Denmark worst forest manager in Europe but there is room for improvement in all countries, says WWF

The European country with the best forestry management practices is Switzerland, according to the WWF. But the environmental NGO points out that Switzerland still only scored 62 out of 100.

The forestry management league table rates countries based on 99 separate indicators including pollution emissions that promote acidification, amount of semi-natural or undisturbed forest, amount of protected forest and whether dead wood is left in forests (such debris acts as a habitat for animals and vegetation).

Close behind Switzerland is Finland with 61 points. Sweden, Slovakia and Austria tied for third place. At the bottom end of the table are the UK, the Netherlands, Latvia, Estonia and Denmark.

WWF believes that “Europe must choose how it is going to treat its forests” and that the league table’s overall poor results show that the maintaining the status quo should not be an option (see related story).