From a Swedish point of view, the largest gatherings of forestry professionals rarely take place in sunny Spain. Yet one of the most popular surfing towns, San Sebastián, in the Basque Country, was the venue for this spring's meeting. For anyone who has taken an interest in the forests of Southern European countries, it is clear that forestry in the Basque Country is quite active. The region is home to conifer species similar to their Swedish "relatives" in both size and appearance.
Gõlin Carina Christiansen (Gõlin Carina Christiansen), a representative of northern Sweden's forestry professionals, took part in March this year in a forestry meeting organised by the Union of Foresters of Southern Europe (USSE), where it was repeatedly stressed that there are roughly 20 million forest owners in the European Union. Many of them are in Spain, where the forest area is just as large as in Sweden, namely 27 million hectares.
In San Sebastián in the Basque Country, most of those European Union countries where forestry is practised and forms an important sector of the economy were represented. Scientists and representatives of forest certification organisations also attended the meeting
One of Spain's biggest problems discussed at the meeting is the situation of forest owners who earn too little (or nothing at all) from their forest and who lack the financial means to manage it. Forests are often abandoned entirely. As a result they become overgrown and unmanaged, with highly flammable ground cover. The situation becomes particularly dangerous during hot periods, when high temperatures make the likelihood of fires breaking out very high.
According to reports from Spain's Castile and León region, the grant programmes linked to forest management have so far not worked satisfactorily, and there is therefore a risk of fires breaking out that are difficult or even impossible to control. Unmanaged forests also face an increased risk of insect infestation, which means outbreaks of disease can occur, as well as fires, of course. In both cases urgent action is needed, and it is often taxpayers who foot the bill.
One solution would be the development of organic farming, which, combined with active forestry, could also provide an outlet for the dry material of the forest floor.
On the subject of active forest management: "It is difficult for politicians and for the public alike to understand that a forest has to be harvested in order to be regenerated. Understanding and education in this field are extremely poor," says lawyer and forest owner Leire Salaberria Isasi, head of the Union of Foresters of Southern Europe. In her view, forestry should be included as a subject in schools, so that people begin to understand from their school days what a forest is and how it should properly be tended.
Sweden's forest sector and some of the largest Swedish political parties have also criticised several of the eight EU legal acts relating to forests and forestry introduced over the past couple of years. Forest owners in Southern Europe were no less irritated.
In the rather heated atmosphere that prevailed, with many participants claiming that the European Commission does not listen to objections and differing views, the Swedish representative Gõlin Carina Christiansen stressed that it is still possible to exert influence towards a more positive outcome at European level.
"I am in favour of putting the situation right and steering decisions in the direction foresters want. That can be done with the right approach and coordinated action. Many of the European Union legislative proposals that were tabled had become something quite different by the time they were finally voted on," G. C. Christiansen stressed in the meeting's panel discussion.
At the same time, the Swedish representative highlighted the risk that arises when many laws are adopted in a short space of time without any assessment of their impact on forestry in European Union countries and individual regions. In particular, she cited the European Union Deforestation Regulation as an example of ill-considered regulation.
Finnish forestry expert Markus Lier of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Agriculture, who attended the meeting, repeatedly stressed that he had come to listen to forest owners and managers. Turning to the criticism levelled at the Deforestation Regulation, he pointed out that part of the problem, for instance with regard to the definition of primary forest, can be blamed on the European Parliament, which chose to broaden that definition despite objections.
Basque forestry expert Oskar Azkarate Zabalo (Oskar Azkarate Zabalo) stressed that the Basque Country has active forestry and that there are therefore no major problems with forest fires. O. A. Zabalo is president of Baskegur, the professional association of the Basque Country's forestry sector, which covers the entire value chain from forest holdings to bioenergy companies. He also stressed that EU policymakers need to understand the real situation surrounding proper forest management.