Bavaria to strengthen forest conservation program

Bavarian ministers Michaela Kaniber and Thorsten Glauber have announced the strengthening of the Bavarian Contractual Nature Conservation Program for Forests (VNP Wald). The program aims to promote biodiversity and forest resilience against climate change through voluntary cooperation with forest owners.

Key measures include the preservation of habitat trees and deadwood, as well as the continuation of traditional mixed forest management. To improve efficiency, the state is transitioning to a fully digital application process, allowing forest owners to submit funding requests online.

Approximately seven million euros have been allocated for the VNP Wald for the year 2027. Over the past decade, the program has approved and funded 34,000 applications, demonstrating high demand among forest owners.