Achievements in the Workstream on Sustainable Forest Management during the first six months of chairmanship

Six months into Liaison Unit Sweden’s chairmanship, the implementation of the Forest Europe Work Programme 2025–2026 is in full swing. Two main workstreams guide the efforts: one focusing on advancing Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) and the other on keeping Forest Europe fit for the future. Here’s an update on progress so far, and a glimpse of what’s ahead.

Rebecca Hunt, you are project manager for the workstream “A dynamic concept of Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) in Europe”. What key milestones have been reached so far?

Together with our internal working group, with colleagues from the Swedish Forest Agency and the Swedish University for Agricultural sciences, we have carried out a holistic mapping of the pan-European Criteria and Indicators (C&I) for SFM, including a review of the reporting rate for each indicator. In early spring we sent out a survey to all signatories to gather priorities and ideas. It was really helpful, although we can also see that the focus is different in different countries. We have also established a working group with our signatories and have had two meetings so far.

Going forward, we will focus on what our current criteria and indicators tell us about the forest-based bioeconomy, as mentioned in paragraph 7 in the Bonn Declaration, and to what extent it would be possible to align existing data from climate reporting with Forest Europe reporting on carbon in harvested wood products. If successful, this could ease the reporting burden for countries.

Work will also continue on identifying ways to improve the overall reporting rate for all our indicators.

Which challenges have you faced during the first six months?

I think continuity and institutional memory is a challenge for Forest Europe in general. We’ve balanced the start-up of the secretariat with driving the workstreams forward. The high level of engagement from our signatories has been fantastic. Meeting different expectations has been a challenge but we do our best to find common priorities and focus areas. It also motivates us to deliver impactful results and keep our criteria and indicators central in forest policy discussions.

What deliverables or events are planned for the autumn?

On 24-25 September, the Expert Level Meeting (ELM) in Stockholm will include a joint brainstorming session for both workstreams with signatories and observers. A major focus this autumn will also be drafting the report and recommendations for the upcoming Ministerial Conference.

Another highlight will be the December launch of the State of Europe’s Forests report.

We’re really looking forward to the discussions this will generate. We also hope to see as many of our observers and signatories as possible at the event, as well as engaging them in the new video series that will bring the report’s data to life from different perspectives during 2026.

What key challenges are you anticipating?

Sustainable forest management is at the heart of Forest Europe, and while reconciling different priorities about the use of forests remains a challenge, it is also one of our most important tasks. Facilitating dialogue and building consensus among diverse interests is central to Forest Europe.