 BirdLife International
Only less than 10% of all identified forests with high nature values are strictly protected.
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New evidence calls for better protection of Europe’s last real forests
26-05-2009
Newly published maps of Biologically Important Forests in Eastern Europe reveal that only less than 10% of all identified forests with high nature values are strictly protected and around 21% are under some degree of protection. This is particularly alarming for Northern, Central and Eastern Europe as most of Europe’s remaining forest biodiversity is concentrated in these regions.
A ‘Biologically Important Forest’ (BIF) is a forest that remained in natural or close-to-natural state and that is considered a key area for the protection of forest-dependent species such as the Semi-collared flycatcher Ficedula semitorquata, Capercaillie Tetrao urogallus, Brown Bear Ursus arctos or Eurasian Lynx Lynx lynx that need large amount of high quality habitat to survive and maintain vital populations.
The last results for Bulgaria and Romania are available now for the general public at http://www.forestmapping.net. The website dedicated to Europe’s Biologically Important Forests already has information for Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus and Poland. An user-friendly interface, vector maps and satellite images make the website easy to navigate and explore.
“The new map covers most of these old magnificent forests amidst traditional farmlands, which together form the unique transcontinental ecological corridor of landscapes rich in nature, stretching from the Balkans to the Boreal zone along the eastern EU frontier” says Dr. Andrzej Bobiec of BirdLife’s European Forest Task Force.
“The eastern EU frontiers still have some of the best preserved concentrations of Europe’s wildlife due to the harmonious co-existence with traditional rural cultures" —Dr. Andrzej Bobiec , BirdLife’s European Forest Task Force
BIFs retained the best of Europe’s natural forest heritage. BIF maps show large blocks of close-to-natural forests, most of them unprotected, as well as smaller valuable fragments that need to be connected through carefully managed buffer zones and corridors in surrounding commercial forests. BirdLife releases these maps in the eve of the EC and EU conference on Wilderness and Large Natural Habitat Areas in Europe, as intact and biodiversity rich forests are a key component of Europe’s wild landscapes. BIFs maps are potential guidance for identification and delineation of large functioning ecosystems with a wilderness component in culturally developed European landscapes.
“The eastern EU frontiers still have some of the best preserved concentrations of Europe’s wildlife due to the harmonious co-existence with traditional rural cultures. Improving the conservation and management of forest ecosystems and developing nature-friendly social and economic infrastructures which help local communities to become dedicated stewards of European nature, should be viewed as our best investments to EU sustainable development, biodiversity protection, social justice and peace. In fact, it would be our best response to the challenges emerging from the economic and financial crisis, producing long-lasting desirable benefits to the entire EU” says Dr. Andrzej Bobiec.
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Credits: BirdLife European Division