Waldkontroversen 2023: an exciting and debatable event

"Today we are not concerned with controversy per se, but with finding solutions together." With these words, Dr Gregor Aas from the Ecological-Botanical Garden of the University of Bayreuth welcomed around 120 visitors to the Waldkontroversen Forum at the SWO Conference Centre. An audience of hunters, forest owners, foresters, experts and students had gathered here on 20 October to debate the topic of "Hunting Turnaround - Necessary for the Forest?

The forum was organised by the Campus Academy for Continuing Education, the Ecological-Botanical Garden of the University of Bayreuth and the Bayreuth Centre for Ecology and Environmental Research. This year, the Forest Controversies were once again an exciting and debate-rich event in which confrontation was not shied away from.

The starting point of the discussions was the situation that roe deer, as an optimally adapted cultural successor, currently encounters optimal conditions for reproduction in German forests. At the same time, it prevents the natural regeneration of the forest through heavy browsing. To curb this problem, however, there is a lack of trained hunters who hunt both efficiently and sustainably. Therefore, better education and training of hunters, the use of modern technologies and more differentiated dialogue between all parties involved were demanded.

A first step in this direction was ventured at the Forum Forest Controversies 2023. "There is still a lot of work to do," summed up Dr Gregor Aas from ÖBG Bayreuth.