Archive:Forestry and climate change

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Data extracted in August 2015. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database. Next update of the article: December 2016

This article is part of a set of statistical articles based on the Eurostat online publication "Agriculture, forestry and fishery statistics". It presents statistics on forestry and logging in the European Union (EU).

Main statistical findings

Data sources and availability

Eurostat, the Timber Committee of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), Forestry Section of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO) collect and collate statistics on the production and trade of wood through their Joint forest sector questionnaire. Each partner collects data from a different part of the world; Eurostat is responsible for the data collection exercise pertaining to the EU Member States and EFTA countries.

Eurostat produces annual data on forestry using two questionnaires:

the Joint Forest Sector Questionnaire (JFSQ) on production and trade in wood and wood products;
integrated environmental and economic accounting for forests (IEEAF); countries are currently providing data on economic accounts for forestry and logging, forming part of an environmental satellite accounts initiative that started in the late 1990s.

The JFSQ provides data on supply balances for wood products. The data have also been used for: modelling whether supply will match demand in the future due to competing uses for materials and for energy; estimating carbon in harvested wood products for post-Kyoto negotiations.

The collection of data for integrated environmental and economic accounting for forests restarted in 2008 after a break of several years. This data provides, among others, information relating to the economic viability of forestry, employment in forestry and logging and the multi-functionality of forests. Note that the monetary values concern current basic prices (in other words, the analysis of time series is not adjusted for inflation).

Context

A broad array of EU policies and initiatives has a bearing on forests. For several decades, environmental forest functions have attracted increasing attention — for example, in relation to the protection of biodiversity and, more recently, in the context of climate change impacts and energy policies. Apart from the traditional production of wood and other forest-based products, forests are increasingly valued for their environmental role and as a public amenity. The EU promotes sustainable forest management, aiming to

create and preserve jobs and otherwise contribute to rural livelihoods;

protect the environment by preserving the soil, minimising erosion, purifying water, protecting aquifers, improving air quality, absorbing carbon, mitigating climate change, and preserving biodiversity;

monitor the state of forests to meet environmental agreements;

improve the competitiveness of forest-based industries in the internal market;

promote the use of wood and other forest products as environmentally friendly products;

reduce poverty in developing countries by furthering forest law enforcement, fair trade conditions and halting deforestation and illegal logging.

The European Commission presented a new EU forest strategy (COM(2013) 659) for forests and the forest-based sector in 2013, in response to the increasing demands put on forests and to significant societal and political changes that have affected forests over the last 15 years. The strategy is a framework for forest-related measures and is used to coordinate EU initiatives with the forest policies of the Member States. In March 2010, the European Commission adopted a Green paper on forest protection and information in the EU: preparing forests for climate change (COM(2010) 66 final). The paper aimed to stimulate debate concerning the way climate change modifies the terms of forest management and protection, and how EU policy should develop as a consequence.

Forestry, along with farming, remains crucial for land use and the management of natural resources in the EU’s rural areas, and as a basis for economic diversification in rural communities. Rural development policy is part of the EU’s common agricultural policy (CAP) which has been the main instrument for implementing forestry measures in recent years. In this context, it is estimated that spending on forest-related measures — through the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development — amounted to EUR 9–10 billion during the period 2007–13.

Further Eurostat information

Publications

Agriculture, forestry and fishery statistics — 2014 edition (Statistical book)
Energy, transport and environment indicators — 2012 edition (Pocketbook)
Environmental statistics and accounts in Europe — 2010 edition (Statistical book)
Forestry in the EU and the world — 2011 edition (Statistical book)
Forestry statistics — 2009 edition (Pocketbook)

Main tables

Forestry (t_for), see:

Economic accounts for forestry and logging - values at current prices (tag00058)

Roundwood production (tag00072)

Total sawnwood production (tag00073)

Total paper and paperboard production (tag00074)

Forest increment and fellings (tsdnr520)

Database

Forestry (for), see:

Removals, production and trade (for_rpt)

Roundwood removals (for_rptr)

Roundwood production and trade (for_rptt)

Production and trade in primary products (for_rptp)

Trade in secondary processed products (for_rpts)

Economics and Employment (for_eaf)

Integrated Environmental and Economic Accounting for Forests (for_ieeaf)

Historical Economic Accounts for Forestry (Series end in 2005) (for_eafh)

Sustainable forest management (for_sfm)

Assets (for_sfmas)

Environmental aspects (for_sfmen)

Environment and energy (for), see:

Environment (env)

Biodiversity (env_bio_div)

Common bird indices by type of estimate (EU aggregate) (env_bio3)

Dedicated section

Forestry

Methodology / Metadata

Forestry [ESMS metadata file - for_esms]

Source data for tables and figures (MS Excel)

Forestry: tables and figures

Other information

Joint Forest Sector Questionnaire (JFSQ)

Manual on the Economic Accounts for Agriculture and Forestry EAA/EAF 97 (Rev.1.1)

External links

Notes