Fewer forests in Saxony - expansion target missed so far

Saxony is lagging behind in its self-imposed goals for the future of the forest. Instead of growing, the area has shrunk over the past ten years. At the beginning of 2012, almost 524,000 hectares were still covered with forest, ten years later (2022) it was only around 521,000 hectares, according to the state enterprise Sachsenforst. More up-to-date figures are not available.

In the Forest Strategy 2050 from 2013, the aim was to preserve and increase the area of forests and their potential to absorb climate-damaging C02. In addition, the aim was to sustainably provide wood as a raw material at least to the same extent as before. An annual increase in area of 0.14 percent was set as the target at the time. By 2050, at least 30 percent of the country's land area should be forested. To date, this figure is just over 28 percent.

Ore Mountains and Vogtland most densely forested

According to the information, the main causes of land loss are open-cast mines in eastern Saxony, but statistical adjustments are also reflected in the figures. The most densely wooded regions in Saxony are the Ore Mountains and the Vogtland. More than 40 percent of them are covered by forest. The districts with the lowest proportion of forest are Leipzig, Meißen and Central Saxony.