On the occasion of the International Day of Forests, celebrated on 21 March, the European Commission has published guidelines on biodiversity-friendly reforestation and the strict protection of primary and old-growth forests to improve their health and restore a natural resource essential for biodiversity and climate.
The first set of guidelines provides practical recommendations intended for authorities, forest and land owners, forest managers and civil society on afforestation on agricultural land, reforestation in forest areas, including restoration actions and tree planting in urban environments.
The guidelines on the definition, mapping, monitoring and strict protection of the EU’s remaining primary and old-growth forests provide practical advice to national policymakers and decisionmakers, with indicators and a suggested timeline.
These forests account for less than 4% of the EU27’s forest cover, but are of the utmost importance for Europe’s biodiversity since they are more stable, resilient and adaptable to disturbance than modified forests, according to the European Environment Agency.
The challenge is: “on the one hand, that we protect our primary and old-growth forests, of which so few remain in Europe, and on the other, that we increase the number and quality of forests by following the principle of ‘the right tree on the right place’”, summarised the European Commissioner for the Environment, Virginijus Sinkevičius.
These recommendations will help to achieve the objectives of the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 and the EU Forestry Strategy, including the commitment to plant 3 billion additional trees by 2030.
They also support the Kunming-Montreal global biodiversity framework (see EUROPE 13087/3).
Guidelines on reforestation: https://aeur.eu/f/5xn ; and on primary forests: https://aeur.eu/f/5xo (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)