This year 2015 will be key for future forest policy cooperation at the global level. Important milestones with significant impact on forest policies will be set this year, including the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP 21); the production/compilation of the sustainable development goals for the post-2015 development agenda; the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP 12); and the review of the International Agreement on Forests at the 11^th Session of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF11).

Almost 25% of the world’s forests are in Europe. A remarkable fact that explains the important role that European forests play at a global level. A fact that justifies the need to position at a high political level the European forest policy approach to global challenges related to forests, notably those linked to climate change and sustainable development.

Forest Europe experts have made an infographic about the economic value of forests, where collected data unknown to many who offer insight on the economic importance of our forests, a source of income and wealth for millions of people around the world. Some of the data that appear in the graphic document inform us of forestry, wood processing and combined the pulp and paper industries to contribute 1% of the gross domestic product (GDP) in Europe. This amount ‘are not collected data for the additional contribution of forest stakeholders through other activities such as tourism, wood energy, manufacture of equipment for wood processing and trade of forest products.

“The overall value of marketed wood reached 21,152 million € in 2010, when more than 578 million m3 of wood were produced in Europe. Concern about deforestation of tropical forests has reduced demand for tropical timber products and their imported volumes into Europe have dropped since 2000: they have been partly replaced by wood from Europe’s well-managed forests”.

Click on the photo to access the whole graphic.

SOURCE: Forest Europe