2007

STATE FOREST MANAGERS DISCUSSING THE GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGES

At the beginning of June the annual Conference of State Forest Managers took place in Scotland where representatives from AS Latvijas Valsts Meži also participated. Generally the topics for this year’s Conference were the role of forests in elimination of global climate changes and the production of renewable energy from wood.

Globally forests annually attract 4,500 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) and it was outlined in the Conference that forests are a significant instrument for political and economic activities in order to, on the one hand, reduce the scope of global climate changes, and, on the other - fight the consequences of these changes.

Regarding the production of “green” energy from wood waste it was found that this is a very fast growing industry, especially in Europe. Examples of successful operation of the co-generation stations run on woodchips as a fuel were discussed. Currently our Austrian colleagues are leading in this area. Austrian state forest operator OeBF has established several joint ventures for production of electrical power and thermal power from wood.

Within the framework of the Conference the Meeting of Executive Committee of the State Forest Association (EUSTAFOR) was held where the attendees agreed on the strategic goals of the organisation and its mission - to provide professional and high quality estimates to decision makers on various issues related to forest management.

The European State Forest Association (EUSTAFOR has been founded in Jūrmala during the 6^th Conference of State Forest Managers on June, 2005.  Roberts Strīpnieks, Chairman of the Board of LVM, was also appointed to the Executive Committee of the Association.

PICTURES: Chairman of the Board of AS Latvijas Valsts Meži Roberts Strīpnieks (from the right) discusses the issues of forest management with his Scottish colleagues