{"id":1218,"date":"2023-04-18T14:51:36","date_gmt":"2023-04-18T12:51:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unserewaelder.com\/new-european-commission-tree-planting-guidelines\/"},"modified":"2024-01-08T15:58:45","modified_gmt":"2024-01-08T14:58:45","slug":"new-european-commission-tree-planting-guidelines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unserewaelder.com\/en\/new-european-commission-tree-planting-guidelines\/","title":{"rendered":"New European Commission tree planting guidelines"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The European Commission has just <a href=\"https:\/\/environment.ec.europa.eu\/news\/eu-forests-commission-adopts-new-guidelines-support-tree-planting-actions-and-protect-old-growth-2023-03-21_en\">released new guidelines<\/a> for reforesting tree planting events within the EU to help achieve the aim of strengthening the protection, restoration and resilience of EU forests in adapting to a changing climate.<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/environment.ec.europa.eu\/publications\/guidelines-biodiversity-friendly-afforestation-reforestation-and-tree-planting_en\">guidelines on Biodiversity-Friendly Afforestation, Reforestation and Tree Planting<\/a>\u00a0from European Commission (EC) provide a set of practical recommendations to support authorities, forest- and landowners, and managers and civil society to better implement biodiversity-friendly afforestation, reforestation and tree-planting projects including at the local level.<\/p>\n<p>We are pleased to note that Mercer Holz\u2019s aims, strategy and plans for the GFGF programme align with the EC\u2019s vision and guidelines. Among the notables are the following:<\/p>\n<h3>Careful selection of tree species<\/h3>\n<p>Over the past twenty years, the climate in Germany has changed. Unexpected weather events both in frequency and voracity have weakened the resilience of German forests and this is likely not going to change. In fact, research tells the EC that Europe faces the risk of desertification: \u201c31-42% of Europe\u2019s land area could belong to a different \u2018potential natural vegetation\u2019 zone, depending on the emissions scenario.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This follows that in terms of selecting trees for reforestation, we need to be ready to pivot. The European Commission is very clear that the key to success is the <strong>choice of tree species.<\/strong> While it is counterproductive to introduce invasive species into our forests, a \u2018natural forest\u2019 organically contains a mix of trees\u2014Mother Earth\u2019s way of strengthening the flora and fauna biodiversity of the region. Currently, our forests are mostly spruce and we are suffering from this monoculture.<\/p>\n<p>The <em>Growing forests, Growing a Future<\/em> programme is in complete alignment with the EC\u2019s advice that <strong>monoculture tree-planting should be avoided<\/strong>. According to the EC, \u201cstands with a diversified species and height structure will reduce the risks and simultaneously increase biodiversity, while also providing cultural and recreational value.\u201d As these mixed trees learn to function and thrive as a united ecosystem, pathogen resistance increases and improve resilience.<\/p>\n<p>It is good to know that the mixed tree seedlings strategy of our GFGF programme aligns! Over the next few years, we will provide forest owners in Germany with mixed variety of trees.<\/p>\n<h3>Collaborative effort will win the fight<\/h3>\n<p>The EC has stated that the way to effectively reforest the areas of European forests lost to disease is via collaboration. The \u201c<strong>importance of mutual information, understanding, cooperation<\/strong>, and sharing good practices between all affected parties\u201d cannot be highlighted enough.<\/p>\n<p>The GFGF programme aims to work with forest owners, foresters, the media, education providers, policy-makers, the public and eNGOs. We want to make a difference\u2014this is not just a token gesture. In true transparency, Mercer Holz is not blind to its activities nor its responsibilities to maintain the health of German forests.<\/p>\n<h3>Forecasting is not the same as foretelling<\/h3>\n<p>We are very aware that nobody has yet to have invented a time machine\u2014now, nor in the future. Nobody has \u2018come back from the future\u2019 to warn us against one way or another. We can only make educated, data-driven decisions based on what we see. And proactively and pre-emptively take measures.<\/p>\n<p>The European Commission agrees: \u201cThe details, timeframes and geographical extensions of the changes that will take place are unknown. It is <strong>almost impossible to anticipate the composition, structure and, above all, the productivity of future forest ecosystems<\/strong> that will replace the present ones. <strong>Forest managers can only partially rely on forecasts and solutions validated by experience<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This echoes our own research and sentiments. Our response to the urgent crises our German forests face is not to \u2018sit and wait\u2019, but to be proactive in doing what we can, with solutions backed by science and the experience of the forest owner.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cWe need everybody\u2019s help to heal Europe\u2019s lungs. Today\u2019s guidelines will help reach two key objectives \u2013 on the one hand, that we <strong>protect our primary and old-growth forests<\/strong>, of which so few remain in Europe, and on the other, that we increase the number and quality of forests by following the principle of <strong>\u2018the right tree on the right place\u2019<\/strong>.\u00a0 Planting trees can strengthen a sense of community and will allow generations of Europeans to enjoy green legacies for years to come.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus\u202fSinkevi\u010dius<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The European Commission has just released new guidelines for reforesting tree planting events within the EU to help achieve the aim of strengthening the protection, restoration and resilience of EU forests in adapting to a changing climate. The\u00a0guidelines on Biodiversity-Friendly Afforestation, Reforestation and Tree Planting\u00a0from European Commission (EC) provide a set of practical recommendations to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1211,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>New European Commission tree planting guidelines - GFGF<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/unserewaelder.com\/en\/new-european-commission-tree-planting-guidelines\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New European Commission tree planting guidelines - GFGF\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The European Commission has just released new guidelines for reforesting tree planting events within the EU to help achieve the aim of strengthening the protection, restoration and resilience of EU forests in adapting to a changing climate. 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