Discussion Paper on Community Action in the Forestry Sector (Communication by the Commission to the Council)

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
C0MC85) 792 final
Brussels, 7 January 1986
Discussion Paper
on Community Action in the Forestry Sector
(Communication by the Commission to the Council)
C O M (85) 792 final
Discussion Paper
ON COMMUNITY ACTION IN THE FORESTRY SECTOR
I. Introduction
1. The European Commission undertook in the programme
it presented to the European Parliament in March 1985
produce proposals related to forestry. It
subsequently decided to consult widely before making
concrete proposals. The Commission is presenting this
paper on forestry as a basis for consultation. After
interested parties have had the opportunity of
expressing their opinions on the ideas put forward
here, the Commission will make proposals for a
Community forestry action programme.
In order to help these consultations, the Commission is
publishing a more extensive and descriptive paper on
forestry in the Community as an addition to the present
document. A Community Action Programme would be
complementary to national policies. This Forestry
Action Programme could involve a series of measures
which would lead to the extension of the forest area
and improvements in the utility derived from existing
forests. While the Commission is not proposing to
establish a Community forest policy, many of the
actions suggested would be more effective if taken at
the level of the Community rather than at the level of
individual Member States.
In addition to stimulating discussions on forestry
in the Community, the Commission is convinced that
forestry problems in countries outside Europe,
especially in the developing world, should also be
considered.
II. The importance of Community forests
2. Forests meet an important need for industrial
materials, providing economic activity and employment
in what are often less-prosperous regions and
supporting activity and employment in wood-using
industries elsewhere in the Community. They also play
a vital role in maintaining the ecological balance
and contributing to environmental quality, in the
prevention of erosion and desertification, and in the
recreational and leisure activities of the Community's
citizens.
./·
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3. The need of the ten Member States for forest products
(sawn timber, panels, pulp, paper, and so on) greatly
exceeds the amount of wood obtained from Community
forests, with the result that the Community is the
world's biggest net importer of wood products. Net
imports amounted to nearly 17 000 MECU in 1984 and this
situation will be unchanged by the accession of Spain
and Portugal.
This growing shortfall between the Community's demand
for timber and its own production is only partly due to
the insufficiency of the planted area - after all 20%
of the Community's land area is planted to trees. It is
also due to the under-utilisation of much of the
existing forest, some of which is totally
unproductive. Proper management and silvicultural
techniques could improve the health, appearance and
output of such forests.
At the same time, an increase in the supply of timber
(bearing in mind that some demand can only be met by
imports), coupled with a better organisation, could
sustain more activity in the Community's own wood-using
industries. Despite its overall deficit, the Community
exports about 2 million tons a year of paper and board
and is a net exporter of furniture. The demand and
industrial capability exist therefore in the Community
which should make possible a greater use of renewable
resources, creating additional revenue and employment.
4. The environmental role of forests is important in
relation to nature conservation and the maintenance of
the natural balance, including the protection of soils
an
scope for recreation activities. Environmental
objectives need not conflict with the objective of
greater forestry development. In providing recreation
to both the rural and urban population, forests answer
social needs and help to provide services and leisure
industries which reflect new trends in consumer demand.
The three main functions of Community forests
mentioned above - providing raw materials, maintaining \
ecological balance and acting as a base for
recreational activities - are of great importance.
Improving the output of raw materials and services from
Community forests can and should be achieved together.
·/·
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The European Commission has made proposals for forestry
and timber in the past. Several of these initiatives
(on research, agricultural structure etc) have been
implemented. A proposal on the protection of forests
from fire and from acid rain damage finds support from
a large majority of delegations and discussions in the
Council are continuing. Two other initiatives are still
before the Council with little progress being made on
any of them. In 1979 the Commission proposed a
Resolution on a Community Forestry Policy and the
setting up of a Standing Forestry Committee. In
1983 it proposed objectives and lines of action for
Community policy regarding forestry and forest-based
industries. No decision has been taken by the Council
on these proposals.
7. Why, then, should the Commission take further
initiatives in the forestry sector ? There are a number
of reasons.
. The reduction of agricultural surplusses will lead to
the search for alternative crops, including forests.
. The Community's considerable trade deficit in wood
and wood products gives scope for increasing
Community timber production, if this can be done
economically.
. The need to maintain and expand economic activities
and employment especially in rural areas.
. Action is needed to stop the accelerating destruction
of European forests by atmospheric pollution and by
fire. The area lost to fire each year in Spain and
Portugal is approximately the same as that in the
other ten Member States.
These problems raise important questions of Community
solidarity and they call for Community action.
8. Another important reason for the Commission to take an
initiative on forestry is the public pressure for such
action. Several resolutions requesting action have
been tabled in the European Parliament. The Parliament
approved a resolution in 1983 calling for a
comprehensive Community forestry policy. Many of the
points raised by the Parliament are dealt with in this
discussion document.
