The European Union has launched a new action plan to protect global forests. On July 23, the European Commission issued a new action plan for the protection and restoration of the world's forests. Forests support 80% of terrestrial biodiversity, sustain 25% of the world's population, and play a crucial role in addressing climate change. The new EU action plan aims to address supply and demand issues by strengthening international cooperation with stakeholders and member states, promoting sustainable forest financing, better utilizing land and resources, sustainably creating jobs and managing supply chains, and implementing more focused research and data collection measures. The new approach includes assessing potential new regulatory measures to minimize deforestation and forest degradation caused by EU consumption. "Forests are the lungs of the planet, and we must care for them as we care for our own lungs," said Frans Timmermans, First Vice-President for Sustainable Development. "We cannot achieve our climate goals without protecting the world's forests." Timmermans stated, "The world's most important primary forests are not located on EU territory, but as individuals, our policy choices can have a significant impact. Today, we are sending an important message to citizens and partners worldwide: the EU is prepared to play a leading role in this area over the next five years and beyond." Timmermans was involved in climate action during his campaign for President of the European Commission. (Photo credit: European Commission) Prior to this notification, the EU had conducted extensive consultations and discussions with stakeholders on deforestation, forest degradation, and potential EU actions, including two meetings in 2014 and 2017, a public consultation in 2019, and three related studies. The notification also responds to repeated calls from the European Council and the European Parliament for stronger coordinated action, particularly to remove deforestation from agricultural production chains. Jyrki Katainen, Vice-President for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness, pointed out, "The world's forest cover continues to decline at an alarming rate. Through this action plan, we strengthen the EU's action to better protect existing forests and manage them sustainably. When we protect existing forests and sustainably increase forest cover, we safeguard livelihoods and increase the income of local communities. Forests are also a promising green economy industry, expected to create 10 to 16 million decent jobs globally. This action framework is an important step forward." Forests play a significant role in the greatest sustainability challenges of our time, such as biodiversity loss, climate change, and population growth. International agreements and commitments acknowledge the need for proactive action to reverse deforestation. Land use, and the carbon emissions from deforestation for land acquisition, are the second leading cause of climate change, after fossil fuel combustion, accounting for nearly 12% of all greenhouse gas emissions, exceeding the transportation industry. Therefore, EU officials stated that protecting forests is a crucial part of fulfilling the commitments of the Paris Agreement. Satellite images show the landscape changes in East Kalimantan caused by deforestation for palm plantations. Photo credit: European Space Agency. This European Programme of Action responds to the ongoing large-scale destruction of forests worldwide. Between 1990 and 2016, 1.3 million square kilometers of forest were destroyed, at a rate equivalent to 800 football fields per hour, primarily driven by demand for food, animal feed, biofuels, timber, and other commodities. From an economic and social perspective, forests support the livelihoods of approximately one-quarter of the world's population and embody irreplaceable cultural, social, and spiritual values. The new Programme of Action has a dual objective: to protect and improve the health of existing forests, especially primary forests, and to increase the world's sustainable, biodiverse forest cover. In response to this plan, the Executive Committee outlined five priorities: 1. Reducing the EU's land-based consumption footprint and encouraging consumption of products from EU supply chains free of deforestation; 2. Working with producing countries to reduce pressure on forests and promoting EU development cooperation on deforestation prevention; 3. Strengthening international cooperation to curb deforestation and forest degradation and encouraging forest restoration; 4. Redirecting financial resources to support sustainable land-use practices; 5. Making information on forest product supply chains more accessible, of higher quality, and supporting related research and innovation. The EU will establish a new multilateral stakeholder platform on deforestation, forest degradation, and forest production to bring together a broad range of stakeholders to explore actions to reduce EU consumption and encourage the use of products from supply chains free of deforestation. The Executive Committee also encourages strengthening certification programs for products free of deforestation and assessing potential demand-side legislation and other incentives. The Executive Committee will work closely with partner countries to help them reduce forest pressure and ensure that EU policies do not lead to deforestation and forest degradation. Partners will receive assistance from the Executive Committee to develop and implement comprehensive national forest action programs, strengthen the sustainable use of forests, and enhance the sustainability of forest-based value chains. The Executive Committee will strengthen cooperation on related actions and policies through international organizations such as the United Nations and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the G20, the World Trade Organization, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Furthermore, the Executive Committee will continue to ensure that trade agreements negotiated by the EU contribute to the responsible and sustainable management of global supply chains and encourage trade in agroforestry products that do not lead to deforestation or forest degradation. The Executive Committee also intends to establish incentive mechanisms for smallholder farmers to maintain and enhance ecosystem services and achieve sustainable agriculture and forest management. To improve the collection, quality, and accessibility of information, the Executive Committee proposes the establishment of an EU deforestation and degradation monitoring station to monitor and measure changes in global forest cover and related drivers. [Image caption: Current status of deforestation for farmland clearing in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Photo credit: CIFOR (Center for International Forest Research)] This resource will make supply chain data more accessible to public institutions, consumers, and businesses, encouraging increased sustainability. The Commission will also explore the possibility of strengthening forest monitoring through the Copernicus satellite system. The Commission will focus on redirecting public and private funding to create incentives for sustainable forest management and the sustainable forest value chain, and to protect existing and sustainable forest cover regeneration. The Commission will work with Member States to assess how to promote green finance for forests, and mechanisms for utilizing and increasing funding. Forests worldwide store vast amounts of carbon, absorbing it from the atmosphere and storing it in biomass and soil. Therefore, halting deforestation and forest degradation is crucial for addressing climate change. Since 2003, the EU has been implementing the Forest Enforcement, Governance and Trade Action Plan (FLEGT) to combat illegal logging and trade. In 2008, the Commission also issued a notification on deforestation, outlining the initial elements of the EU policy framework, including targets such as halting global forest cover loss by 2030 and reducing total tropical forest deforestation by 50% by 2020. Despite these efforts, these two targets now appear unlikely to be achieved. Source: Environmental Information Centre (2019/07/26)
