Stepping up EU Action to Protect and Restore the World’s Forests.

This policy document proposes ways to step-up EU action to protect the world’s forests, in particular primary forests, and restore forests in a sustainable and responsible way, in line with the EU objective to halt global forest cover loss by 2030 and with EU’s existing international commitments. The overall aim is to protect and grow the world's forest cover to improve people's health and livelihoods and ensure a healthy planet for future generations.
The EU consumption footprint on land will be reduced and the consumption of products from deforestation-free supply chains will be encouraged in the EU. This policy addresses the need to raise awareness of deforestation and forest degradation; introduce voluntary and mandatory actions in areas such as environmental labelling, sustainability reporting, human rights, and public procurement; the use of energy from renewable sources; and minimize the risk of deforestation arising from the increased use of biofuel. The awareness of suppliers, manufacturers, retailers, consumers and public authorities will be raised regarding the EU consumption of products from deforestation-free supply chains, to identify, promote and purchase such products. Deforestation considerations will be integrated within the EU Ecolabel, green public procurement and other initiatives in the context of the circular economy. Standards and certification schemes will be strengthened to identify and promote deforestation-free commodities. Consumers and producers will also be better informed about the link between consumption of commodities and deforestation through the development and dissemination of information and educational materials. They will be encouraged, both via regulatory and non-regulatory incentives, to adopt more balanced, healthy and nutritious diets and to reduce food waste, which will help to decrease the pressures on land and resources. Sustainable forest management will be strengthened for preventing, halting and reversing forest loss and degradation and the economic, environmental and social objectives will be achieved by sustaining the productive value of forests, increasing the resilience of forests to climate change, and maintaining ecosystem services that forests provide. Biodiversity conservation will be ensured to maintain the productive value of forests and forest-ecosystem services, and to counteract forest degradation. Measures will be taken against the illegal activities which create a high risk of deforestation and forest loss. An innovative bioeconomy will be promoted in the forest-based sector to boost its socioeconomic potential. Incentive mechanisms will be developed for smallholder farmers to maintain and enhance ecosystem services and products provided by sustainable forest management and agriculture.
The cooperation on policies and actions will be strengthened to halt deforestation and forest degradation and encourage forest restoration in key international fora, including the Food and Agriculture Organization. Trade agreements that include provisions on the conservation and sustainable management of forests will be promoted and the trade of agricultural and forest-based products not causing deforestation or forest degradation will be further encouraged, for instance by providing incentives to trade partners to address deforestation. The impacts of trade agreements on deforestation will be assessed in Sustainability Impact Assessments and other relevant assessments. The sustainability of supply chains, including the issue of deforestation and forest degradation, will be addressed in the context of relevant international commodity bodies. Sustainable green finance mechanisms for forests will be developed to support producer countries in the conservation of existing forest cover and regeneration of forests, and in creating positive incentives for investments in sustainable forest management and sustainable forest-based value chains. This policy stresses on the need to further harness the EU’s earth-observation and supply-chain data, and to combine research and monitoring capacity to develop an early warning system. Better monitoring of trade flows at the national, regional and local levels and better access to timely information will be enabled, to assess the impacts of the consumption by the EU and other markets on the world’s forests. In order to facilitate access to information on supply chains for public entities, consumers and businesses, an EU Observatory on deforestation, forest degradation, changes in the world’s forest cover and associated drivers, will be established. A REDD+ service component will be developed to strengthen the existing global or national forest-monitoring systems, as well as to establish long-term European capacity and leadership in this domain. The coordination of work among relevant research institutes will be improved to strengthen capacity and help put research results to good use in key consumer and producer countries. Innovative EU practices on the circular economy, sustainable bioeconomy, renewable energy, smart agriculture and other relevant areas will be shared with other countries.