Future of the Mediterranean forest

19 October 1992

Doc. 6710

1403-14/10/92-1-E

REPORT

on the future of the Mediterranean forest

(Rapporteur: Mr LAGORCE, France, Socialist)

Problem:

The dwindling of the Mediterranean forest due to mankind's over-exploitation or destruction through pollution or fire has become a major ecological, social and economic problem for the Mediterranean region as a whole. The disappearance of the forest aggravates soil erosion, destroys some of the fauna and flora and has a negative effect on climate and water resources. Moreover, the basis for an entire economic sector of vital importance to many rural areas also ceases to exist when the forest disappears.

Solution:

The countries of the Mediterranean region must adopt a policy and an action plan to save the Mediterranean forest. Preventive and curative measures to combat fires, atmospheric pollution and other enemies of the forest must be stepped up. Maintenance work, particularly scrub clearance, must be carried out, particularly in high fire risk zones. There is an urgent need for afforestation and reforestation. The long-term exploitation and management of forest resources and forests themselves must be encouraged in order to create jobs in what are often disadvantaged areas and so as to safeguard the Mediterranean forest heritage with all its biodiversity. A European information, training and research campaign, to lead to a better appreciation of the many functions permanently fulfilled by forests, will be one element in a policy designed to ensure that future generations enjoy a high-quality, healthy and unpolluted environment.

I. DRAFT RECOMMENDATION

1. The Assembly recalls its Recommendations 691 (1973) and 1045 (1986) on the situation of the Mediterranean forest and the fight against forest fires in Europe.

2. It continues to believe that the forest is, and will remain, an important source of goods and services essential to human life and the survival of mankind, and applauds the initiative taken by Finland and France in convening the first Ministerial Conference for the Protection of Forests in Europe, in December 1990 in Strasbourg and welcomes the convening of a second Conference in Finland in June 1993.

3. It is convinced that the Mediterranean forest performs essential functions in the balance of Mediterranean ecosystems, soil conservation, hydrological equilibrium and the preservation of biodiversity in the region.

4. With a view to safeguarding this heritage for future generations, and so as to foster the sustainable management of these resources, the Assembly recommends that the Committee of Ministers invite the member governments and the European Community:

i. to draw up and implement a forest policy and action plan to regenerate and maintain the Mediterranean forest;

ii. to improve methods of fire prevention and step up the fight against forest fires;

iii. to improve the management of forests, in particular by reinforcing forestry services;

iv. to guarantee the existence of reference forest ecosystems such as nature reserves;

v. to encourage the diversified use of forests on a permanent basis (for timber, leisure, hunting, gathering, while instructing users on the danger of fire etc.) in order to keep the forests healthy and at the same time foster the development of rural areas and job creation;

vi. to embark on a campaign of afforestation and reforestation avoiding the conversion of fire-damaged areas to other uses;

vii. to eliminate the forest's other principal enemies, particularly atmospheric pollution;

viii. to step up information, education, training and research on all aspects relevant to Mediterranean forest ecosystems and give a specific role to the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies in this regard;

ix. to organise a European Forest Year so as to make the public, and particularly young people, aware of this resource and its importance to global and European ecosystems, and to promote international co-operation in this area;

x. to organise regular conferences of European ministers responsible for forests so as to implement a coherent, co-ordinated policy for the long-term management of forested areas.

II. EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

by Mr LAGORCE

CONTENTS

Page

Introduction 3

I. The Mediterranean forest and its numerous functions 4

II. The scourge of the Mediterranean: forest fires 5

III. A policy to protect the Mediterranean forests 6

* *

Introduction

1. Mr Brito, Mr Pinto and others have drawn the attention of the Parliamentary Assembly to the dwindling of the Mediterranean forests and in particular to the threat represented by the fires which each year devastate thousands of hectares (Doc. 6329 and Doc. 6331). During the period 1985-87, over 500 000 hectares of forest and other woodlands were burnt out on average each year in the countries of southern Europe (Cyprus, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, Yugoslavia). Statistical analysis reveals that there has been an increase in the number of fires but a decrease in the average area destroyed. This points to an improvement in fire-fighting techniques, without a concomitant improvement in fire prevention.

2. A Bill of Forest Health drawn up by the Commission of the European Communities in 1989 showed that 10,6% of the trees in Greece, 7,9% in Italy, 6,5% in Portugal, 5,4% in France and 2,8% in Spain were damaged (over 25% defoliation), while 42,5% of trees in Greece and between 15% and 18% of trees in other countries exhibited a discoloration of more than 10%, atmospheric pollution being one of the prime causes.

