General background

European forests and forestry are at a stage in which both the current situation and development trends need to be analysed and the policy implications formulated. This can be illustrated by the following observations.

Wood resources have increased constantly since the 1950s. They are greater now than at any time during the last 200-300 years. This has been achieved mainly by the management regimes developed and implemented in the 19th and 20th centuries. Moreover, as a result of the considerable developments in energy, production and traffic technologies, the use of wood for fuel and in buildings and other construction as well as utility commodities has diminished. Because of the decrease of the agricultural population, the use of wood for household purposes has also been reduced. At the same time, the increased efficiency of agricultural production, including pasturing, has released land for alternative uses, including forestry.

Side by side with the relatively decreasing importance of the commodity function of forests, protective, environmental, social and cultural functions have gained importance. Rising standards of living and purchasing power have given rise to wood substitution. The forest has become more of an environmental and social asset than a commodity asset in many countries.

The vitality of forests has become a dominating topic in discussions concerning forests and forestry practices. In addition to wild fires, increasing emissions from industry, traffic and consumption residues and their depositions in forests and other parts of the biosphere have killed trees and stands on some sites. They are assumed to contribute to a large-scale loss of vitality in forests.