A short summary of www.europarl.europa.eu
The European Commission adopted a new EU forest strategy for 2030 in July 2021, aligning with the European Green Deal and biodiversity objectives. This strategy aims to enhance the quantity and quality of multi-functional EU forests while addressing climate change uncertainties. It involves regulatory, financial, and voluntary measures, such as sustainable forest management, biodiversity promotion, and the planting of 3 billion new trees by 2030.
However, this strategy has sparked debates among stakeholders and policymakers. Member States, in November 2021, emphasized the need for a balance between environmental, social, and economic aspects of sustainable forest management and questioned the value of national strategic plans. The European Economic and Social Committee stressed the importance of remunerating non-commercial ecosystem services provided by forests and avoiding one-size-fits-all solutions.
Stakeholders’ positions vary, with forest owners and managers expressing concerns about the strategy’s coherence with climate and growth objectives. Environmental organizations like Fern welcomed certain aspects but warned of increased pressure on forests. The European Parliament called for an ambitious EU forest strategy that aligns with the Green Deal and biodiversity goals, recognizing the multifunctional role of forests and the need for financial support. The Parliament plans to create an own-initiative report on the new EU forest strategy to further address these issues.
(Chat GPT summery on sept. 2023: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/Reg Data/etudes/ATAG/2022/698936/EPRS_ATA(2022)698936_EN.pdf)