(23): How will forest management be improved in order to increase future growth?

48. Asks the Commission to promote efficient use of the biomass available in the form of forestry and agricultural waste and also the production of energy crops in the form of suitable plants, for example, fastgrowing woody plants such as willows and poplars, or grasses such as certain poaceae, without damaging the vegetation communities indigenous to each Member State, for the purpose of generating heat and simultaneously helping to exploit certain types of waste;

They will also wish to reflect on how to take into account other EU-level strategies, such as the Action Plan for Organic Food and Farming, the commitment to increased use of renewable energy resources (8), the need to develop a medium- and long-term EU strategy to combat climate change (9), and the need to anticipate the likely effects on farming and forestry, the EU Forestry Strategy and Action Plan (which can help deliver on both the growth and employment and the sustainability objectives) and the priorities set out in the Sixth Community Environment Action Programme laid down by Decision No 1600/2002/EC of the European Parliament and ...[+++] of the Council (10), particularly those priorities identified as requiring thematic environmental strategies (soil protection, protection and conservation of the marine environment, the sustainable use of pesticides, air pollution, urban environment, the sustainable use of resources, and waste recycling).

Fast-growing wood, in particular, needs a changed approach because farmers have to tie up land for several years and at least 4 years must pass before the first harvest.

In view of the anticipated growth of training through flight simulation, of the competitive positions of Thomson-CSF and Eurocopter on their respective markets, of the existence of some strong potential competitors and of the countervailing power of the clients (the operators of helicopters), the Commission has concluded that the concentration would not cause any serious concern for competition.

One of the significant things we were able to achieve in our community, in forest industry growth, was that through a research and collaborative partnership with industry we purchased a tree farm licence and operated the largest community forest corporation in British Columbia.