A Forest Information System for Europe (FISE) was launched on Wednesday 5 February by the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the European Commission to provide access to accurate and up-to-date data on the state of Europe’s forests.
This first common database of forest information in Europe is set to become Europe’s knowledge centre for monitoring the condition, health, and sustainability of Europe’s forests.
It was launched on the occasion of the International Conference on ‘Forests for Biodiversity and Climate’, organised by the Commission in Brussels (4-5 February).
The EEA will manage the FISE web portal. It will collect and analyse data from national data centres through the European Environment Information and Observation Network, in collaboration with the Joint Research Centre. FISE will also draw on data and information from the EU’s Earth observation and monitoring programme, Copernicus.
Efforts to populate the system will focus on five priority themes: data about forests (coverage and types, species), bioeconomy, nature and biodiversity, climate change mitigation, and forest health and resilience.
A new EU Forest Strategy and a Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 are expected this year as part of the European Green Deal. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)