Environment Minister, Stakeholders Discuss Future of Luxembourg's Forests

Luxembourg's Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Biodiversity has reported that the first "Bësch- a Juegddësch" meeting took place recently.

On Friday 10 January 2025, Luxembourg's Minister of the Environment, Climate and Biodiversity, Serge Wilmes, brought together the main stakeholders in the field of forest and hunting management for the first "Bësch- a Juegddësch". Participants included hunters, forest operators and owners, biodiversity experts, members of non-governmental organisations and other stakeholders engaged in the preservation and management of Luxembourg's forest ecosystems.

The ministry said this initiative marks a key step in the efforts to transform Luxembourg's forests into resilient and biodiverse ecosystems by ensuring their capacity for natural regeneration. In the face of the climate crisis, this transition is considered essential to preserve fundamental ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, biodiversity protection and the provision of natural habitat functions.

For Minister Wilmes, the main objectives of the "Bësch- a Juegddësch" were not only to listen to the needs of the various stakeholders, but above all to jointly develop concrete and effective solutions to address forestry and hunting challenges.

In order to strengthen the resilience of Luxembourg's forest ecosystems in the face of climate change, a conversion of current stands into mixed forests, diversified in age and species, has been deemed essential. In addition to adaptations in forest management, this complex transformation is said to also require changes to hunting.

At the end of the meeting, Minister Wilmes stressed the importance of collective commitment to address the challenges identified: "Together, we have the capacity to build resilient forests, capable of meeting the needs of our society while protecting biodiversity and adapting to climate realities. Modern and efficient hunting in the interest of the forest/game balance is an absolutely essential condition for this necessary and desired transition."

The minister has decided to launch a working group with representatives of his ministry as well as stakeholders in the forestry and hunting sector to identify current obstacles and propose concrete measures relating to them. A first meeting of this working group is planned for spring 2025.