SUSTAINABILITY 5 Wood – THE most sustainable raw and building material Following the principle of consuming only as much in the presence so that more will be available in the future, sustainability is and stays the top priority in European forestry. Accordingly, the three basic functions of the forest (utility, protection, and recreation function) is to be and remain available also for next generations. About 300 years ago, the term sustainability was coined by Hans Carl von Carlowitz in his “Silvicultura oeconomica”. This economic management concept that was originally developed exclusively for forestry is put into practice today more than ever and in politics and the economy it by now stands for the model of a future-oriented use of resources worldwide. This is also reflected in the official data of the EU. Accordingly, the forested area in the EU has increased by 2% in 15 years, which means an absolute growth of rounded 4 million hectares of forested area. The same applies to the forestry and use of timber from the forests at a national level. In Austria, currently nearly half of the country’s entire territory is forest (see Figure 2). Since 1961, an area of 300,000 hectares has been added and by now, 0.5 hectares of forest per resident is reached. Of this, 82% is in private and 18% in public ownership. As continuously more timber regrows than is harvested, the Austrian forest, differently than is the case in the clearing of tropical forests, can perpetually spread more. Moreover, Austrian forests are the home to 3.4 billion trees and 65 different types of trees with a total reservoir of 1.1 billion metres of existing forest. Of the 30.4 million solid cubic metres that regrow each year in the Austrian forests, 25.9 million solid cubic metres are extracted to fully satisfy the principle of sustainable forestry. Figure 2 – Forest area of the EU Member States, Zuschnitt 51 proholz Austria In contrast to the tropical rainforest, Austria’s forest may not serve as a so-called “rainmaker” but it ensures that the country stays fresh and moist. The relative humidity in the forest is up to 10% higher than in the surrounding land. It thereby regulates the climatic conditions, binds greenhouse gases, protects against avalanches and flood water, promotes biodiversity and additionally serves as a local recreation area. In addition, it makes a significant contribution to the drinking water in the country maintaining its high quality. Germany is among the European countries with the largest forested areas. Overall, there are about 90 billion trees in Germany’s forests. One-third of the country’s entire territory is covered by forests – this equals 11.4 billion hectares. In spite of its low growth of 0.4%, the forest keeps growing further. The Federal States that have the most forest in terms of hectares are Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate with 42%. Source: The forest in Germany The German forest is characterised by its great biodiversity with 90 species of trees, 1,215 species of plants and 6,700 animal species. Without overextending the use of the forest, up to 120 million m³ of timber can be harvested in the domestic territory per year. As the annual timber consumption of Germany is around 135 million m³, 11% of the consumed timber must be imported. The annual timber increase according to the third Federal Forest Inventory is 121.6 m³ of timber. This equals forty times the Giza Pyramid in comparison. Thus, a conFinnland 75% Finland 77% Austria 48% Italy 37% Germany 31% Hungary 22% Schweden 68% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% Österreich 47% Slowakei 41% Tschechien 33% Italien 32% Deutschland 31% Frankreich 30% Ungarn 19% EU 19% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% EU 42%
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