 On 24 November 2009 Mr Lars Peder Brekk, the Norwegian Minister of Agriculture and Food, opened an international forest meeting of the the Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe (MCPFE) in Oslo. He said that European forests have unexploited potential, which may render climate protection even more effective than at present.
Norway is now chairing MCPFE, the Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe. The Conference is a forest policy instrument for gathering European countries and a number of international and non-governmental organizations for the purpose of meeting the challenges and for exploiting the opportunities of the forestry sector.
Mr Brekk emphasized that MCPFE is an important instrument for defining and for securing a sustainable forest policy in Europe. The primary future work of MCPFE is to maintain sustainable forestry also under changing climate conditions. The opportunities offered by forests to create renewable energy sources must also be exploited. Forests provide important social services, such as water protection, biodiversity, wood products and bioenergy. MCPFE is now faced with important choices.
The Oslo ministerial conference in 2011 will constitute an important milestone for European forest policy. Today's expert meeting will make an important contribution to setting the agenda for the ministerial meeting and for forming future forest policy. We will consider experiences from the work since 1990 and determine future policies. In his opening speech minister Brekk said that the work being done now and at the ministerial conference will constitute a landmark for work on Europe's forests and will highlight their importance for our societies.
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