Forestry policies: Defending the lungs of the planet
European forests are in bad shapes. Several policy files try to solve this issue and set targets for improvement.
You know (or you may not yet know) about my interest in EU energy policies. If there is an area close to sustainability and climate issues that I have not explored yet, it must be of the defense of nature and biodiversity.
And among the topic of biodiversity, the question of forestry is probably one of the most important. We all know how important forests are to our well-being, CO2 storage, and everything they bring to humanity (heat, paper, fruits, etc.).
To conclude this preamble: this is about what we are going to explore today. I will do a quick round-up of the three main EU policies on forestry: the Forestry Strategy, the Biodiversity Strategy, and the LULUCF (Land Use and Land Use Change and Forestry). I hope you’ll learn a thing or two.
Assessments of European forests are quite alarming. The woods of Europe are in a bad shape. Take for instance this quote from Marco Onida, 2020, Forest and forestry policy between the EU and its Member States:
European forests, in fact, are generally not in good ecological condition. Recent scientific reports further paint a worrying picture. According to the 2020 State of Nature Report by the European Environment Agency, less than 15% of assessed woodland and forest habitats are favourable, while up to 84% were assessed as unfavourable-inadequate.
It is why in 2019, the newly appointed European Commission quickly adopted a Communication on the European Green Deal (EGD), where European forest protection was deemed a priority in pursuing new climate and biodiversity objectives.
The three following files are a consequence of the forest preservation objective of the ongoing Commission.
The EU Forestry Strategy to 2030
The EU Forestry Strategy dates back from 2013. In 2020, the Commission started working on the replacement of this outdated file.
According to a research paper from the European Parliament’s think tank, the main measure proposed are:
Promoting sustainable forest management […];
providing financial incentives for forest owners and managers to adopt environmentally friendly practices, […];
improving the size and biodiversity of forests, including by planting 3 billion new trees by 2030;
promoting alternative forest industries, such as ecotourism, as well as non-wood products, such as cork, honey and medicinal plants;
encouraging the take-up of financial support under the common agricultural policy […];
providing education and training for people working in forest-based industries and making these industries more attractive to young people;
establishing a legally binding instrument for ecosystem restoration, and a new legislative proposal on EU forest observation, reporting and collection;
protecting the EU's remaining primary and old-growth forests.
These objectives are to be revised by 2025.
Regulation on Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF)
Under this barbaric acronym (quite familiar to eurocrats), hides a revision of another outdated regulation from 2014.
The revision aims to ensure an increase in carbon removals in the sector towards 2030, following the 2021 Climate Law. The proposal of the Commission wants to reverse the decline in Forest use that Europe experiences, where Forestry change emits more CO2 than it stores (more trees are cut down than are replanted).
The proposal suggests a binding contribution from each Member State to CO2 reduction by 2030 (emission in forestry would be compensated by an equivalent removal in the sector), simplifies reporting, and proposes to expand the list of carbon storage products to include more harvested wood products. The scope of the regulation would be extended to all land use, including peatlands, so important for CO2 capture.
EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2030
According to Marco Onida,
[The] EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2030 was adopted in May 2020. containing a chapter on actions on forests, requiring the strict protection of all remaining EU primary and old-growth forests and increasing the forested area by planting at least 3 billion additional trees in the EU by 2030.
In this new strategy, adopted this summer by the European Commission, the European Union would enlarge the network of Natura 2000 preserved sites, launch the first Nature Restauration Law.
Sources
Marco Onida, 2020, Forest and forestry policy between the EU and its Member States
European Parliament think tank, 2022, New EU forest strategy for 2030
European Commission, 2022, Biodiversity strategy for 2030
European Commission, 2022, Land use and forestry regulation for 2021-2030