Ministry of Agriculture: Forestry Climate Adaptation Forum established

(Photo: Pixabay)

The ministry emphasizes: responsible foresight and planning must create forests that survive the negative effects of climate change and truly become forests, provide ecosystem services and serve both nature protection, soil protection and water protection. András Mocz, Deputy State Secretary responsible for forests at the Ministry of Agriculture, highlighted at the meeting that the general deterioration of the condition of forests is a European phenomenon, the primary cause of which is the significant change in weather conditions and, as a result, the negative change in the water management of forest soils. The negative effects of climate change do not spare Hungarian forests either; due to the water shortage that has lasted for several years, several of our forest stands have already been weakened to such an extent that their rescue requires immediate intervention – the Ministry of Agriculture’s press release quoted it.

The Deputy State Secretary added that the effects of climate change are being felt significantly on domestic forest stands

He mentioned the Southern Great Plain Forestry as an example, where the destruction of primarily Scots pine and pedunculate oak forests can be detected. In relation to the destroyed stands, the forestry sector has an obligation to reforest, where they must take care of the new forest. Based on the forecasts of forestry climate researchers, domestic production conditions may change to such an extent within a few decades that they will no longer provide a viable environment for the current forests or woody vegetation in general. Therefore, due attention must be paid to saving forests as our outstanding national treasure – he added. The statement states: the forum, organized by the National Chamber of Agriculture (NAK) and managed by the Ministry of Agriculture’s State Secretariat for Forests and Land Affairs, aims to promote the adaptation of forestry to climate change with the participation of professional and scientific organizations, public and private actors, and social organizations.

András Mocz highlighted that there is already research background, data, and international good practices that also need to be evaluated

The most important issues will be processed in the form of thematic working groups under the coordination of the NAK. SOE ERTI proposed an iterative, practical/field-based learning process. WWF drew attention to the role of indirect social benefits and natural adaptation processes, emphasizing the gradualness, humility, and site-specificity of adaptation. The representative of the Deputy State Secretariat for Nature Conservation of the Ministry of Agriculture requested that natural succession processes be taken into account during adaptation planning.

The participants agreed that in most cases there is an opportunity to improve the adaptive capacity of forests

The key issue may be restoring forests to their natural state or creating tree stands that are not expected to become extinct under changed climatic conditions and are able to maintain the living conditions of forest communities, the Ministry of Agriculture said.

MTI