Forest Protection Policy

In early March 2010, the European Commission adopted a green paper about the protection of forests in Europe against climate change. The discussion it generates should guide Commission decisions on whether additional action is needed at the EU level to protect forests. Whilst the paper highlights some important issues such as the need for more harmonised, reliable and comprehensive information systems to assess forest resources and conditions, it seriously fails to make a proper analysis of the lack of coherence of EU and Member States policies that have an impact on forests.

Relevant reports

• Biomass Report shows increasing lack of policy coherence on forest protection (Forest Watch Special Report, March 2010)
• FERN's contribution to the consultation on the green paper on forest protection (July 2010)
• FERN report "Forests in danger: failure of EU policy and what needs to change" (July 2010)

EU documents

• Green paper on forest protection and information in the EU: preparing forests for climate change (March 2010)