The Minister of Agriculture confirmed the increased protection of forests

By: STA Date: 2022. 08. 17. 11:09

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The rules made due to the energy crisis, facilitating logging, are valid until the end of next March, and in nature conservation areas it is still prohibited to clear cut native trees – Minister István Nagy confirmed the government’s position so far in a ministerial order. The ministerial directive regarding state forests clearly refutes the false assumptions published in the press.

According to the Minister of Agriculture, Hungarian forests will not be damaged by the precise and controlled application of the rules. (Photo: Pixabay)

The minister reminded that the protracted Russian-Ukrainian war and the failed Brussels sanctions caused an energy crisis in Europe. The government declared an energy emergency due to the drastic increase in energy prices and the energy shortage in Western Europe. Forest management is an important part of the solution to the energy emergency, so the government relaxed the rules on logging in order to ensure firewood. He added that wood is our most important renewable raw material in Hungary, and we practice sustainable forest management in Hungarian forests. This means that for decades we have used less wood than the forests produce, so we managed to secure significant reserves.

The simplified logging rules cannot be freely applied

The minister drew attention to the fact that the government decree on the regulation of logging was prepared only in the event of an emergency, and the regulations on the vegetation period cannot be applied after March 31, 2023. The head of the ministry also confirmed that in the case of nature conservation or Natura 2000 areas, the felling of native trees is still prohibited. In his instructions regarding state forests, the minister also mentioned that due to the increased demand for firewood, the demand must be met primarily with acacia, as this species of wood can be used in its raw state after extraction. He emphasized that the simplified rules can only be applied if the demand for firewood cannot be met by implementing the provisions of the extraction plan for the year 2022.

The number of domestic living trees is not decreasing

The minister explained that Hungarian forests are constantly growing thanks to the sustainable practices of domestic forest management and the fact that one of Europe’s largest afforestation and afforestation programs is taking place in our country: in two years, we provided support for the planting of 44,000 hectares of new forests. Since 2010, the stock of live wood has increased by almost 45 million cubic meters. This year, only the state forestry farms still have a valid license to extract 1.3 million cubic meters of firewood and wood chips according to plan. The minister’s instruction confirms the previous measures to ensure that Hungary’s green capital is not endangered in any way, the head of the ministry stated.