Conference statement

Forests in the EU – Seeing the Forest Behind the Trees

Forest ecosystems benefit all of society by providing resilience and adaptive capacity as the climate changes. Beyond timber and other products, forests—especially primary forests—store carbon, regulate and filter water, buffer microclimates, provide habitat for countless species and offer nature-based recreation. Yet only 14% of forest habitats in the Natura 2000 network were reported to have favourable conservation status. The EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 calls for strict protection of all primary and old-growth forests, but these represent only around 4% of Europe’s forests.

We call on the European Commission to recognise the central importance of protecting and restoring natural forests for biodiversity, climate mitigation and adaptation; that forests already face unprecedented pressure and cannot meet ever-increasing bioeconomy demand; and that natural habitats are self-sustaining and do not require active forestry management.

Actions requested from the European Commission

1. Strictly protect at least 15% of Europe’s total forest cover, focusing on state forests, to restore functioning natural forest ecosystems.
2. Implement the Nature Restoration Law without delay and use National Restoration Plans to re-establish forest wilderness and convert plantations to natural forests, with dedicated finance and stronger Habitats Directive enforcement.
3. Enact and implement a strong Forest Monitoring Law that improves transparency, especially for public forests.
4. Implement the EU Deforestation Regulation without further delay.
5. In line with Target 18 of the Global Biodiversity Framework, eliminate environmentally harmful subsidies, particularly bioenergy subsidies for forest biomass.
6. Reduce timber extraction, fully apply the cascading principle and abandon the assumption that the bioeconomy can be supplied through growing forest extraction.
7. Align policies with land carbon-sink targets by reducing pressure on forests.

Urgent actions during the Hungarian Council Presidency

1. Take every possible step to enact a strong and transparent Forest Monitoring Law.
2. Support implementation of the EU Deforestation Regulation without further delay.
3. Ensure that the EU’s COP16 position supports eliminating harmful subsidies, including forest-biomass bioenergy subsidies.

Actions requested from the Hungarian Government

1. Increase strictly protected forest areas to at least 15% of Hungary’s total forest cover, focusing on state forests.
2. Reduce firewood use by ending subsidies for biomass power plants and supporting household energy efficiency.
3. Distinguish native-species forests from tree plantations in the national land registry.
4. Implement the Nature Restoration Law and use the National Restoration Plan to restore natural forest ecosystems, with dedicated finance and effective Habitats Directive enforcement.
5. Align policies with stronger land carbon-sink targets by reducing pressure on forests.

Natura 2000 is the EU’s protected-area network intended to ensure the long-term survival of Europe’s most valuable and threatened species and habitats.

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