Erfurt (dpa/th) - Thuringia's Environment Minister Anja Siegesmund (Greens) called for the protection of forests and moors on the occasion of United Nations Environment Day on June 5th. "Only a fifth of our forests are considered healthy," said Siegesmund, according to a statement from the Ministry of the Environment on Saturday. The trees were affected by climate-related heat, storms and bark beetles. The conversion of the forests from monocultures to climate-resilient mixed forests has begun and must continue. Trees store water, would bind climate-damaging CO2 and produce oxygen.
Moore are also highly effective carbon reservoirs, the minister continued. In Thuringia there are about 2660 individual moor areas with low moors, intermediate and transitional moors and raised moors. According to the information, the few raised bogs are mainly found in the Thuringian Forest. The total area of the Thuringian moors is just under 300 hectares. "For centuries, these unique habitats have been drained and converted into agricultural or forest land. Reversing this trend is good for species and climate protection."
