Europe’s forest experts gather in Oslo
Forest experts from all over Europe gather in Oslo today for an Expert level Meeting in Forest Europe, The Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe.
Forests cover 44 percent of Europe’s land area and they continue to expand, Forest Europe’s web site reads. The forest area in Europe increased by almost 13 million hectares - that’s roughly the size of Greece – from 1990 to 2005. The expansion is mainly due to planting of new forests and natural expansion of forests onto former agricultural land.
- The forests in Europe have not been this big in hundreds of years. This is why our forests can contribute to reduce the climate changes, says Norwegian Minister of Agriculture and Food Lars Peder Brekk on the Government’s web site.
Forest biomass carbon reserves are huge, and increasing.
25 percent of the world’s forests are in Europe. About 80 percent of this forest is in the Russian Federation.
Read also: Old forests in Finnish Lapland preserved
The meeting which starts in Oslo today is part of preparations for a ministerial conference for all Forest Ministers in Europe planned for June 2011. Expert level Meetings are the decision-making body between the conferences, which are held every fourth year.
Forest Europe (The Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe) is the pan-European policy process for the sustainable management of the continent’s forests. Forest Europe develops common strategies for its 46 member countries and the European Union on how to protect and sustainably manage forests. Founded in 1990, the continuous cooperation Forest Europe has led to achievements such as the guidelines and criteria for sustainable forest management.