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9. In fact, the Community "has invested quite heavily in
forestry in the context of its other policies. Between
1980 and 1984, around 470 MECU were committed from
FEOGA, the European Regional Development Fund, from
various research programmes and from the European
Development Fund (outside the Community). In addition
the European Investment Bank has made loans for
forestry projects in Ireland and Portugal as well as in
developing countries.
While such Community measures have had a significant
impact, they remain isolated actions in the context of
different policies. Forestry and the forest-based
industries form, however, interrelated branches
of economic activity which requires a clear strategy of
its own if inefficiency is to be avoided.
Afforestation of marginal land, for example, only makes
sense if the infrastructure to exploit and use the
timber can be developed. The different functions of
Community forests argue in favour of a clearly
identified forestry action programme.
10. The suggestions for Community action, which the
Commission is putting forward in this paper, fall into
three groups - extending the forest area, making the
best use of existing woodland and protecting the
forest.
Ill. Extending the Forest area
11. The fact that the Community has a large trade deficit
in the products of temperate forests has already been
emphasised. This deficit will remain even after the
increase in timber production expected over the coming
decade from new forests planted since 1945. There is
wide scope, therefore, for the establishment of new
forest as long as this can be done in an
environmentally acceptable way.
Expansion of the forest area would provide employment,
encouraging people to remain in those parts of the
Community affected by agricultural decline. An
increase in the volume of wood effectively available
from the forest would also allow wood-procèssing
industries to expand. In some of the already heavily
wooded areas, where forestry is well organised, large
numbers of jobs are directly dependent on forestry (in
the German State of Baden-Württemberg, for instance it
is estimated that forests provide employment for
250 000 people).
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12. The Commission's discussion document "Perspectives for
the Common Agricultural Policy" (COM(85)333) makes
clear that forestry expansion may be critically
important to the development of Community agriculture.
- Land released from agriculture as a result of the
crisis of overproduction could be planted to trees.
- Forestry could provide a suitable crop on the
less-productive parts of farms - as it already does
on the large number of agri-forestry holdings. The
development of privately-owned forestry on farms
should therefore be encouraged.
Some areas of marginal agricultural land provide ideal
growing conditions for trees. There is scope in such
regions for short-term cropping with a view to
pressed—board production or processing into
bio-chemicals as well as for traditional forms of
timber production, where the owner must wait 15 or 20
years for a return on investment.
13. The main problem to be tackled in extending the forest
area is that of incentives. Two approaches are
currently practised in the Community, tax incentives
and forestry grant schemes.
14. Incentives given through the tax system have led to a
considerable extension of private forest in some parts
of the Community. Measures taken by Member States to
reduce the tax burden of companies or individuals
investing in forestry could therefore be an. important
element in policy for forest expansion.
15. In view of the problems of surplus agricultural
production in the Community, the Commission is already
considering possible measures for the development of
forestry as an alternative to agriculture. In this
context, the cost of supporting forestry production
must be seen in relation to the cost of agricultural
support, and the cost of other measures for taking land
out of agricultural production.
In the long-term, the objective of agro-forestry action
must be to develop an activity which is self-sustaining
and does not require substantial subsidies (it is not
envisaged that a regime of price supports or further
external protection would be extended to forestry).
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A number of grant schemes already provide incentives to
farmers to replace annual crops by forestry. Aim of
the schemes is to provide the farmer with a regular
income from forestry similar to that from farming. In
some cases grants are available to cover the investment
cost involved in creating new woodland. On technique
was introduced on a limited scale in the directive to
improve agricultural structures (Regulation 797/85).
This allows encouragement for farmers to put land down
to trees by investment aids, or in the case of marginal
areas by annual payments. Forestry measures have also
been aided (Regulation 269/79) in France and Italy with
a view to protection soils from erosion and controlling
flooding. The development of woodland on farms has
been assisted by specific agricultural measures in
Greece and Ireland and by integrated development
programmes in France and Scotland.
These two approaches - perhaps with different
modalities - might be applied more extensively in the
Community where trees replace surplus agricultural
prod uction.
16. Afforestation in Member States is encouraged through
tax incentives or through grants. It may also be
encouraged through Community action. The emphasis
should be placed on choosing the instrument most suited
to particular areas or objectives.
The Community could have a direct interest in financing
such schemes since they could lead to budgetary savings
on agricultural support. In areas where it is
considered important to favour certain species for
economic or ecological reasons, the grants could be
varied to provide differentiated incentives.
