WWF Logo


WWF Press Release






Back to the News Room

Related Information:

1998 European Forest Scorecards

Forests for Life Campaign



WWF Ranks 15 European Countries According To Forest Quality, Management And Policy

May 26th, 1998

Brussels, Belgium - Political inertia and pressure from commercial interests are threatening the wealth of nature in Europe's forests according to a new WWF analysis, the Forest Scorecards 1998, presented today.

The Scorecards analyse 15 European countries from the point of view of their forest status, management and policies. WWF's report ranks the countries according to the way they look after their forests. Switzerland, Finland and Austria are the winners of this year's scoring. Following, in descending order, are Greece, Sweden, Turkey, France, Norway, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, UK, Spain and Belgium. Denmark is bottom-of-the-list.

WWF has deliberately published the Scorecards a week before 41 European forest ministers meet in Lisbon at the *Third Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe' (2-4 June 1998). Unfortunately, governments have refused to put forward a resolution on biodiversity at the Lisbon Conference, implying that biodiversity problems are solved in Europe's forests.

"The indifference of most European forest ministries towards nature is staggering," says Dr Claude Martin, Director-General of WWF International. "It is clear that forests are still mainly seen as *factories' for wood. WWF's Scorecard analysis shows that ministries must begin to pay more attention to other values of forests besides the production of timber."

The main problems facing forests in Europe are inappropriate management, air pollution, fires, erosion and the destruction of forest habitats. Only 2% of Europe's forests are left in a natural state. Nearly all the original riverine forests have been destroyed; along the Rhine river, for instance, only 150 km} out of original 2000 km} riverine forests remain today, and of which only 1.5 km} are natural. Species like owls, bats and woodpeckers are in particular need of old and dead trees which intensive forestry frequently removes.

The Scorecards give a detailed insight into each country's forest quality, management and policy. Using 91 indicators, they provide - for the first time - a clear and comparative picture of the status of European forests and forest policies in fifteen countries. The results of a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) are also presented for each country.

Download the report from WWF's website: http://www.panda.org/europe/forests/scorecards or send a fax to Flo Danthine, WWF European Policy Office, fax +32 2 743 8819.

Contact: Martin Hiller, WWF European Policy Office, tel +32 2 743 8806