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Goals of forest management


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Landscape Architects and Forestry Office
(Landschafts- und Forstamt)
Weberstraße 7
69117 Heidelberg
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Phone 06221 58-28000 und 58-28010

Goals of

forest management

Both the fabric and the geographical scope of the forest need to be preserved in the long term. This can be done by protecting and caring for the forest ecosystem and finding an optimum balance between its different uses. Only in this way can the forest continue making the greatest possible contribution to the environment, economy and quality of life of Heidelberg, for the benefit of both today’s and future generations. 

In recognition of the hard work being done in this area in Heidelberg city forest, the forest has received PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes) and FSC® C018470 (Forest Stewardship Council®) certification. In 2018 PEFC Germany has elected Heidelberg as the German "Forest Capital" for its commitment to sustainable forest management.


FSC Principles

FSC certification denotes compliance with the FSC’s 10 Principles and 56 Criteria, which can be found on the FSC website and are universally applicable for all forests in the world.
Below is a brief overview of the FSC Principles:

  1. Compliance with laws and FSC Principles
    Forest management activities should respect all relevant national legislation and international agreements and treaties signed by the country in which the forest is located, and should adhere to the FSC Principles and Criteria.
  2. Tenure and use rights and responsibilities
    Long-term tenure and use rights to land and forest resources should be clearly defined, documented and legally established.
  3. Indigenous people’s rights
    The rights of indigenous groups – including both legally-established rights and those arising from specific customary practices – in terms of ownership, use and management of land, territories and resources must be recognized and respected.
  4. Community relations and workers’ rights
    Forest management activities should maintain and/or enhance forest workers’ and local communities’ social and economic well-being in the long term.
  5. Benefits from the forest
    Forest management activities should promote the efficient use of the diverse products and benefits of the forest, in order to keep it economically viable and providing a wide range of environmental and social benefits in the long term.
  6. Environmental impact
    Forest management activities should maintain biodiversity and the value associated with it, and preserve water resources, soils, and unique and fragile ecosystems and landscapes. In this way it should safeguard the ecological functions and integrity of the forest.
  7. Management plan
    A management plan appropriate to the size of the forest and the extent of forest management activities must be devised, implemented and kept up-to-date. The management plan must clearly describe the long-term management goals and the means by which they will be achieved.
  8. Monitoring and assessment
    The state of the forest, yields of forest products harvested, the trade and value chain, management activities, and their social and ecological effects, should be established using a system of documentation and analysis appropriate to the structure of the organization.
  9. Maintenance of high conservation value forests
    Management activities in high conservation value forests should maintain or enhance the attributes which define such forests. In any decisions relating to high conservation value forests, priority should be given to a preventive approach.
  10. Plantations
    Plantations should be managed in accordance with Criteria 1-9 and Principle 10 and its criteria. If plantations additionally provide a series of social and economic benefits and can contribute to meeting global demand for forestry products, then they should be used in parallel with natural forests in such a way as to reduce the burden on natural forests and facilitate their recovery and preservation.

PEFC standards

  1. Forest resources
    Forest management should be conducted in a thoroughly sustainable way that preserves, and ideally enhances, the forest resources and the many functions they perform, and underpins their contribution to global carbon cycles.
  2. Health and vitality of the forest
    The health and vitality of forest ecosystems are an essential component of sustainable forest management. Forestry activities should therefore be conducted with particular consideration for the sensitivity of the ecosystem.
  3. Production function of forests
    Safeguarding the production function of forests is a macroeconomic task. Domestic timber production ensures that the ecologically valuable raw material of timber can be made available without the need to ship it long distances.
  4. Biodiversity in forest ecosystems
    Activities to preserve, maintain and, within reason, enhance biodiversity must be in compliance with relevant international obligations.
  5. Protective functions of forests
    Forest management activities must incorporate the preservation and, within reason, enhancement of the forest’s protective functions, which are of special importance for those living in densely populated countries.
  6. Social functions of forests
    Forest owners must fully meet their responsibilities towards society and particularly towards the people working in their forests. The diverse socioeconomic functions of the forest must be protected and promoted.