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Forestry
While EU forest owners estimate their number at 16 million, about 350.000 people are directly employed in forest management. The main income from most forest holdings depends on wood production. Primary forest-based industries (FBI) provide sawn wood, wood-based panels, pulp for paper, firewood as well as forest chips and bark for bio-energy, accounting for more than 2 million jobs, often in rural small and medium enterprises, and a €300 billion turnover.*
Wood supports a large downstream value chain including industries such as furniture, construction, printing and packaging. The forest sector provides around 8 % of the total added value from manufacturing. The economic importance of the sector in rural areas is very high as sustainably managed forests build the backbone of the provision of wood to the FBI. Forest based raw materials, goods and services can also be one of the most important bases for economic recovery and "green growth" in rural areas.
Forests are one of Europe's most important renewable resources and provide multiple benefits to society and the economy. They are also important for the conservation of European nature.
Read more on Forest Resources in the EU and the EU Forests Strategy at… /agriculture/fore/index_en.htm