| NOTES: | The International Year of Forests 2011 is a UN initiative reinforcing the message that forests are vital to the survival and well-being of mankind. This Eurostat publication supports the UN initiative by statistically depicting forests in their various dimensions. Forests have a variety of ecological functions, serving as habitats for plant and animal species, helping to protect water and soil resources, as well as contributing to the fight against climate change. On the other hand, forests are an important economic factor as suppliers of wood and other forest products. Forests and other wooded land cover more than 40 % of the EU's land area, and the EU is set apart from many other global regions insofar as it is one of the few regions of the world where forest area is currently expanding. This publication presents information for the EU and its Member States, as well as comparisons with countries that have considerable forest resources. |
