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Forestry measures
Forestry in rural
development
| The EU Forestry Strategy
emphasises the contribution that forests have on the
promotion of employment, well-being and the environment
(Article 3), and it stresses the role of forestry in the
context of rural development, in particular the added
value that the Community’s actions can provide through
the forestry measures inside rural development measures
(Article 11). |
Conceptual framework for forestry measures within the rural development policy
The EU’s rural development policy, the second pillar of the
Common Agricultural Policy, seeks to establish a coherent and
sustainable framework for the future of rural areas. This
includes developing the multifunctional role of agriculture and
forestry, going beyond the production of foodstuffs and raw
materials to managing the countryside and protecting the
environment. This implies the recognition and encouragement of
the range of services provided to society by farmers and forest
owners.
Rural development policy has been the main instrument for
implementing forestry measures in recent years. Financial
support from the EU for forestry measures in the context of
rural development, not including additional funding directly by
Member States, amounted to EUR 4.8 billion for the period
2000–2006 (almost 10 % of the total rural development budget).
It is estimated that spending on forest-related measures during
the 2007-2013 rural development programme period, from the EARDF
alone, could amount to EUR 9-10 billion (around 10 % of the
total EARDF contribution to rural development measures).
The FAP's objectives are linked to the strategic guidelines used
by Member States to draw up their rural development programmes.
These include, for instance:
- a range of measures to promote human capital, knowledge
transfer, innovation and quality production in the
agriculture and forestry sectors;
- measures to protect and enhance natural resources;
- Action to preserve high nature value farming and forestry
systems and cultural landscapes in Europe’s rural areas.
Under rural development policy support is available, inter
alia, for the first afforestation of agricultural land, the
first establishment of agri-forestry systems on agricultural
land, and the first afforestation of non-agricultural land.
Natura 2000 payments can compensate private forest owners for
costs incurred and income foregone, while support is also
available for actions to restore and protect forestry potential.
Back to
"Forest resources in
the EU and the EU Forestry Strategy"
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