Bark beetles and other biotic agents have devastated European forests with unexpected severity. The worst is likely still ahead of us. It is crucial to devise strategies to mitigate disturbance impacts across the entire forest value chain and increase the preparedness of all actors and institutions. However, every crisis presents an opportunity. Let’s seize this one and use it to create resilient forestry sectors and forests fit for the future.

This report has been prepared by the Liaison Unit Bonn of Forest Europe (LUBo) with the support of Liubov Poliakova, a Ukrainian expert, as a contribution to implement the Ministerial Decision (see Annex 1) that was endorsed at the High-Level Policy Dialogue on 30 August 2022. The content of the report was reviewed and discussed with the FOREST EUROPE Ukraine network of experts at the FOREST EUROPE workshop on 6 June 2023.

Across Europe, a growing number of large and uncontrolled wildfires are threatening values such as forest ecosystems, essential ecosystem services, populations and infrastructure. Devastating economic, social and environmental consequences of wildfires are no longer limited to the Mediterranean region but are part of the new reality in central and northern European forests which have until now been less fire-prone.

In a three-day event, from February 7 to 9, FOREST EUROPE, jointly with the European Forest Institute, Pau Costa Foundation, and the Forest Science and Technology Centre of Catalonia (CTFC) organized a workshop in Barcelona with foresters, researchers, journalists, and policymakers from different regions of Europe. The main objective was to share the growing challenges for forest managers to prevent forest fires, as well as to discuss the role of communication and media in reporting on these events, their consequences, but also the practices that are carried out to generate more resilient forests.

The Youth Forest Policy Days is an initiative organized by the International Forestry Students’ Association (IFSA) and FOREST EUROPE (FE). This event enabled the youth community to exchange knowledge, gain insights about international forest policies and learn new skills.

The Expert Level Meeting of FOREST EUROPE held on 31 August 2022 in Bonn adopted the definition of Green Forest Jobs proposed by the Expert Group on Green Jobs. It reads: “Green Forest Jobs provide forest-related goods and services while meeting the requirements of sustainable forest management and decent work.”

What are Green Forest Jobs and why is this topic relevant for the forest sector? After some terminologies and definitions explanations, basic figures and facts related to the traditional forest sector workforce are shown. The forest sector’s role as a potential Green Job provider is discussed. Trends and opportunities associated with the development of Green Forest Jobs in the pan-European region and recommendations to adapt to the just transition are given. However, the current limitations to assess the number of Green Forest Jobs and indicators to characterize a job as ‘green’ calls for action.

The Expert Level Meeting of FOREST EUROPE held on 31 August 2022 in Bonn adopted the definition of Green Forest Jobs proposed by the Expert Group on Green Jobs. It reads: “Green Forest Jobs provide forest-related goods and services while meeting the requirements of sustainable forest management and decent work.”

What are Green Forest Jobs and why is this topic relevant for the forest sector? After some terminologies and definitions explanations, basic figures and facts related to the traditional forest sector workforce are shown. The forest sector’s role as a potential Green Job provider is discussed. Trends and opportunities associated with the development of Green Forest Jobs in the pan-European region and recommendations to adapt to the just transition are given. However, the current limitations to assess the number of Green Forest Jobs and indicators to characterize a job as ‘green’ calls for action.

Ministerial Decision endorsed at the High-Level Policy Dialogue, 30 August 2022, Bonn, Germany Supporting the recovery and sustainable management of Ukrainian forests and its forest sector

The first FOREST EUROPE High-Level Policy Dialogue, organised by the Liaison Unit Bonn (LUBo) with the support of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture in Germany and titled “Sustainable Forest Management: unlocking forest biodiversity’s potential” aimed to reflect upon the extent to which Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) can maintain and eventually enhance forest biological diversity, while ensuring the balance with other forest ecosystem services in the pan-European region.

Biodiversity is currently one of the most prominent topics in forest policy discussions in Europe. There are debates on how forest biodiversity can be maintained and enhanced in modern sustainable forest management (SFM). These discussions are not new, but require a refreshed angle towards balancing different demands on forests in an unstable world, and answers for integrative management in the future.