Climate crisis - State: Money for forest owners in the fight against extreme weather
Forests are particularly suffering from the consequences of the climate crisis. Hesse therefore wants to continue to support its municipal and private forest owners with taxpayers' money. The state will continue to support them from "2023 to 2026 with 13 million euros annually from state funds in addition to the regular federal funds", the Ministry of the Environment in Wiesbaden told the German Press Agency. The amount of federal subsidies for this entire period has not yet been determined.
Outgoing Environment Minister Priska Hinz (Greens) explained with regard to storms, drought and pests such as bark beetles: "Extreme weather events are increasing. Climate change and its consequences have caused massive damage to Hesse's forests." Yet they are "of inestimable value for the climate, people and nature".
Hesse's new state parliament will be constituted in Wiesbaden on January 18. The black-green coalition will then be replaced by a CDU-SPD government. Their new coalition agreement also states that private and municipal forest owners should receive unbureaucratic support. To this end, obstacles such as "restrictions on the choice of tree species" are to be removed - meaning that funding could also be provided for the planting of new "climate-adapted tree species".
According to the Ministry of the Environment, "mixed forests with at least four to five tree species are generally aimed for", preferably with native species such as oak and maple, and less with shallow-rooted and therefore storm-prone spruce. In many places, the forest will also rejuvenate naturally.
In recent years, subsidies for forest owners in Hesse have increased more than initially thought. In 2019, the Ministry of the Environment had assumed that private and municipal forest owners would receive around 51 million euros in state funding by 2023. In the end, however, due to repeated extreme weather from 2019 to mid-October 2023, around 70 million euros were paid out to them to "support them in protecting the forest, dealing with damage, traffic safety and reforestation". Compared to the years 2014 to 2018, "support for forest owners has thus increased more than fivefold", it said.
According to the current forest condition report for Hesse, 29 percent of trees across all species and age groups showed "medium crown thinning" this year. This refers to the loss of leaves and needles in the tree crown. This was the highest figure since surveys began in 1984, with the proportion of severe damage at eleven percent. The "annual dieback rate" of trees rose to 1.4 percent - around three times higher than the long-term average. Alongside neighboring Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse is the most densely forested federal state.
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- Priska Hinz, the outgoing Environment Minister in Hesse, highlighted the impact of the climate crisis on forests, stating that extreme weather events are increasing and causing significant damage.
- The German Press Agency reported that Hesse will provide additional financial support to its municipal and private forest owners from 2023 to 2026, with a yearly allocation of 13 million euros from state funds.
- The Ministry of the Environment in Wiesbaden, where Hesse's new state parliament will be constituted on January 18, aims to promote mixed forests with at least four to five tree species for climate resilience, favoring native species such as oak and maple.
- In a bid to combat the effects of the climate crisis and extreme weather, the Ministry of the Environment in Hesse has significantly increased subsidies for forest owners, paying out around 70 million euros to support their efforts since 2019.
- The German Press Agency also reported that the BMU, or Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, has been crucial in providing financial aid to forest owners facing the challenges of the climate crisis and extreme weather events.
Source: www.stern.de
