The government presents a national plan to better promote wood eaten away by bark beetles

These insects, whose proliferation is aggravated by global warming, are wreaking havoc in the coniferous forests of the Grand Est.

A government plan to save forests. Traveling in the Vosges, the Minister of Agriculture, Marc Fesneau, presented on Monday April 15 a national plan for “bark beetles and crisis wood”. Objective: to try in particular to better promote the woods affected by this small insect which slips under the bark and wreaks havoc in the forests of the Grand Est. “In the context of climate change, public authorities, but also the entire forest-timber sector, can no longer simply act in reaction to successive crises in the forest, as we have done until now “declared Marc Fesneau.

Favored by global warming, the spread of bark beetles is particularly worrying in the coniferous forests of eastern France. Trees affected by the insect die quickly and, depending on the degree of infestation, the quality of the wood no longer allows it to be used for construction, for example. Thus, since 2018, the volume of wood affected is estimated at 37 million cubic meters, and a fifth of coniferous forests are affected in the large northeastern quarter.

Aid for foresters

The government recalls that “when they are identified early and felled at the right time, bark beetle wood is entirely suitable for construction”adding: “Also, there is a need to make this possibility of using bark beetle wood better known, in order to promote the market for this wood.”

However, when the infestation is too heavy, the wood dries and is no longer usable in construction. In this case, it can be used to power biomass power plants. There, the government is putting in place a temporary exemption to promote opportunities and allow “to replace fresh wood with crisis softwood (dry fir or bark fir or bark spruce) from regions bordering those initially planned in their supply plan”.

The government will also help foresters purchase debarking kits. Removing the bark from felled trees helps destroy the bark beetles present before they spread to other healthy trees nearby. Among the other measures announced, the government also wants to help affected owners replant affected areas.