17. Development of a Community action programme for
forestry will require additional effort in forestry
research, statistics (at regional as well as national
level) and information. A considerable research effort
has already been made in the "Wood as a renewable raw
material" programme, which has just been prolonged for
a further five years. Other programmes exist in the
energy, agricultural and environmental areas which
include forestry. This work could be strengthened by
further research into tropical timber and alternative
uses for wood.
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A number of questions are posed in connection with
extending the forestry area.
- How can the extension of the Community's forest area
best be organised ?
- Under what conditions can forestry play a role as an
alternative to those agricultural crops in surplus ?
What would be the budgetary effect of switching areas
used for agricultural purposes to forestry ?
— How can tax or grant schemes be combined to provide
efficient incentives to forestry develoment ?
— How can the existing Community funds be used more
coherently in this area ?
IV Making the best use of existing forest
19. Despite the high level of Community net imports of
timber, only a low proportion of the Community1s
natural wood production is used productively. A
considerable increase in output could be achieved with
a relatively small additional investment.
20. The productivity of forests depends partly on the size
of holdings and the degree to which the forest areas
are contiguous and easily accessible. In regions where
forest is held predominantly by state or semi-state
bodies or by business, the parcels are often large and
the infrastructure facilitates efficient management.
The 60% of Community forests held in the private sector
are often characterised by problems of small size and
dispersal of plots. The average size of private forest
holdings in the Community is probably about 8 hectares,
but there are major structural differences between
Member States. In the United Kingdom, where financial
institutions own considerable areas of forest, the
average size of private holdings is far higher than in
France, Germany or Italy where much of the forest is in
agricultural units.
- 8 -
21. The main difficulties in improving productivity lie in
the small size and dispersal of parcels of forest, the
lack of a suitable infrastructure and, frequently, the
absence of ready markets for the wood. In a particular
region, where these difficulties are acute, the price
incentive to exploit the available wood may not be
sufficient to compensate the high cost of harvesting.
At the same time, It is unlikely that wood-using
industries even of the most basic type, will be
established where there is a low availability of
timber. The lack of a market takes away any incentive
to exploit the timber resources.
22. This situation would be improved by the creation of
forestry associations for groups of individual
owners. Such associations Supplying forestry services
and marketing assistance already exist in some areas
of the Community, and have proved their effectiveness
in Sweden and Finland. They could be involved in the
drawing up of management plans for private forests.
The creation of such associations should be
encouraged. Their activity could be supplemented by
firms specializing in forestry work, which could be
aided in the context of programmes of assistance to
small and medium sized enterprises, where such aids do
not have direct effect on the pricing mechanisms of
wood-based industry.
23. In some areas of the Community, the lack of an
adequate roadway network in forested areas is a
handicap to the better utilisation of existing forest
resources. The Community already aids the creation of
such networks in the Mediterranean areas of the
Community. It may be necessary to give similar aid in
other parts of the Community.
24. Appropriately situated and reasonably stable outlets
are important for the achievement of higher
productivity from forests. This, in turn, requires
that agreements can be made both for forest owners to
supply industry and for industry to take forest
products. Establishment of large industrial
facilities, such as pulp units, clearly requires a
supply guarantee from a large area of forest. Smaller
installations, like saw mills and chipboard
manufacture, also require a continuous supply of raw
material. The uses of appropriate supply contracts
should therefore be encouraged.
. / ·
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In aiming to improve the productivity of forests, it
is also necessary to support the expansion of
wood-based industries. At the Community level, for
instance measures to improve the standardisation of
forest products would be a useful step to encourage
the development of the timber trade. The Community
already has a Directive approximating Member States
laws on the classification of wood in the rough (1).
This Directive should be followed where appropriate to
remove remaining technical barriers to trade in forest
products.
26. These proposals would help to improve the economic
iency of forestry. It is also important to
develop the usefulness of existing forest for
environment and recreation.
An ecological code of conduct could be established for
woodland management with the objectives of
safeguarding the long-term fertility of the soil and
the role of the forest in the water cycle, the
conservation of woodland flora and fauna, the
preservation of landscapes and the creation of an
adequate diversity of species. The Community already
supports some of these actions but it is important
that a complete code of conduct should be generally
applied.
There is clear evidence, for example, of strong public
feeling in some regions at the spread of coniferous
forest and the reduced area of broadleaved woodland.
It is possible to devise aid systems - which would not
involve large finance - to encourage owners to plant
deciduous trees. Such schemes could be created partly
in the context of the common agricultural policy.
The creation of woodland nature reserves and forest
parks, which are common in many countries, would
increase the value of Europe's forests as a leisure
resource. Small amounts of financial aid in the
creation of the necessary infrastructure could open up
many woodland areas as nature reserves and
recreational areas.
(1) Directive 68/89/EEC
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27. A number of questions are posed in connection with
making the best use of existing forests.
- How can the problems associated with the small size
and dispersal of forest blocks be overcome ?
