Relationship between economic development, forest resources, and forest fires: European context

Abstract

Conservation of forest resources is a prerequisite for sustainable development of human society, both in the context of preventing negative climate change and for economic growth. The study aims to establish or refute the co-dependence between the level of forest cover in European countries and the production of gross domestic product. The study object is the socio-economic systems of the national economies of European countries in relation to the totality of forest resources of the continent. Studying the dynamics of forest cover indicators (the share of forests in the total area of the country and forest area per capita), weighted within the internationally recognized regions of Europe, it is confirmed that the level of forest cover of European countries is gradually increasing. The analysis of forest fire area maps identifies three main groups by the level of vulnerability to forest fires: safe (Northern European countries), conditionally safe (Western European countries), and dangerous (Eastern and Southern European countries).Denmark, Finland, France, Norway, and Finland show a direct correlation between the level of forest cover of a country’s territory and gross domestic product. The results of cluster analyses based on the data from 2000, 2010, 2015, and 2020 confirm the existence of a stable cluster of European countries (34 countries) in which there is one type of relationship between the production of gross domestic product and the level of forest cover of the territory. AcknowledgmentThis study was funded by the grant support from the Philipp Schwarz Initiative of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.