New EUSTAFOR Manifesto for 2024 and beyond: Managing Forests for People and Planet

Brussels, 25 June 2024

The new Manifesto by EUSTAFOR has been launched to present the state foresters’ vision for European forests for 2024 and beyond, supported by calls for action on several aspects of forest-related policies. With the proposals in the new manifesto, EUSTAFOR hopes to inform and inspire policy and decision makers both in the EU and beyond.

European state forests are one of the most diverse and biodiversity-rich habitats in Europe. They provide employment opportunities and social services to both rural and urban communities acting as major contributors to the development of rural areas. Forests also play a cultural role in our society, as they are a place for recreation, spirituality and relaxation for millions of European citizens. Moreover, the European state forests mitigate climate change in multiple ways, such as through carbon sequestration and storage in both living forests and forest soils. Through carbon substitution, forestry is a major driver for the bioeconomy offering climate friendly and renewable raw materials as alternatives to fossil and energy intensive products.

In order to maximize the impact that European forests can have in all these different areas, proactive and research-driven forest management is essential. With their expertise and resources, our members are continuously working on finding the best balance in their day-to-day management and EUSTAFOR aims to disseminate this knowledge at international and EU level. Therefore, we want to share the following proposals with the European policy and decision makers:

1.  Encourage proactive forest management, make forests resilient and adapted to changing climatic conditions
2. Support bio-based economy and encourage research and innovation of bioeconomy products
3. Make full use of the expertise and opportunities that state forest organizations offer to develop best practices in nature-driven sylviculture
4. Rely on experience-based forest expertise and stakeholder engagement for forest-related policy making

EUSTAFOR represents 39 members in 27 European countries, that sustainably manage over 60 million ha of land, including 54 million ha of forests. Together they significantly contribute to society, by delivering the multiple benefits of forestry to bioeconomy, climate, nature and recreation. Through collaboration and knowledge exchange between countries and regions ,we strive to raise our standards every day.

Read our Manifesto to learn more about European State Forests 2024+ Vision!

For further information:

• Contact Piotr Borkowski, EUSTAFOR’s Executive Director, piotr.borkowski@eustafor.eu
• Follow us on X and LinkedIn