The Union’s forests cover 158 million hectares (5% of the world’s forest area). In total, forests cover 37.7% of the Union’s territory, and the six Member States (Sweden, Finland, Spain, France, Germany and Poland) with the largest wooded forest area cover two thirds of the Union’s forest area.

However, one of the main problems facing forest systems globally is human action. The conversion of forest areas into agricultural or urban areas and indiscriminate logging, among others, have reduced the planet’s forest areas in recent decades. Added to all this is the degradation of these spaces and the lack of maintenance.

And to save them from this situation, the EU has developed a new forestry strategy for the year 2030 based on the biodiversity strategy. The strategy will contribute to achieving the EU’s biodiversity targets, as well as the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions of at least 55% by 2030 and climate neutrality by 2050.

Objectives

As we just discussed, the main objective is to improve the quantity and quality of the EU’s forests and to strengthen their protection, restoration and resilience. In addition, forests must be adapted to the new uncertainties that climate change can cause.

Likewise, it is also intended:

• Promote sustainable forest bioeconomy for long-lasting wood products;
• Guarantee the sustainable use of wood resources for bioenergy;
• Promote bioeconomy based on non-timber forests, including ecotourism;
• Develop skills and empower people for a sustainable forest-based bioeconomy;
• Protect the last remaining old and primary forests in the EU;
• Ensure forest restoration and strengthened sustainable forest management for climate adaptation and forest resilience;
• Reforestation and reforestation of biodiverse forests, including the planting of an additional 3 billion trees by 2030;

Offer financial incentives to forest owners and managers to improve the quantity and quality of EU forests. And to achieve these goals, a strategy will be developed focusing on:

• Strategic forest monitoring, reporting and data collection;
• Develop a strong research and innovation agenda to improve our knowledge about forests;
• Implement an inclusive and coherent EU forest governance framework;
• intensify implementation and enforcement of the existing EU acquis.

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