CEPF Secretary General Emma Berglund highlighted that “green jobs are crucial for creating a sustainable future and the forest sector is at the heart of creating these jobs. The entire European forest sector provides around 4 million green jobs and income for people in the forestry, wood manufacturing, paper industries and bioenergy sector.”

Green jobs in the forest sector are related to the management and use of forest ecosystems, respecting the principles of sustainable forest management and production processes based on goods and services from sustainably managed forests.

Forestry as an engine of rural growth, contributing to green jobs, is an indispensable part of viable rural areas and should continue to play an important role, producing renewable wood and wood products as a solid basis for the bioeconomy. Europe is one of the world’s biggest producers of roundwood and the value of marketed non-wood goods, which sometimes provide an important source of income at local level, is also significant.

“We need to better promote the importance of forests in terms of boosting growth and jobs in EU rural areas and contributing to the bioeconomy to ensure a sustainable future for rural areas and the people living there”, Emma Berglund stressed.

With regard to the importance of green jobs in the forest sector, in the bioeconomy and for a sustainable future of the EU, it is even more necessary to maintain capacities in the workforce, to motivate young entrants and to support the development of new green skills. A sufficient number of working people with adequate skills and competencies is absolutely essential for maintaining sustainable, well-managed forests.

For further information, please contact:

Confederation of European Forest Owners (CEPF)

Policy Advisor - Franz Thoma, franz.thoma@cepf-eu.org