Mountain forest agencies team up in Europe

Oct 29, 2007, 15:18 GMT

Lindau, Germany - Two weeks after a huge slip in Italy which highlighted the fragile state of the Alps, nine nations agreed Monday to develop a policy to preserve the forests on the mountains' flanks.

The forest-planning agency of Alto Adige, the Italian province also known as Suedtirol, is one of the project partners in Network Mountain Forest, the association spearheading the policy.

The nations, whose borders are marked by high peaks in the Alps, Balkans and Carpathians, are to coordinate policies to preserve the forests after their meeting in Lindau, on the German shore of Lake Constance.

The October 12 slip from the summit of the Einser, a mountain in the Dolomite Alps of Italy, sent 60,000 cubic metres of debris falling 2,500 metres into a nearby valley.

Below the tree line, the forests provide some protection from natural hazards such as rock and mud slips, produce wood, protect and store water and also provide recreation space.

Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Slovenia, Italy, Bulgaria, Greece, Slovakia and Liechtenstein were parties to the memorandum, which seeks to make preservation of high forests a European Union project.