How we work

Founded in 1995, we are an organisation based in the heart of the EU, dedicated to protecting forests and the rights of people who depend on them.

At a meeting of the Forest Movement Europe in the early 1990s, participants noted the lack of NGOs monitoring how EU policies impact forests. There was also a lot of confusion about how to navigate the often-labyrinthine world of EU policymaking. It was agreed that an organisation like Fern was needed to inform NGOs about EU forest policy developments. Working with the European Union (EU) is therefore in our organisation’s DNA.

We make decisions by consensus and build campaigns together with social and environmental organisations and movements across the world. We identify the threats facing the world’s forests, and work with affected peoples, social and environmental organisations and policy makers to devise and deliver solutions where the EU can make a difference.

But to solve the climate and biodiversity crises, we need to strengthen the rights of the communities who live in and depend on forests, in Africa, America, Asia and Europe. And to achieve such a huge change, we work closesly with national partners, networks and the forest movement. 

Fern focuses on forests’ relation to five issues, Forest Governance, Sustainable supply chains, Trade, Forest restoration and Bioenergy.