The German Sawmill and Timber Industry Association, the Association of the Austrian Timber Industry and the Swiss Timber Industry call for a clear commitment in Europe to sustainable forest management and greater use of wood.\u00a0This requires adjustments to the European Green Deal to reflect the new realities in Europe.\u00a0In particular, the drafts of the biodiversity strategy, the forest strategy, the Renewable Energy Directive (RED II + RED III) and the Ordinance on Land Use and Forestry (LULUCF) should be completely realigned.<\/p>\n
The Russian war of aggression in Ukraine and the sanctions against Russia and Belarus pose major challenges for the economy and society throughout Europe.\u00a0A turning point was heralded in many areas.\u00a0The timber industry is also affected by the current developments, but also offers solutions for the tasks of the future.\u00a0As a renewable raw material, wood makes a key contribution to climate protection and wood reduces dependence on fossil energy sources and products from other countries.\u00a0The right course must be set for this in Europe and in the individual countries.<\/p>\n
According to the associations, right now it is important to use European raw materials and to strengthen independent and climate-friendly value chains.\u00a0The lack of imports of wood products from Russia, Belarus and the Ukraine can be compensated for by own production, but the wood industry in Europe needs a secure supply of raw materials from sustainable forest management.\u00a0Europe's forests are growing.\u00a0The forest area in the European Union increased by almost 10 percent in the period 1990-2020.\u00a0An estimated 63 percent of annual wood growth is harvested.\u00a0Wood stocks in the EU have increased by 8 billion cubic meters since 1990.<\/p>\n
The German Sawmill and Timber Industry Association, the Association of the Austrian Timber Industry and the Swiss Timber Industry are calling for politicians in Europe to refocus on the value of an independent economy and production in Europe and to preserve jobs.\u00a0Using one's own renewable resources is of fundamental importance.<\/p>\n
About<\/strong><\/p>\n The German Sawmill and Timber Industry Association (DeSH)\u00a0represents the interests of the German sawmill and timber industry at national, European and international level.\u00a0The association supports its members, including more than 400 companies from all over Germany.<\/p>\n The Association of the Austrian Wood Industry\u00a0represents the interests of almost 1,300 wood processing companies in the construction product, furniture, panel, saw and ski industries as well as in other wood processing companies such as pallet production.\u00a0With around 28,000 employees, the companies in the wood industry generate products worth 8 billion euros and a foreign trade surplus of 981 million euros.<\/p>\n The Swiss Wood Industry Association\u00a0represents around 200 small and medium-sized companies with a total of 2,500 employees in the sawmill and wood-based materials industry.\u00a0In Switzerland, around 90,000 people work in the entire forest and timber industry.\u00a0Almost 2 million solid cubic meters of logs are processed into 1.2 million m3 of sawn timber in the sawmills every year.\u00a0The wood harvest in the Swiss forest last year was 5.2 million cubic meters.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The German Sawmill and Timber Industry Association, the Association of the Austrian Timber Industry and the Swiss Timber Industry call for a clear commitment in Europe to sustainable forest management and greater use of wood.\u00a0This requires adjustments to the European … Continue reading