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New Report on The State of Europe's Forests; Forest Treaty Promised
29th June 2011

State of Europe's Forests 2011 Report

The report is based on detailed information provided by countries. The main findings of the report include that: forests cover one billion hectares in Europe, 80% of which are in the Russian Federation; European forests are expanding and remove the equivalent of about 10% of European greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; most Europeans think that their forests are shrinking; the sector provides four million jobs and accounts for 1% of the region’s GDP; low carbon-nitrogen ratios in forest soils will be problematic in several locations; and most countries have explicit objectives on forest-related carbon.

Authors of the report developed a draft method to assess European forests’ sustainability, which while not yet peer-reviewed, identifies a number of threats and challenges, including: landscape fragmentation; a shrinking and aging workforce; negative net revenues of several forest enterprises; and mobilizing enough wood for energy while reconciling biodiversity values and the needs of the traditional wood sectors.

Read the report here (PDF): http://www.foresteurope.org/filestore/foresteurope/Publications/pdf/State_of_Europes_Forests_2011_Report.pdf

New Legally Binding Forests Treaty

On 16 June, during the FOREST EUROPE Ministerial Conference, held in Oslo, Norway from 14-16 June 2011, ministers adopted a Mandate for Negotiating a Legally Binding Agreement (LBA) on Forests in Europe. Ministers also adopted a decision outlining a shared vision, goals and targets for 2020 for European forests.

 

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