IEEAF-Update

Background and Objective

In 2006, the Thünen Institute for International Forestry and Forest Economics has elaborated a methodology to derive the national annual report tables within the European Integrated Environmental and Economic Accounting for Forests (IEEAF). In the meantime data sources and table templates changed on several occasions. Consequently our methodology was constantly adjusted. The newly elaborated guidelines as well as the handbook of methods should enable the German Federal Statistical Office and Eurostat to theoretically and practically retrace the national report tables. The German National Federal Inventory 2012 and the subsequent forest development and timber resource modelling (WEHAM) by the German Ministry of Agriculture will shortly provide new reference data. These reference data require the adjustment of the methods currently used and the provision of a documentation of the newly derived methods.

Target Group

German Federal Statistical Office, Eurostat

Approach

Our research project primarily consists of two work packages: the key issues of the first work package are to describe in detail the methods currently used and to elaborate a handbook comprising the documentation of data sources and calculation methods. In this context we are required to deliver the national report tables stated as preliminary (reporting year 2013) as well as the national report tables stated as final (reporting year 2012) to the German Federal Statistical Office.

Based on the forthcoming published results of the German National Forest Inventory 2012 the second work package is dedicated to review and enhance our calculation methods currently used. The method description and the handbook derived from the first work package have to be updated. Based on  the newly developed methods the hitherto elaborated tables are to be revised up to 2002, which is the reference year of the last German National Forest Inventory (revision period). Furthermore the national report tables 2013 (final) and 2014 (preliminary) are to be completed and forwarded.

Data and Methods

The most important data sources for IEEAF are the German Forest Economic Accounting, the National Federal Inventory 2002 and 2012, forest development and timber resource modelling (WEHAM), the Federal German Forest Accountancy Network, the German External Trade Statistics, the German National Production Statisticsand further subject-matter series provided by the German Federal Statistical Office.

Our Research Questions

The application of the IEEAF accounting framework describes a data-related representation of the forest sector and the forest based industries in the individual EU member states.

Our main research issues are:

• comparison of the elaborated descriptions of the forest sector and the forest based industries between the individual EU member states
• support continuous improvisation of the accounting framework for achieving harmonized EU descriptions of the ecological and environmental services of the forest sector and the forest based industries
• determination of the contribution of the forest sector and the forest based industries to the national economy within the German Environment Statistics and Accounting

Results

Out of the 13 Eurostat table templates we are completing 11 tables and forward them to the Federal Statistical Office; in detail these are the tables: Forest balance: area of wooded land, Forest balance: value of wooded land, Forest balance: volume of standing timber, Forest balance: value of standing timber, Defoliation (% of sample trees), Economic accounts for forestry and logging, physical supply-use tables (2 tables), monetary supply-use tables (2 tables), Carbon balance for woody biomass.