For the European forest owners and managers, the EC should purely rewrite the draft EU Forest Strategy

The European Parliament Intergroup on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development organised an event, “EU Green Deal Ambitions: What do we want and need from EU forests?”. The event was very timely as the Commission is currently discussing the content of the new EU Forest Strategy.

All decisions on the future of EU forests should be based on accurate forest inventory data, sound scientific knowledge and long-term practical experience of forest owners and managers. European forests, having for decades been managed according to principles of sustainable and multipurpose management, provide multiple benefits to society. The new Forest Strategy should respect them equally to prevent a serious imbalance in social, natural and economic contexts.

These concerns were reiterated during the event with a clear call from European forest owners and managers to the Commission to follow the opinions of the European Parliament and the Council and to rewrite the draft EU Forest Strategy.

The whole forestry community hopes that the Commission will seriously consider the concerns of forest owners and managers, engages with them to frame a policy that builds on their expertise and maintains their high motivation. No endorsement by those who take care of our forests would result in a failure of the implementation of the strategy.

As a coincidence, today saw the release of the Commission’s communication on its vision for rurality, one of the main findings of which is that the voice of rural community must be given a greater place in political decision-making. We hope that the European Commission can put its own principles into action today on forestry issues.