Forest fit for the Climate

Knowledge transfer for climate sensitive forest management
Continuous education efforts, awareness rising, workshops for practitioners and interested people to convince them for an actively managed forest especially focused on the climate change items.
First of all small-scale private forest owners (about 70.000 in A with less than 5 ha) and new forest owners (not directly connected to farms and farmland) shall be informed about an active sustainable forest management (harvest).
On the other side consumers will be encouraged to use wood and wood products as much as possible

Small-scale private forest owners may be re-interested in forest management when they are properly informed about the challenges of climate change and adaptation.
Dissemination of knowledge has to address a broad public at its needs on a general level to raise awareness significantly
Top down initiatives always have to be supplemented with bottom up approaches to raise their effectiveness

National campaign 20126 - 2021
“The use of wood is good for the climate – we make forests climate fit”
Central messages – climate change creates new realities
#1
Climate Change is a fact – and it affects forests
#2
Paris Agreement enforces the signatories to move from talking to doing
#3
In Austria, temperatures increased by an average of 1,8 Deg C in the 20th century, with increases being recorded at all altitudes
#4
A crucial factor to make forests fit for climate change is adaptive forest management
#5
The forest- and wood-based sector plays a key role in climate change
#6
The efficient use of wood as a renewable raw material and energy carrier includes a considerable reduction in anthropogenic carbon
#7
Mitigation: the harvesting potential should be fully utilized considering general sustainable conditions to mitigate climate change
#8
Adaption: it needs active sustainable forest management practices in order to create stable and vital forest stands which withstand climate change induced disturbances, e.g. storms, diseases and droughts