3. Public opinion - not only in the Mediterranean countries but also throughout Europe - is becoming ever more conscious of the importance of the forest for the general balance of our environment. This important function is additional to its economic and social functions. A properly managed and worked forest furnishes valuable and precious goods and services: it supplies timber, generates oxygen, stores excess carbon dioxide, protects soils and water resources, preserves biological diversity - fauna and flora - and constitutes a source of employment and recreation. For many rural areas of Europe, the manifold uses of the forest represent, in a word, an essential resource for their economy and viability.

4. The Mediterranean forests are a part of the European forest heritage and the conservation of this fragile ecosystem is a responsibility resting on the whole of Europe. Your Rapporteur welcomes the initiative taken by Finland and France in convening in December 1990 a Ministerial Conference for the Protection of Forests in Europe, where special attention was given to the management of particularly vulnerable forest environments, such as mountain forests and the Mediterranean forest1. We should likewise recall and appreciate the numerous initiatives taken by the European Community, in particular by the establishment of permanent forest committees, the institution of a European system of forest information and liaison, and the forging of several tools for protecting forests and developing and exploiting forests in rural areas.

5. The purpose of this explanatory memorandum is to describe briefly the present state of the Mediterranean forest and to set forth the problems of forest policy, namely the action taken by the public authorities in the fields of management, of protection (particularly against fires) and of reforestation.

I. The Mediterranean forest and its numerous functions

6. In terms of the geographical policy of FAO, the Mediterranean region extends from the Alps to the edge of the Sahara, and from the Atlantic to the Caspian Sea. In ecological terms, the actual Mediterranean zone, marked by cultivation of the olive tree, is much smaller; it is frequently a coastal strip of varying depth, bordered by transition zones with sub-Mediterranean or semi-desert climates.

7. The Mediterranean forest is characterised by a highly luxuriant flora, in which broad-leaved species predominate. The lower storeys generally exhibit maquis-type vegetation, accompanied by oaks; there then come the oak storey proper and finally the beech storey. Conifers are less widespread and frequently even absent. Pine forests sometimes replace the maquis; cedar forest formerly covered large areas in the oak storey, while firs and pines locally make up important stands in the beech storey.

8. Above all, the forest is a source of preservation of ecological and climatic equilibria. The Mediterranean region to a great extent possesses a hot and dry climate, and is frequently swept by south winds, in particular the sirocco. Forests constitute a barrier, a defensive wall, a filter zone vis-à-vis these hot winds, and have an important moderating and equilibrating effect. Unfortunately, throughout the Mediterranean basin the axe and fire have to a large extent destroyed this heritage, bringing about climatic and ecological changes. For example, in the eighth and ninth centuries Sicily was largely covered with forests and the climate at that time was probably much more temperate than it is today.

9. The forest has similarly an important effect as regards hydro-geological equilibria. Firstly, it represents a reservoir of water and humidity, and protecting it means protecting and preserving surface and ground water strata, which are so closely bound up with plant life and constitute an important resource for mankind. Secondly, thanks in particular to the strong root systems of trees, a forest cover represents an effective means of combating gullying and erosion, landslips, rock falls and soil and watercourse movement.

10. The forest harbours a vast number of organisms belonging to the realms of both flora and fauna, generating organic matter and literally creating the soil. The forest makes it possible to conserve species of all kinds, and it is the home of breeding stock and a mine of new possibilities of genetic combination. The hearing on the use of biomass in energy generation held in Rome on 7 May 1991 stressed the important role played by the conversion of solar energy into chemical energy in the forest.

11. Without wishing to establish an exhaustive list of the multiple functions of our forests, we will just recall that they constitute an ideal framework for recreation, and are widely used as a source of pasture. Forests filter the air: a hectare of forest can fix six to ten tonnes of carbon per year and release twelve to twenty tonnes of oxygen bearing essential oils of benefit for the human respiratory system.

12. In France, which is the home country of your Rapporteur, the whole world of wood, from the tree nursery to the timber industry, employs 550 000 persons exercising some fifty different trades. Wood provides the basis for 50 000 undertakings of all sizes, ranging from the individual logger and village carpenter to heavy industry. Greater use of wood, particularly in building, can have positive effects on the environment since wood stores carbon dioxide, the principal cause of the greenhouse effect.

