The German Ministry of Agriculture, BMEL, has published updated data on the ravages suffered by the German forest for two years following storms, periods of extreme drought, fires and attacks by bark beetles. By adding the estimates for the current year, the ministry estimates that the volume of attacked or damaged wood is 160 million m3 corresponding to an area of 245,000 hectares. The most affected areas are North Rhine-Westphalia, Saxony-Anhalt, Hesse and Thuringia.
The federation has offered 480 million euros in aids for the forest and taking into account the co-financing with the individual federeal states, the aid amounts to almost 800 Mio. €. The support is meant for the evacuation of the damaged wood, replanting and the continued conversion of forests into mixed forests adapted to climate change.