- What can be done to strengthen market possibilities
for timber and other forest products ?
- How can the objectives of more productive forests,
environmental quality, species diversity and of
forests for recreation be combined ?
V. Protecting Community Forests
28. The woodlands in the Community are suffering from
widespread damage as a result of atmospheric
pollution, forest fires, attacks by disease and insect
pests, and, at certain times, as a result of natural
disasters such as storm and drought.
The destruction of forest in northern Europe has
reached considerable proportions. It is especially
widespread in Germany and eastern France. With about
50% of the German forest and, as recent reports
suggest, 40% of the Vosges forest (Lorraine + Alsace)
damaged, the future economic development of regions
dependent on forestry and tourism is at risk. The
health of these forests has deteriorated at an
alarming speed. Whilst the causes of the damage and
the mechanisms involved are not completely understood,
it is generally agreed that atmospheric pollution is a
major factor, and especially emissions of sulphur
dioxide and nitrogen oxides.
29. The Commission has already made proposals to reduce
pollutant emissions from cars, from large combustion
installations and from domestic central heating
installations. It envisages making further proposals on
speed limits, emissions from diesel cars and from
lorries before the end of the year; and at a later
stage emissions from other significant sources as
already announced in COM(83 )721. It considers that \
implementation of these proposals would considerably
reduce atmospheric pollution and probably related
forest-damage.
A Commission proposal to establish a regular inventory
of forest damage and network of observation posts for
measurement is making only slow progress in the
Council.
- 11 -
30. Forest fires destroy about 120 000 hectares of woodland
each year in the ComrnuniLy of Ten and with enlargement
this will more than double. In 1985, over 300 000
hectares of forest have been destroyed (more than the
area of Luxembourg), fifty lives have been lost as well
as a considerable amount of capital equipment.
The Commission has proposed measures aimed at reducing
the risk of forest fires and at improving Member
States' fire-fighting capacity. This proposal would
aid the establishment of fire fighting stations,
encourage the improvement of equipment and of the
training of specialised personnel. The Commission
regards the progress of this measure, at the moment
meeting resistance in the Council, to be of major
importance. It also believes that the scope of
Community action in this area should eventually be
widened .
31. Biotic damage caused by insects or disease poses
another challenge to Community forests and the
Community should be prepared to intervene rapidly. The
Standing Committee on plant health, which meets
regularly, is consulted whenever a potential biotic
danger is perceived. The Community has also undertaken
various research projects in this area. New monitoring
systems might be developed to reduce the risks of
introducing new diseases and further specific research
into forest diseases may be necessary. One important
measure would be the adoption of a code of conduct on
genetic impoverishment, a factor which is partly to
blame for the weakening resistance of European forests.
32. Finally, there is the problem of the results of
exceptional weather conditions, notably windblow. Here
the Community has in the past restricted imports in
order to reduce the pressure on the market coming from
the sudden increase in supply. In order to improve the
efficiency of such measures further cooperation between
Member States needs to be considered to ease market
tensions in such circumstances.
33. A number of questions are posed in connection with
protecting Community forests.
- How can forests be protected against pollution
damage ?
- What steps need to be taken to reduce forest losses
due to fire ?
- How can the monitoring of disease or damage by
insects be improved ?
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VI. Forestry in developing countries
34. As the Community is a major importer of wood,
notably tropical timber from the developing countries,
action in the forestry sector cannot be taken in
isolation.
The^ Community has cooperation agreements through the
Lome Convention with certain of these supplier
countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific
(ACP). These agreements cover not only commercial
arrangements but also financial and technical
cooperation to protect and develop forests as a main
factor in environmental improvement and defence against
desertification. The Community is also a contracting
party to the International Tropical Timber Agreement.
At present the tropical forest is being over exploited
with grave results for climate and agricultural
production, as well as the supply of tropical timber.
In a Forestry Action Programme the Community should
take into account both these international agreements
an
35. A number of questions can be posed in connection with
the promotion of forestry in developing countries.
- How can the Community mobilize its existing technical
and scientific capacity to stop the decline of the
tropical forest area and ensure long-term stability
in the supply of tropical timber?
- How can the Community accelerate and improve its
efforts to reduce and ultimately prevent
desertification in developing countries ?
. / ·
\
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Conclusion
36. The Commission is anxious to proceed to as wide a
consultation as possible on the questions raised and
the ideas advanced in this paper - supplemented by the
more extensive accompanying document.
It invites the other Community institutions and other
organisations to formulate their own reflections and
comments. Taking account of the views expressed in the
course of the debate, the Commission will present its
proposals before the summer of 1986.
The Commission underlines that the present document is
not intended to prejudice the conclusions which it will
reach and that it will take full account of the views
expressed in these consultations.


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