FECOF Congress 2017 in Rhineland-Palatinate

After the official opening of the congress by the Rhineland-Palatinate Minister of the Environment, Energy, Food and Forestry, Ulrike Höfken, and the subsequent greetings by the individual representatives of the association, one member of the DG Agriculture highlighted the individual change processes from the point of view of the EU Commission. As there is no common forestry policy at European level, unlike agricultural policy, essentially the Directorate-General for Agriculture is responsible for forestry matters in the EU. However, the influence of other directorates, such as environment, energy or economy, is also noticeable, in parallel with areas (Natura 2000, wind energy, timber trade, etc.) that also affect the forestry sector.

Following the presentation by the EU Commission, Prof. Dr. Schraml from the University of Freiburg described the influence of the individual processes of change on European forestry personnel. In the subsequent panel discussion, representatives of individual member organizations spoke on behalf of the large regions of Northern, Central, Southern and Eastern Europe, impressively highlighting the most positive in their view as well as negative changes of the past decades. The round also took a look into the future and discussed the increasing challenges that European forestry undoubtedly faces.

The afternoon served to exemplify the noticeable change processes as part of a field trip to the Hunsrück. On the excursion Landesforsten presented silvicultural perspectives against the background of the tangible climate change, made clear the technical progress by the changed methodology for the fine opening with GPS and directional laser and presented the topic wind energy in the forest as best practice example for a change of the energy policy. A variety of impressions solidified during a casual exchange in the "Forest Family" with dinner at the invitation of Landesforsten in the Forest Experience Center Soonwald.

Strengthened by the European community event, the FECOF met the next day in the premises of Villa Belgrano in Boppard on the Rhine. Pierre Grandadam, President of the FECOF and mayor of Plaine in Alsace, said goodbye to Winfried Manns as a longtime member of the FECOF organization. Dr. Karl-Heinz Frieden as the designated association director and his successor. In the evening, the delegates from the European FECOF member countries took part in the Wine Festival of the city of Boppard. Received Dr. Walter Bersch due.

The FECOF is supported by numerous municipalities, local authorities and supporting associations from all over Germany and emerged in 1990 from the Franco-German communal forest connection. The chairman of the joint forestry committee "Deutscher Kommunalwald" has traditionally been involved in the European municipal forest organization FECOF.

Membership in the German FECOF section is also possible for individual associations/towns/local communities.

Download: