Carinthia's forests in danger: Climate fund urgently demands more funds!

Carinthia's forests in danger: Climate fund urgently demands more funds!

Kärnten, Österreich - The situation of the Austrian forests is alarming: they are at risk due to climate change and increasing pest influences. The forest fund initiated by former Minister of Agriculture Elisabeth Köstinger, which was operated from 2020 to 2023, has not yet achieved the desired effects. According to the Carinthian advocacy of interests for agricultural and forestry companies, the funds provided for the reforestation and the development of climate-fiber forests with a total of 3.83 million euros to Carinthia are too low in order to effectively counter the challenges of climate change. This criticism was additionally underpinned by the Court of Auditors, which pointed out the lack of transparency when awarding funds, since the individual conveyors are not mentioned by name.

necessary investments in the future of forests

The annual forest report of the Agriculture and Forestry Forestry, which is created in cooperation with the University of Natural Resources and Hall and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, illustrates the financial challenges that the industry faces. President Konrad Mylius emphasized the urgency to make targeted investments to shape the forests of Klimafit and to secure their role in climate protection. The forest companies are faced with rising wooden harvest costs, personnel costs and extreme weather situations. Therefore, the forest fund is essential to enable the accelerated transformation to resistant forests.

The advocacy representation of agriculture and forestry emphasizes that not only the economic aspects, but also the ecological challenges, must be taken into account. Forest conversion requires significant financial means, and the demand for an increase in funds from the forest fund is getting louder. "We are on a crossroads - our forests now need investments in their sustainability!" Says Mylius, while Benger indicates the urgency of an offensive against forest destruction.

For more information about the problem of forestry and the importance of the forest fund, you can find the detailed analysis of waldverband.at and ORF Kärnten Read.