June 3rd, 1998

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Deforested hillside in east Finland
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Lisbon, Portugal - WWF, the conservation organisation, today expressed
disappointment with the outcome of the Third Ministerial Conference on
the Protection of Forests in Europe, held in Lisbon this week.
With forests in Europe still facing threats like inappropriate management,
air pollution, fires and erosion, accompanied by the destruction of forest
habitats, Forest Ministers did not decide on clear and concrete action for
forest protection and biodiversity enhancement.
"We are staggered by the lack of political will to implement commitments
made in Rio and Helsinki five years ago," says Stefan Leiner, WWF
European Forest Policy coordinator. "Before spending public resources
to promote consumption of wood products, European states and the
European Community should make sure that the forests are well
managed and effectively protected."
WWF had urged Ministers at the meeting to agree to concrete
commitments in at least three areas - the setting up of a European
network of protected areas covering the most valuable 10% of all
European forests, the reduction of the area of plantations to less than
5% of all forests, and the provision of reliable data on all aspects of
forestry. All species should be able to live in their entire area of
distribution.
The extinction of forest species is irreversible, and re-converting a
monoculture into a semi-natural forest takes centuries of costly
measures, according to the organization. Therefore priority in Europe
should be given to reversing the trend and stopping the loss of forest
quality. Yet Ministers only agreed on further general declarations and
resolution on socio-economic aspects.
"This conference has failed to provide the necessary commitments for
Europe to achieve a common vision that we can all share for the future
of high-quality forests: good for people, good for nature, and good for
business," says Stefan Leiner. "The work programme on nature and
biodiversity only encompasses further research and studies - this is
completely insufficient to ensure a sustainable development of our
forests."
CONTACTS:
Stefan Leiner, +351 931 528 460,
or Martin Hiller, +32 2 743 8806