Forest Europe discusses its future direction

The first meeting of the Working Group on the Future Direction of FOREST EUROPE took place on 12-13 October 2016 in Bratislava.  Participants from 21 signatory countries and the European Union as well as seven international observer organizations attended the event. The aim of the meeting was to enable brainstorming about the future political objectives and organizational modalities of the FOREST EUROPE process, which has been providing a forum for forest-related policy making in the pan-European region for over 27 years.

The mandate to establish this WG was given by the ministers responsible for forests in Europe at their 7th Ministerial Conference, held in Madrid in 2015. In follow-up, the WG was launched by adopting the Terms of Reference with a Roadmap, and two co-chair countries, France and Ukraine, were appointed by the Expert Level Meeting in May 2016. One of the main outcomes of the WG will provide a basis for elaborating a comprehensive, web-based questionnaire for seeking opinions of all signatories and observers on FOREST EUROPE’s future. The  survey will be conducted in the beginning of 2017.

European forest owners, managers and forest-based industries released a joint statement outlining key elements to be included in the review of the FOREST EUROPE process. More information can be found at the following links:

• Key elements to be included in the review of the FOREST EUROPE process to ensure SFM
• First meeting of the WG : Future Direction of FOREST EUROPE