Harald Oblasser takes over the Tyrolean forest group: a fresh start!

Harald Oblasser takes over the Tyrolean forest group: a fresh start!

Dolomitenstadt, Österreich - On July 1, 2025, Harald Oblasser took over the management of the Tyrolean forest group after Josef Fuchs retired after 14 years in this function. Oblasser, born in 1988 in Tyrol, has been working in the state forest service since 2013 and has profiled himself in various positions, including as a speaker for forestry in the cabinet of Federal Minister Norbert Tettschnig. In its new role, a focus is on active forest management, which is faced with challenges such as new EU laws and malice events, as Dolomitenstadt.

With the takeover of the management, Oblasser is also responsible for evaluating the forest strategy at the state level. This program is important to use the resources of forest management in a targeted manner. In addition, the “Mountain World Tirol - Experience” project is continued in order to meet usage conflicts in the forest. Deputy Governor Josef Geisler congratulated Oblasser on his new position and paid tribute to Josef Fuchs' services.

EU forest strategy 2030

In the context of forest management at EU level, the EU Commission presented the new forest strategy on July 16. This aims to meet the challenges for forests and the forest -based sector by 2030. A superior goal is to achieve a sustainable and climate -neutral economic system by 2050. The strategy is part of the European Green Deal and replaces the previous EU forest strategy from 2014-2020. Austria is considered a pioneer in sustainable forest management, since almost 50 percent of the area of the country is forested, such as BMLUK.

The new strategy also focuses on the support of sustainable wood use, reforestation and protection of the forests. One goal is to plant at least three billion trees in the EU by 2030. These measures are necessary to counter both the climate and the biodiversity crisis, which is exacerbated by climate change and natural disasters. Overall, the EU forests cover 43 percent of the land and contain 80 percent of terrestrial biological diversity.

forestry and climate protection

The European Parliament also deals intensively with the forest strategy. In a design of a decision for the EU forest strategy 2030, the central role of the forests in climate protection is emphasized. Forests offer essential ecosystem services, including carbon binding and protection against natural hazards. In addition, wood plays an important role in the climate protection strategy by replacing fossil fuels and storing carbon. Interestingly, 60 percent of forests share in private ownership and 40 percent in public property, with the illegal wooden trade remains an unsolved problem, such as European Arlament. In summary, it can be seen that the new challenges in forest management require a coordinated approach and innovative solutions both at the state and EU level in order to strengthen the multifunctional role of the forests and to achieve both climate and biodiversity goals.