WWF Logo


WWF Press Release






Back to the News Room

Related Information:

Forest For Life Campaign



WWF Disappointed With Lisbon Forest Conference Outcome

June 3rd, 1998

Deforested hillside in east Finland

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