Photo: Liaision Unit
What is the Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe?
The Ministerial Conference on Protection of Forests in Europe (MCPFE) stands for cooperation between 44 European countries and the European Community, as well as a number of international organisations and non-European observer states.
The mutual goal is to promote the sustainable management of forests through open and cross-border cooperation. The MCPFE has been working on topical issues and developing political commitments with regard to the protection and sustainable management of forests at the ministerial level for 13 years. It offers a broad platform for discussion, and it promotes contacts with other regional and global processes and initiatives.The first Ministerial Conference in Strasbourg (1990) was followed by conferences in Helsinki (1993) and Lisbon (1998). The fourth Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe, the “Living Forest Summit”, took place in Vienna from 28 to 30 April 2003, chaired by Austria and Poland.
The key subjects of the fourth Ministerial Conference were biological diversity in the forests, climate change in connection with sustainable forest management, economic conditions for activities in the forest sector, and cultural aspects. The European Forestry Ministers discussed these topics as a whole, developed cross-sectoral approaches and resolved concrete actions to ensure the protection and sustainable management of forests today and in the future. It was not least an objective of the Living Forest Summit to contribute towards a worldwide discussion on the sustainable development of our society.
27.01.2009,