Ministers agree common goals for continental woodland at conference

SOME 46 European ministers have agreed common political goals for the long-term protection of the continent’s woodlands at the sixth Forest Europe conference in Oslo, Norway.

With a brief that goes beyond the EU’s 27 member states, the 46 Forest Europe members have also signed up to a new European Forests 2020 charter, a legally binding agreement on sustainable forestry management. Previous codes in the group’s 21-year history had all been voluntary.

Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine Shane McEntee said: “This decision is a watershed in the history of the heretofore voluntary Forest Europe process. If we are to continue to reap the immense benefits and to release the enormous potential benefits that a healthy and vibrant forest sector can bring to our society, our forests must be managed in a sustainable way.