Forests

More than 40% of the Alpine area is covered by forests. This figure is growing due to the abandonment of some cultivated areas and due to the rise in temperature. Forests are carbon sinks. They not only supply wood as a construction material but are also a source of renewable energy. They are a distinguishing element of the Alpine landscape and offer natural protection against avalanches, floods and other disasters. Forests also have an important recreational function. Thus, when managed sustainably, they carry out many important functions: soil conservation, protection against natural disasters, renewable sources of raw materials, energy sources, employment opportunities, mitigation of climate change, ecosystem conservation and protection of Alpine landscapes (Article 2, 2h of the Framework Convention).

Protocols and Declarations

• Mountain Forests Protocol

Thematic Working Bodies

• Mountain Agriculture and Mountain Forestry Working Group

• Mountain Forests Working Group (2012-2019)

The topic of future-oriented farming and forestry (nature protection, socio-economic and cultural aspects) is addressed in one of the subgroups of the EUSALP Action Group 6.

Selected Documents and Publications

• Organic farming in the Alps: a first analysis and some development scenarios (2022)

• Value chains in Alpine regions and selected sectors of agriculture and forestry (2022)

• Final Report of the Mountain Agriculture and Mountain Forestry Working Group of the Alpine Convention 2019-2020 (2020)

• Statement on the Value of Alpine Forests and the Alpine Convention's protocol on Mountain Forests in the framework of the international forestry policies beyond 2015 (2014) 

• The protective function of Alpine mountain forests

Projects

• RockTheAlps (Alpine Space Programme) - harmonised rockfall, natural risk and protection forest mapping in the Alpine Space (2016-2019)