The EU Forest Strategy will improve the quantity and quality of EU forests by increasing forest coverage in the EU in respecting ecological principles and improving the resilience of forests in the EU.

The Forest Strategy for 2030 pursues three fundamental objectives:

• Protection and restoration of the forests in the EU,
• Sustainable management of the forests, and
• Improved understanding of the dynamics of the forests.

For each objective a distinct set of measures is foreseen:

• Protection and restoration of the EU forests is to be achieved by: strictly protecting remaining EU primary and old-growth forests; establishing legally binding nature restoration targets for forests; planting 3 billion additional trees by 2030; and, creating payment schemes for forest owners and managers for the provision of ecosystem services.
• The measures foreseen to achieve sustainable management of forests include: encouraging the bio-economy sector to embrace sustainable principles; promoting the uptake of sustainably harvested wood in the construction sector; and promoting win-win measures for all in sustainable forest management.
• The improved understanding of forest dynamics is to be reached by: improving the monitoring
  of the state of EU forests including through better remote sensing; ensuring that Member States develop Strategic Plans for their forests; encouraging citizen involvement through Map-My-Tree, to keep track of the 3 billion trees roadmap; and creating an inclusive space for all stakeholders to discuss.

Of major importance for protection and restoration of the forests is the pledge to plant three billion additional trees. The EU Biodiversity Strategy already commits to plant at least 3 billion additional trees in the EU by 2030. A roadmap in the EU Forest Strategy outlines how the Commission will facilitate the achievement of this pledge. The planting of the trees is not an alternative to preservation but rather an additional effort to increase the forest cover. Planting should be done in full respect of ecological principles. The Commission will facilitate, motivate, count and monitor the process. It will provide political and technical support, communication and labelling. Together with the European Environmental Agency,
the Commission will launch “Map-My-Tree” to enable citizens to keep track of the planting.

The Forest Strategy for 2030 is also understood as the EU’s contribution to the global efforts to protect and restore the forest cover. As the Forest Strategy puts it:

“While the Strategy is focussed only on EU forests and aims to make an important contribution from the EU to the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, in particular Goal 15, it recognises that forest-related challenges are inherently global and that forest area continues a deeply worrying decrease by an average of 4.7 million hectares per year, with deforestation occurring at a rate of 10 million hectares per year. The Commission reaffirms its full commitment to deliver on its 2019 Communication to Protect and Restore the World’s Forests, including by working in close partnership with its global partners on forest protection, restoration and sustainable forest management, as well as adopting a legislative proposal to ensure that products, whether sourced in the EU or from third countries, sold on the EU market do not contribute to global deforestation. EU cooperation will promote integrated approaches towards forests that address governance, sustainability and legality of value chains, biodiversity and livelihoods of local populations. High ambitions on forests are coherent with the EU’s efforts to lead on the climate agenda and to implement the 2030 EU biodiversity strategy, including with an ambitious Global Biodiversity Framework.”

Find the strategy and related documents below:

• New EU Forest Strategy for 2030
• Staff Working Document on the Stakeholder Consultation and Evidence Base
• Staff Working Document on the 3 Billion Tree Planting Pledge for 2030
• Factsheet – New EU Forest Strategy for 2030
• Factsheet – 3 billion additional trees