FOSTER - Biodiversity Management in Saxon Forests
Project Description
Sarah Deutscher, a research assistant at the Chair of Business Administration, esp. Environmental Management who works as a reviewer since January 2021 on the German Sustainability Code (DNK) project, is currently about to graduate in Business Ethics and Responsible Management from IHI Zittau. Since July 2022, she received funding through FOSTER from the TU Dresden. With this FOSTER project, she would like to publish the results of her thesis to contribute to research on current and future biodiversity strategies for stakeholder groups at the local level. The topic of her thesis focuses on biodiversity management in Saxon forests. As part of the thesis, she investigated the possible implications of the new EU Forest Strategy for 2030 at the local level. The strategy emphasizes the multifunctionality of forests and proposes specific measures to improve their quality and quantity. However, the new strategy has caused controversy. Recognizing the need to protect biodiversity, forest-rich countries, such as Germany, are calling for the economical use of forests as a fundamental obligation. As forest management is carried out and implemented at the local level, possible challenges and improvements for the future implementation of the strategy in the state of Saxony are discussed.
Research Design
With the objective of maintaining and restoring biodiversity in forests, there are a number of EU legal initiatives that are implemented and enforced by member states at the local level. These influence the respective forest management practices. The research focuses on the New EU Forest Strategy for 2030. It was adopted in July 2021 and is based on the Biodiversity Strategy 2030. Therefore, it is an initiative of the European Green Deal, a concept proposed by the European Commission with the goal of reducing net greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050. The strategy emphasizes the multifunctionality of forests and lists concrete proposals for action to improve the quality and quantity of forests in the EU. To this end, the protection, restoration, and resilience of forests are to be strengthened. The focus on forest protection and restoration is accompanied by a promotion of biodiversity- and climate-friendly forest management practices. (European Commission, 2021)
Due to its high proportion of forested land, Germany is one of the countries where the strategy is expected to have a greater impact. As forest management is executed and implemented at the local level, the following guiding research question is investigated: How can current challenges of biodiversity management in Saxon forests be improved by the New EU Forest Strategy for 2030 from the perspective of state forest enterprises, nature conservation stations, and nature conservation associations?
The following sub-questions will be addressed:
- What are the current challenges in biodiversity management or conservation and how have they been addressed so far?
- How are the innovations of the New EU Forest Strategy for 2030 perceived by stakeholders?
- How do the innovations of the New EU Forest Strategy for 2030 affect current biodiversity approaches?
To answer the research questions, representatives of the mentioned stakeholder groups were semi-structured interviewed. The interviews were analyzed by qualitative content analysis.
For further information on the New EU forest strategy for 2030, please refer to here.
Leadership: Prof. Dr. Remmer Sassen und Vera Braun
Editing: Sarah Deutscher
Duration: 01.07. - 30.09.2022
Funding: FOSTER - Funds for Student Research