Press Release
ECE/TIM/00/4
Geneva, 18 April 2000
Solidarity as forest sector clears up after storm disaster in France, Germany and
Switzerland
"Despite
solidarity, three months after the hurricanes of unprecedented violence that
swept across western Europe, causing major damage to forests, a number of
bottlenecks, such as labour and transport capacities, may delay the recovery of forest
areas" says Mr. Christopher Prins, head of the Timber Section of the United
Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE).
Clear-up work started the
day after the December 1999 storms, and will continue for two years at least. Forest
owners and professionals, inside and outside the damaged regions, as well as governments
and wood consumers are demonstrating exemplary solidarity, working together to minimize
the impact of the storm and to start restoring the forests.
The UN/ECE Timber
Committee continues to monitor the situation at the international level. Highlights of a
recent meeting in Geneva are given below. Further details are on the Timber Committee
website.
Bottlenecks: Labour
and transport capacities are the main bottlenecks in clearing the huge volumes of wood
thrown down across the European forests. Many logging crews have been transferred within
the EU, but more are needed. Work permits and temporary visas are sometimes difficult to
obtain. There are not enough trucks and railway wagons to transport all the windthrown
wood harvested. Governments are relaxing some of the maximum load restrictions on roads to
enable more efficient use of existing transport capacity.
Fire and insects -
reducing the risks: As it dries, the windblown wood presents ideal conditions for
massive fires and insect outbreaks, thus threatening forests not affected by the storms
themselves. This makes it urgent to clear the wood as fast as possible. Foresters are
monitoring the risk and taking preventive measures, such as basing fire suppression
equipment (e.g. water bombers) near the storm damaged area.
Government assistance
programmes: All three governments as well as local or regional authorities have put in
place programmes to help the forest sector. The measures concentrate on accelerating the
clearing operations, minimizing the economic impact of the storms and laying the basis for
reconstruction. In France, some communities are being compensated for reduced harvest
revenues due to postponed logging in their less-damaged forests. Representatives of the
governments shared this information in Geneva and details are posted on the website, with
links to the official national information sources.
Effects on wood markets
- spreading the impact over time and finding new outlets for wood: The sudden massive
over-supply of roundwood, equivalent to 1-3 years of normal harvest in these three
countries has caused severe market disruption. Despite the increased costs of harvesting
windblown trees, wood prices have dropped sharply, and caused major economic damage to
forest owners, both public and private. Programmes and strategies have been developed and
applied, in consultation with all market partners to minimize this damage. Different
approaches have been applied in different countries, but the main lines are:
Reduce fellings in
undamaged forests
Provide subsidies and
low-interest loans to reduce the high costs of harvesting and transporting damaged wood
Where possible, spread the
market impact over time by storing logs for one or two years
Find new export markets
Develop wood energy
markets
"All these efforts
are helped by the fact that forest products markets are quite strong at the moment.
Roundwood prices are stabilizing after an initial drop, but are still rather low in France
and Switzerland. It is likely however that very large volumes – perhaps even as much
as half – of the windblown wood will never enter normal commercial channels. It will
be left in the forest or used locally as fuelwood" concludes Christopher Prins.
Better information is
needed to bring together buyers and sellers and to avoid unnecessary price falls due to
confusion and lack of transparency on disturbed markets. Web-based "market
places" have been set up for wood sales and for harvesting services and equipment.
Safety first! Harvesting windblown wood is extremely dangerous work (much more dangerous than normal
forest harvesting), and should only be carried out by well-trained and fully equipped
professionals. Without special training, forest workers and forest owners should not
attempt it. Already 20-30 fatal accidents (of which 13 in Germany alone) have been
reported in 2000, and the number is unfortunately likely to rise. Everyone concerned
should take every precaution to ensure that the work is carried out as safely as possible.
The Timber Committee website contains a Manual on Acute Forest Damage and the
professional press has run articles on accident prevention. Government agencies and
websites are also providing help and advice on safety aspects.
A few positive
consequences: Not everything is negative however, and there will be some long-term
positive consequences of the storms. The new export markets and outlets could be valuable
to the sector. Promotion of wood energy, which is renewable and does not raise the level
of CO2 in the atmosphere, could have long-term value. New networks and
associations have arisen from the movement of solidarity between members of the forest
sector community. The international movement of labour and modern equipment may spread
efficient and safe harvesting technology. The event also represents an opportunity to
rethink future management objectives.
The storm damage to
forests has made the public more sensitive to the value of forest management, the multiple
uses of forestry and the role of foresters and forest authorities. The re-birth of the
damaged forests over the next years will once again demonstrate the resilience and
renewability of the European forest, and the commitment of forest owners and authorities
to sustainable forest management.
For further information
please contact:
Mr. Ed Pepke,
Forestry Officer—Marketing, Timber Section, Trade Division,
Palais des Nations, room 439-1,
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE),
CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland,
Tel.: +(41 22) 917 2872,
Fax: 917 0041,
E-mail: [email protected],
Website: http://www.unece.org/trade/timber
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Thank you. |