Waldleistungen – der WEP Kanton Zürich als Umsetzungsinstrument (Essay) | Forest services – the Forest Development Plan of canton Zurich as a means for action (essay)

Approximately 30% of the surface area of canton Zurich is covered with forest. As a characteristic element in the landscape, the forest provides an important contribution to the quality of life for the population of Zurich. According to a preliminary examination copy of the Forest Development Plan of canton Zurich, about 3% of the forest area has top priority as important for protection against natural hazards, about 19% is important for its biological diversity and about 51% serves for wood exploitation. On top of this, about a third of the forest is used intensively by those seeking for relaxation. Besides timber and protection, the Zurich forest thus provides various products and services which the population mostly takes for granted. It is the forest owners who provide this public service. With the Forest Development Plan of canton Zurich, it should be possible to pay compensation for services of public utility interest and thus ease the financial burden on forest owners. Services which are not primarily in the public interest can be commercialized locally provided they do not influence these public interests. The Forest Development Plan of canton Zurich provides the necessary bases for planning this coordination.