Wooded environments provide a wide range of environmental, economical and social benefits. They produce the raw material for renewable and environmentally friendly products and play an important role for the global climate and carbon cycle, biological diversity and water balance. The protecting services of woodlands are essential for mitigating natural disasters as floods, droughts and avalanches. Forests are an important resource for economic welfare and rural development in local communities. In Europe, they provide employment for a total of 4.3 million people in forestry and forest based enterprises. Forest-derived recreation opportunities are of increasing importance in light of the growing urban population in the European countries and the interest in nature tourism.
Common understanding generates growth and diversity
The concept of sustainable forest management for Europe developed by FOREST EUROPE contains guidelines and criteria to secure the optimal balance of these goods and services. It is an efficient tool to help countries and local communities achieve an appropriate equilibrium between the multitudinous needs of society.
A common understanding of what sustainable forest management encompasses has been the basis of the collaboration between the European forest ministers within FOREST EUROPE. The member countries have agreed on a joint definition of sustainable forest management: it means the stewardship and use of forests and forest lands in a way, and at a rate, that maintains their biodiversity, productivity, regeneration capacity, vitality and their potential to fulfil, now and in the future, relevant ecological, economic and social functions, at local, national, and global levels, and that does not cause damage to other ecosystems.
FOREST EUROPE tools for implementation of sustainable forest management
In order to promote effective implementation, the concept of sustainable forest management has been further elaborated and specified by FOREST EUROPE through declarations and resolutions adopted at a series of ministerial conferences. The countries in Europe have committed themselves to implement sustainable forest management by using the comprehensive and safe means and instruments elaborated by FOREST EUROPE. These include policy- and operational level guidelines, as well as principles for developing, implementing and evaluating national forest programmes.
FOREST EUROPE has developed and adopted six criteria for sustainable forest management and a set of associated indicators to provide guidance for developing policies and to assess progress towards sustainable forest management. The criteria describe the different elements and goals of sustainable forest management:
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Maintenance and appropriate enhancement of forest resources and their contribution to global carbon cycles;
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Maintenance of forest ecosystems’ health and vitality;
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Maintenance and encouragement of productive functions of forests (wood and non-wood);
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Maintenance, conservation and appropriate enhancement of biological diversity in forest ecosystems;
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Maintenance, conservation and appropriate enhancement of protective functions in forest management (notably soil and water); and
- Maintenance of other socio-economic functions and conditions.
The associated indicators are used to assess and assist further progress in sustainable forest management at international and national level. The progress made and the positive effects of sustainable forest management on our environment and society are evident. Results and up-to-date descriptions of the situation in the pan-European region are presented in regular editions of the report “State of Europe’s Forests”.