II. The scourge of the Mediterranean: forest fires

13. Forest fires in highly densely populated regions such as the Mediterranean are frequently caused by human agency, as a result of negligence, malevolence or acts by unbalanced persons. In 30% to 40% of instances the causes remain unknown, while certain unexplained occurrences of damage are attributed to lightning. According to FAO the total area of forest and other woodlands burned out in the countries of southern Europe (Cyprus, Spain, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Portugal, Turkey and Yugoslavia) was 574 400 hectares in 1988. Regarding the number of outbreaks of fire between 1980 and 1988, a minimum of 26 300 fires was recorded in 1983, and a maximum of 47 600 in 1985. The mean annual reported extent of the losses between 1985 and 1987 was US$ 491,3 million, whereas the sums stated to have been allocated for fire prevention and fire fighting were on average US$ 193,6 million. Merely on economic grounds, therefore, a greater effort seems to be called for.

14. In France the Mediterranean forest is disadvantaged by the geographical relief and by the strength of the mistral. It also suffers from the fact of being not very productive and neither planned nor managed with a view to intensive working. This being so, it provides little incentive for the owners concerned. Measures to prevent and combat fires originate from the public authorities. They are indeed effective, since 95% of outbreaks are extinguished before turning into real fires. In these areas, the frequent further outbreaks of fires at the same places are an aggravating factor. The forest ecosystems therefore tend towards ever more degraded and combustible plant forms (garrigue or maquis depending on the soil type). Ultimately all vegetation disappears, the unbound soil is gradually washed away by precipitation and the bare rock appears.

15. It is important for the Mediterranean region to adopt a strict land use regime whereby conversion to other uses, such as building, after fires will not be permitted. Areas affected by fire must be restored by encouraging regeneration of the vegetation, taking the specificity of the Mediterranean forest ecosystems into account. A considerable amount of work has been carried out at the Institut national de recherche agronomique (INRA) on one major method of prevention, which involves selecting fire-resistant species which can be mixed with other species to diminish the risk of fires and reduce the damage they cause.

III. A policy to protect the Mediterranean forest

16. History has shown that the maintenance and long-term exploitation of our natural resources are the two basic principles governing the conservation of the latter. As your Rapporteur I am of the opinion that the same principles are applicable for conserving the Mediterranean forest. On behalf of these forests, which are sometimes in process of complete disappearance, urgent artificial regeneration operations must be undertaken or natural regeneration must be assured. It is necessary simultaneously to continue enhancing measures to combat fires by making further use of all the facilities of modern technology, such as remote detection, and to install, as in France, a forest plant protection system.

17. Your Rapporteur, who lives in Langon in south-west France, would refer to the example of the Landes forest in Aquitaine, which is highly productive and has made the establishment of a comprehensive system of fire prevention involving financial investments economically viable, whereas 10 000 years ago the Landes were merely a vast expanse of sandy semi-desert. In about the fourth century, the forest which already covered a large part of the landes massif was destroyed by fires following from the barbarian invasions. Subsequently, pastoral use with the accompanying practice of burning-off contributed to the maintenance of huge grassy areas flooded for over six months of the year. The acidity of the soil and the high level of the ground water (following the receding of the forest) inhibited the regrowth of the forest, which then covered only 200 000 hectares. Political considerations (the 1801 Decree on the fixation of dunes) led to the plantation of pines in the nineteenth century. Not without opposition, local communes drained and planted the communal heaths. Initially, the principal harvest of the maritime pine was resin. In 1920, the Landes forest produced 130 million litres, as opposed to only 3 million in 1983. In 1937 and 1949, 400 000 hectares were destroyed by fire, leading to the introduction of a major programme to combat fires and the creation of 10 000 kilometres of forest tracks. Today, the Landes de Gascogne forest is principally geared to the production of timber from the maritime pine (which represents 92,6% of the forested area). The intensive growing of the maritime pine, a recent phenomenon (50-60 years), involves draining, clearing, fertilisation during seeding and mechanical and chemical control of the undergrowth.

18. Maintenance and diversified exploitation of forests are fundamental to fire prevention work. Regular scrub clearance is as important as intensified surveillance. The garrigue is ravaged by fires every summer, due to poor maintenance resulting from the disappearance of farmers and animals. For several years now a highly interesting experiment has been taking place in France, namely the introduction of llamas into certain forests in the Vaucluse and Hautes-Alpes. Unlike sheep, these animals graze indiscriminately on tough and woody species, and unlike goats they do not gnaw the bark of trees. The llama has even been described as an "ecological lawn-mower". Their luxurious wool (3 kg per animal per year) sells for around 1 000 French francs per kilogramme and they encourage tourism by facilitating the organisation of walks along rather difficult paths.

