EUSTAFOR Statement: What are the EU’s needs for Forest Monitoring?

Since the Commission’s communication on the initiative for a European forest monitoring framework, the Parliament and the Council have been working hard on shaping this legislation. As the dialogue on the Forest Monitoring initiative continues in the European Council and the European Parliament, EUSTAFOR considers it important to communicate its key points.
Regarding the Forest Monitoring initiative, the following measures should be considered:

1. Access to sound forest data is crucial for the way that European forests are being managed. High-quality, timely data is simply indispensable in the strategic planning of forestry. EUSTAFOR recognizes this and strongly encourages the innovation of forest monitoring technology and methodology.
2. European forest monitoring system must be based on the existing National Forest Inventories (NFIs). This bottom-up approach to the design of a future European system is crucial because it guarantees continuity in the forest datasets. The NFIs have also been developed to most efficiently and accurately monitor the forests and forestry sector in their respective geographical areas.

3. EUSTAFOR supports an opt-in solution through which European countries may optionally and on their own request use satellite-borne data for their analyses, assessments and verification. This will guarantee that the responsibility and initiative in the future EU monitoring system remains at the relevant level – with the national governments.

4. EUSTAFOR strongly supports the use of standards developed by international forestry organizations, primarily the FAO, IUFRO, ICP Forests and Forest Europe. The reporting frequency of the indicators should follow the intervals of the reporting requirements to these international organizations, to prevent unnecessary administrative burden and costs. The level of aggregation should be national or regional (NUTS 2 level, as defined by EUROSTAT), to be determined per indicator.

5. EUSTAFOR strongly advocates for the efficient use of indicators within already established reporting frameworks under existing legislation. Thus, the information and data already reported under other EU legislation, such as EUDR, Habitat Directive, etc., should be used.

6. The responsibility of monitoring, assessment, verification and reporting of the data must remain primarily with the Member States. The role of the Commission should be to create incentives to invest in innovation, to enable the use of the existing technology and facilitate a platform where national experts can exchange know-how.

7. All necessary precisions and technical parameters that are not referred to in the legislative text should not come through delegated acts, but through implementing regulations and be developed in a dialogue with Member States via the appropriate expert platforms.

Please read our full statement to learn more about our vision on a European monitoring system.