustainable Forestry"?
The group, which has long standing experience of EU forest policy, thought that such a definition would be more in line with the EU Commission's ambitious objective to create an action plan that can evolve “into a dynamic process capable of responding to the newly emerging policy context and delivering outcomes consistent with the Lisbon and the Gothenburg Strategies."
The proposed new name would cover the entire forest-based sector, including wood processing industry and not forest area management only. The group presumed that this is the Commission's intention also. But this concern was not the only one that at the general meeting preoccupied private forest owners, who are responsible for the sustainability of about 70 per cent of the EU forest area.
As forestry has now been given an equal role and position with agriculture in the proposal for a Regulation on Rural Development (RDP), it is astounding that forestry is not mentioned in the strategic guidelines drawn up for that purpose and in particular not among the axis 1 priorities.
With its around 3 million jobs in particular in rural areas the forest-based sector makes an essential contribution to reaching EU sustainability targets and should thus be taken into account accordingly.
For further information, please contact:
Birte Schmetjen, CEPF communication and policy adviser, Rue du Luxembourg 47-51, 1050 Brussels, Tel. +32 (0) 2 219 02 31; e-mail: birte.schmetjen@cepf-eu.org |
