Forests are one of the main elements of our natural heritage. The decline of Europe's forests over the last decade and a half has led to an increasing awareness and understanding of the serious imbalances which threaten them. European countries are becoming increasingly concerned by major threats to European forests, threats which know no frontiers other than those of geography or climate: air pollution, soil deterioration, the increasing number of forest fires and sometimes even the mismanagement of our woodland and forest heritage. There has been a growing awareness of the need for countries to get together to co-ordinate their policies. In December 1990, Strasbourg hosted the first Ministerial Conference on the protection of Europe's forests. The conference brought together 31 countries from both Western and Eastern Europe. The topics discussed included the co-ordinated study of the destruction of forests, as well as how to combat forest fires and the extension of European research programs on the forest ecosystem. The preparatory work for the conference had been undertaken at two meetings of experts. Their initial task was to decide which of the many forest problems of concern to Europe involved the largest number of countries and might be the subject of joint action. Those confined to particular geographical areas, such as countries bordering the Mediterranean or the Nordic countries therefore had to be discarded. However, this does not mean that in future they will be ignored.

森林是自然遗产的主要元素之一。过去15年欧洲森林的退化程度已经逐渐让人们意识并了解到这种严重失调对他们的威胁。欧洲国家越来越重视欧洲森林受到的主要威胁，除了地理和气候性的威胁以外，其他的都是不分国界的，诸如空气污染、土壤退化、与日俱增的森林火灾，有时候甚至是我们对林地和森林的管理不善。人们也越来越清楚地认识到各国需要联合起来协调政策。1990年12月，在法国斯特拉斯堡举行了第一次以保护欧洲森林为主题的部长级会议。来自东西欧的31个国家代表汇集一堂。会议的议题包括：如何协调研究对森林的破坏，如何防范森林火灾，以及欧洲森林生态系统研究项日的扩大。会议举行前召开了两次专家会议来做会前准备工作。他们最初的任务是决定在欧洲森林所面临的诸多问题中，哪个问题所涉及的国家最多，可作为各国联合行动的主题。因此那些受特殊地理条件限制的地区，如地中海以及北欧国家就被排除在外了。但是以后他们还是有可能参与进来的。

总体而言，欧洲国家认为森林有三重功能——生物、经济和娱乐功能。第一重是扮演地球的“绿色之肺”；通过光合作用，森林在太阳能量转换过程中释放氧气。对人类而言，它是不可替代的巨大而无污染的能量来源。同时，通过不断再生的木材，森林还为人类活动提供了原材料。最后，森林还为那些在城市里每周五天深陷于工作的上班族们挺供了无与伦比的自由氛围去释放心情，参与游猎、骑马以及远足等休闲活动。森林的经济功能从人类起源开始就被发现了——木材就是最初的燃料。其他功能的发现仅有几个世纪的历史，但它们变得越来越取要。因此，整个欧洲十分关注威胁到森林使其不能扮演这三重基本功能的破坏性行为。

As a whole, European countries see forests as performing a triple function: biological, economic and recreational. The first is to act as a 'green lung' for our planet; by means of photosynthesis, forests produce oxygen through the transformation of solar energy, thus fulfilling what for humans is the essential role of an immense, non-polluting power plant. At the same time, forests provide raw materials for human activities through their constantly renewed production of wood. Finally, they offer those condemned to spend five days a week in an urban environment an unrivalled area of freedom to unwind and take part in a range of leisure activities, such as hunting, riding and hiking. The economic importance of forests has been understood since the dawn of man - wood was the first fuel. The other aspects have been recognised only for a few centuries but they are becoming more and more important. Hence, there is a real concern throughout Europe about the damage to the forest environment which threatens these three basic roles.

有关天然森林的古老神话还在欧洲大陆流传着，而事实上，真正的原始森林已经不复存在了。所有的欧洲森林都是人工种植的，被人类改造和歼发了数千年。这就意味着，一项超越国界、跨越年代的森林政策至关重要，并且必须要考虑到森林环境、人民需求、国家政策发生不可避免的变化。斯特拉斯堡会议是同等规模的活动中最先达成该结论的活动之一。其总宣言为：任何具有生态延续性的森林政策的核心内容，都必须着眼于长期的可持续性以及不可预见的状况可能带来的影响，以保证森林的全部潜能都可以得到维系。