19. The numerous functions of the Mediterranean forest should be taken into account in assessing their economic value, which does not depend exclusively on traditional forest products (timber, paper). These assessments should assign a greater role to ecological and social functions. This will encourage redoubled efforts at maintenance, which is vital for the prevention of forest fires, for example scrub clearance in order to inhibit the start and spread of fires. Regeneration and continuing exploitation of forests will also call for an expansion of the forestry economic sector, with the creation of new jobs. Investment in this sector will make a significant contribution to the economic life of the rural areas concerned. Disastrous soil erosion will be brought under control and the fragile Mediterranean forest ecosystem will be protected.

20. Silviculture opens up numerous prospects for rural, industrial and tourist development and may under certain circumstances supplement or even replace agriculture, particularly on poor quality soil taken out of cultivation, and may also reduce agricultural surpluses without laming rural areas. Silviculture also makes for regular conditioning of the soil and in certain cases renders possible the rehabilitation of a previously unhealthy environment. The traditional forest products such as timber or paper can be supplemented by latex and also by substances used for pharmaceutical or medical purposes and so on. The output of biomass intended for energy generation would constitute a further valuable outlet.

21. In order better to manage these complex ecosystems scientific research must be intensified, aimed at a fuller understanding of the interaction between micro-organisms, insects, fungi, game, trees and other plants, and also the effects which may result from changes outside the boundaries of these ecosystems and the consequences of human agency. The knowledge obtained should be made accessible to foresters in the course of their training. The International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies could act as co-ordinator and initiator of this type of research and training operation.

22. As with all ecosystems, we need more than ever to protect a reference area where the original biodiversity can be preserved for future generations and for science. The 10th World Congress on Forests, held in Paris from 17 to 26 September 1991 with over 2 500 participants from 136 countries, recommended in its final declaration that the practice of designating certain representative or threatened forests as protected areas, organised into national or international networks, should continue. The newly democratic Greater Europe must take steps to conserve these genetic forest resources, as stated by the Ministerial Conference for the Protection of European Forests referred to in paragraph 4. Action in this direction is a matter of particular urgency in the Mediterranean region.

23. The health of the forest is both the end and the essential means of any forest policy. Forest policy must ensure the long-term productive potential of ecosystems, and respect the conditions preserving their viability, stability and permanence. Every citizen should be encouraged to defend a forest protection policy. Your Rapporteur therefore proposes that the Council of Europe, in co-operation with the European Community, should declare a European Year of the Forest. This campaign should include particular efforts to make young people aware of the problems and the potential of the forest.

24. In conclusion, the forest including the Mediterranean forest can be saved and regenerated. To achieve this objective, however, our governments must clearly state the priority which they intend to accord to policies of long-term management of forests as economic, social and environmental resources. In the case of the Mediterranean region, these policies should stress the reinforcement of forest services for maintaining wooded areas, exploiting forest resources and combating forest fires. It is important to augment research and training and to provide the public with more information on the manifold functions of the forest, and its trees, fauna and flora.

Reporting committee: Committee on Agriculture.

Budgetary implications for the Assembly: None.

Reference to committee: Doc. 6331 and Reference No. 1708 of 22 November 1990.

Draft recommendation: Unanimously adopted by the committee on 6 October 1992.

Members of the committee: Mrs Gjørv (Chairperson), MM. van der Linden, Sipos (Vice-Chairmen), Anthopoulos, Mrs Anttila, MM. Bühler, Crowley, Filetti, Goerens (Alternate: Konen), Gonzalez Laxe, Granstedt, Greco, Grove, Gunnarsson, Howell (Alternate: Alexander),Jeambrun, Kiratlioglu, Lagorce, Lanner, Lord Mackie of Benshie, MM. Mezzapesa, Michels, Ottenbourgh, Rodrigues, Roger, Scheer (Alternate: Büchler), Seiler, Smolarek (Alternate: Luczak), J. Thompson, Vella.

N.B. The names of those members who took part in the vote are underlined.

Secretary to the committee: Mr Lervik.

1 ^{1 1} Text adopted by the conference (CDPE (91) 7).