- Opposing environmental degradation in Thuringian forests: Enhanced workforce required
Due to the massive forest destruction and worsening climate change, the state forest administration is planning to recruit more personnel in the upcoming years. As per Horst Sproßmann, the spokesperson for the state forest administration, between 20 to 40 extra positions are required solely for handling the new EU regulations. Simultaneously, the operational workload is also escalating, necessitating roughly the same staff count. For years, the Thuringian spruce forests have been getting transformed into climate-resilient mixed forests by the state foresters.
The Thuringian Forest has been receiving financial aid from the state budget for quite some time now, to restore the forest and mitigate the extensive damage caused by drought and pests such as the bark beetle. According to the Forest Ministry, over 22% of the forest area in Thuringia has been damaged since 2018. The severe drought summers from 2018 to 2020 had a significant impact on spruces, which, as per the state forest administration, will probably have a limited future in the Thuringian Forest and might entirely disappear from the Thuringian Basin within the following few decades.
In response to the intricate forest damage, the state government formulated an action plan during the summer of 2019. A total of 500 million euros are available for this initiative by 2030, which includes budget for the state forest as well as promotional funds for private forest owners. As of now, the ministry claims that around 215 million euros have been spent.
Private forestry companies as essential collaborators
Thanks to these additional state funds, 90 new positions have already been implemented in the forestry sector, out of which all the vacancies have been filled, as stated by Sproßmann. Currently, there are 1,370 positions at the state forest administration, with around 50 vacant positions. These vacancies are being kept open to fill them with their own trainees in the near future. The forestry sector has recently launched an "apprenticeship push," as mentioned by Sproßmann.
Even though more personnel will be recruited in the coming years, Sproßmann emphasizes that without the cooperation of private forestry companies, little progress can be made in the state forest. Over 80% of the work in forestry is carried out with their assistance, he said.
The following state funds have led to the creation of 90 new positions in the forestry sector.The following 80% of the work in forestry is done with the assistance of private forestry companies.
