The document discusses forests and forest policies in the EU. It notes that 42% of EU land is forested, totaling 178 million hectares. It also outlines several key EU and international policies that impact forests, including strategies, directives, and frameworks related to biodiversity, climate change, rural development, and more. The document notes there can be inconsistencies between policies and differences in how countries collect and define forest data. It summarizes some initiatives like FOREST EUROPE to promote sustainable forest management across Europe.

1. Peri Kourakli

2. Forests in EU
 Forest and other wooded land:
178 million ha (42%)
 Growing stock:
- 24 million m3
- data for 2005: 23 million m3
 Felling:
- 60 % of the net annual
increment in forest
available for wood supply
 4% undisturbed my man
FOREST EUROPE & EEA
Report s

3. European Policies which impact on forests
 Forest Strategy (DG AGRI)
DIRECT
SOFT
 Forest Action Plan (DG AGRI)
 FBI-Communication (DG ENTR)
 2020 Biodiversity Strategy (DG ENV)
 Birds and Habitats Directives (DG ENV)
 Effort Sharing Decision and ETS Directive (DG KLIMA)
 RES Direcitve (DG TREN)
 Water Framework Directive (DG ENV)
 European Forest Fires Information System (EFFIS) (JRC)
INDIRECT
HARD
 Rural Development Policy of the CAP (DG AGRI)
 Sustainable Consumption and Production action plan (DG ENV)
 Plant health regime (DG SANCO)
 7th Research Framework Programme (DG RESEARCH)
 EU Solidarity Fund (DG REGIO)
 Regional Policy (DG REGIO)
 FLEGT (DG ENV)
 ...

4. EFFIS FFocus EFICP ETC/ACC ETC/LUSI
FutMon
IACS
Eurostat EFDAC EEA
EUROPEAN UNION

5. Some of the problems and consequences
Same origin, but different paths and results
Potential inconsistencies
Multiplication in efforts (Shared Environmental
Information System/ SEIS: data collected once!)
Difficulties in cross-check (monitoring –evaluation?)
 Redundancies
Aggregation of data obtained:
◦ In a different way (methodology)
◦ In a different time
◦ from “different defined” pools

6. Different in thresholds in National
Forest Inventories
Parameter Maximum Minimum
Minimum Crown Cover for
Germany 50% France 10%
considering forest
Mininum Area required for
Italy 0,5 ha Austria 0,05 ha
considering forest
Minimum DBH in inventory Switzerland 12 cm Finland 0 cm
Forest area represented by field
Estonia 1040 ha Walloon Reg. 50 ha
plot
Source COST E43

7. Pan-European Initiatives: FOREST EUROPE
Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe
46 countries (from EU to Russia)
Define “Sustainable Forest Management/ SFM” (Helsinki 1993)
“General guidelines for SFM” and “General guidelines for
conservation of biological diversity of forests in Europe”
(Helsinki 1993)
“Pan-European Operational Guidelines for SFM” (Lisbon 1998)
“Improved Pan-European Indicators for SFM” (Vienna 2002)
Negotiations for a Legally Binding Agreement/LBA on
Forests in Europe (Oslo 2011)

8. LBA on Forests in Europe
 Based on SFM, FOREST EUROPE’s decision
 Birdlife Europe and Central Asia developed a position
paper www.birdlife.org/eu/pdfs/LBAposition_final.pdf
 Birdlife supports a LBA on forests, but this support is
accompanied with a big “BUT”
“LBA-F should clearly support multifuctionality and long-term sustainability”
 Birdlife follows the processes of the negotiators with the
support of BirdLife partners and other envi-NGOs
 The negotiations so far are driven by forest industry and
forest owners
 There is a clear “fight” between Russia and EU

9. The six Pan-European criteria for SFM
 Maintenance and appropriate enhancement of forest
resources and their contribution to global carbon cycles
 Maintenance of forest ecosystems’ health and vitality
 Maintenance and encouragement of productive functions of
forests (wood and non-wood)
 Maintenance, conservation and appropriate enhancement of
biological diversity in forest ecosystems
 Maintenance, conservation and appropriate enhancement of
protective functions in forest manage-ment (notably soil and
water)
 Maintenance of other socio-economic functions and
conditions

10. FOREST EUROPE’s achievements according to FOREST EUROPE
 Solid platform for pan-European cooperation
 Framework for global-regional interface
 Developed SFM in Europe:
 Agreed definition
 Guidelines
 Tools, including Criteria and Indicators
 Framework for monitoring, assessment and reporting
but decreasing political awareness and weight!
If SFM is implemented in Europe, why only in EU the 52% of species of
Community interest Directive are in Unfavourable Conservation Status and
only 21% of forest habitat types of Habitats Directive are Favourable?
EEA 2010, “Assessing biodiversity in Europe”

11. EU initiatives for SFM
 EU Forest Strategy 1998- 2007
 EU Forest Action Plan 2007-2011
 EU Forest Communication Strategy (2011)
 EP Report on GREEN PAPER On Forest Protection and
Information in the EU: Preparing forests for climate
change(2011)
 Development of the EU 2020 Forest Strategy
 Discussions on developing of a EU Forest Information scheme
 Forest Management Plans/FMP are only following SFM
in theory- wood production oriented
 Forests under new EU CAP/ RDR, a FMP or its equivalent
is a prerequisite (several measures-not all, not enough)
 Certification volunteer schemes (FSC mainly) have
helped in certain countries the SFM implementation