Last year, the country invested 15.4 million euros in the care of the forests, which have been stricken by drought and pests.
Magdeburg (dpa) l “We have never paid so much in the field of forest funding,” said Environment and Agriculture Minister Claudia Dalbert (Greens). “That was a total of more funds than the sum of the funding in the past four years.”
The minister sees only limited reason for joy in the record: “The great need for financial support also shows how hard the climate crisis has hit our forests,” said Dalbert. “The effects of the storms, the drought and subsequent massive pest infestation in our forests is dramatic.” Since 2018, 13 million cubic meters of damaged wood and 25,000 hectares of pelt have been created.
It is therefore important to support private forest owners, for example to get the thousands of dead trees out of the forests and to plant new trees in the bare areas. The forest owners should pay attention to climate-friendly species. “I am convinced that only mixed forests that are appropriate to the location have a chance of surviving the climate crisis,” said Dalbert. “We encourage afforestation and forest conversion if there is at least 30 percent hardwood involved.”
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