The forest area in Germany corresponds to about 11.4 million hectares – this is 32 % of the total surface of Germany or 0.13 hectares per German citizen. The forest is thus a significant part of our landscape. There are four billion hectares of forest worldwide – that is 31 percent of the world’s land surface or around 0.6 hectares per person on earth.
We all know: The forest is important. Important as a habitat for animals, for our ecosystem and our health, but also as a workplace – more than 1.1 million people in Germany depend directly on the forest for their work.
Forests and wood are also essential factors for climate protection. While existing forest areas as well as reforestation have a direct positive impact on the climate, the forest on the other hand is strongly affected by climate change and the resulting extremes of weather.
According to current figures from Proplanta (https://www.proplanta.de/Agrar-Nachrichten/Wald-Forst/Deutschlands-Wald-im-Klimawandel-Zahlen-Daten-Fakten_article1569738617.html), 1.17 million tons of carbon are currently bound in Germany’s forests. The annual contribution made by German forestry and wood use with the help of these storage and substitution effects to the reduction of greenhouse gases is around 127 million tons of CO2 equivalents. Without this contribution, Germany’s total emissions (based on the year 2014) would be 14 % higher.
Through Ernst Fisch, we also make a valuable contribution to this with our work and are actively committed to protecting the forests. Would you like to learn more about this? Just write to us.