除了总宣言，会议还提出了六项有利于国家政策制定的详细决议。第一项决议是对森林退化监测站进行扩建并使其系统化。我们对森林退化的了解还不多，但它会造成树叶和针叶的大最脱落。整个欧洲大陆以及大多数树种都受到影响，受影响树木占树木总量的30％到50％。这样的情况像是由一系列因素累积导致的，大气污染就是其中的罪魁祸首。还需要特别注意氮化物和二氧化硫。然而，一些气候因素如干旱、寒冬，以及破坏树木根系的土壤酸化等土地失衡善，可能会加剧这些不利因素的影响。第二项决议的重点是保持欧洲森林基因多样性的需求。目标是改变树种减少的状况或者至少保留所有树种的基因资料。虽然森林大火对欧洲各国的影响程度不同，但是其破坏力却让专家们提出第三个决议：斯特拉斯堡会议应该考虑就此主题建立一个欧洲数据库。所有国家保护政策发展过程中所用的信息将被广泛分享。部长们所讨论的第四项决议是关于山林的。在欧洲变化最快、处境最危险的无疑是山地生态系统。常住人口的零星分布以及休闲活动特别是滑雪，给当地生态系统造成了严重而长期的改变。建议的改进措施包括优先建立一项关于山林的研究项目。第五项决议重新发布了有关树木生理学的名为。森林持续发展”的欧洲研究网“森林持续发展”将支持欧洲各国联合研究树术的病害以及生理和生化方面的问题。每个参与国都可以增加奖学金以及其他经济支持来鼓励此领域博士论文的撰写以及研究项目的开展。会议最终建立了欧洲森林生态系统的科研网络，用以协调各国行动以及确认一些和森林保护相关的重点研究议题。斯特拉斯堡会议的重点是着眼于未来。这一最初的动机现在已成为31名参加者代表的31个欧洲国家的共同动力。他们最后的承诺是肩负起对森林的责任，保证政府代表问相关的讨论交流。

The myth of the 'natural' forest has survived, yet there are effectively no remaining 'primary' forests in Europe. All European forests are artificial, having been adapted and exploited by man for thousands of years. This means that a forest policy is vital, that it must transcend national frontiers and generations of people, and that it must allow for the inevitable changes that take place in the forests, in needs, and hence in policy. The Strasbourg conference was one of the first events on such a scale to reach this conclusion. A general declaration was made that 'a central place in any ecologically coherent forest policy must be given to continuity over time and to the possible effects of unforeseen events, to ensure that the full potential of these forests is maintained'.

That general declaration was accompanied by six detailed resolutions to assist national policy-making. The first proposes the extension and systematisation of surveillance sites to monitor forest decline. Forest decline is still poorly understood but leads to the loss of a high proportion of a tree's needles or leaves. The entire continent and the majority of species are now affected: between 30%and 50% of the tree population. The condition appears to result from the cumulative effect of a number of factors, with atmospheric pollutants the principal culprits. Compounds of nitrogen and sulphur dioxide should be particularly closely watched. However, their effects are probably accentuated by climatic factors, such as drought and hard winters, or soil imbalances such as soil acidification, which damages the roots. The second resolution concentrates on the need to preserve the genetic diversity of European forests. The aim is to reverse the decline in the number of tree species or at least to preserve the 'genetic material' of all of them. Although forest fires do not affect all of Europe to the same extent, the amount of damage caused the experts to propose as the third resolution that the Strasbourg conference consider the establishment of a European databank on the subject. All information used in the development of national preventative policies would become generally available. The subject of the fourth resolution discussed by the ministers was mountain forests. In Europe, it is undoubtedly the mountain ecosystem which has changed most rapidly and is most at risk. A thinly scattered permanent population and development of leisure activities, particularly skiing, have resulted in significant long-term changes to the local ecosystems. Proposed developments include a preferential research program on mountain forests. The fifth resolution relaunched the European research network on the physiology of trees, called Eurosilva. Eurosilva should support joint European research on tree diseases and their physiological and biochemical aspects. Each country concerned could increase the number of scholarships and other financial support for doctoral theses and research projects in this area. Finally, the conference established the framework for a European research network on forest ecosystems. This would also involve harmonising activities in individual countries as well as identifying a number of priority research topics relating to the protection of forests. The Strasbourg conference's main concern was to provide for the future. This was the initial motivation, one now shared by all 31 participants representing 31 European countries. Their final text commits them to on-going discussion between government representatives with responsibility for forests.