The forestry workforce in Europe has traditionally been associated with conventional roles that involve timber harvesting, logging, and forest management.

Promoting Green Forest Jobs is a prerequisite for the creation of resilient forests, provision of ecosystem services, innovation and sustainable development of the forest sector and thus for a climate neutral circular bioeconomy.

Pan-European Criteria and Indicators (C&I) for Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) have a history of 30 years and have been constantly developed since then.

Biodiversity is currently one of the most prominent topics in forest policy discussions in Europe. There are discussions on how forest biodiversity can be maintained and enhanced in nowadays sustainable forest management (SFM).

Building on the Bratislava Ministerial Resolution “Adapting pan-European forests to climate change” (2021), FOREST EUROPE is working towards the pan-European forest risk facility (FoRISK) to support forest adaptation to changing climatic and site conditions as well as to maintain and enhance the resilience and mitigation potential of forests at a pan-European level (B1, B2).

This year’s FOREST EUROPE High-Level Policy Dialogue on the topic “Growing healthier forests: How can Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) enhance resilience” was organized by the Liaison Unit Bonn (LUBo) with the support of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture in Germany. Considering the ever-increasing risks that the climate change and biodiversity crises pose for European forests, the event offered a platform to reflect upon the synergies between SFM and resilience in the pan-European region and to discuss a joint way forward.

In recent years, Europe’s forests have suffered increasing damage from weather extremes and their consequences. In particular, old-growth forests of socio-economic and ecological value are at risk, and associated significant changes in the structure of European forests are to be expected (Forzieri et al. 2021). Current climate projections also raise concerns that forest damages will become more frequent and severe.

European forests and news about their condition are gaining increasing attention. Extreme climatic events and more frequent large-scale disturbances challenge sustainable forest management (SFM) in policy and practice. One consequence is a strong call for more resilient forests, that is, forests that are able to cope better with disturbances and adapted to a rapidly changing climate. But what does this mean and how does this affect our understanding of SFM across Europe?

The impact of storms on forests and their ecosystem services can be very diverse. The spectrum ranges from local events that only affect a few forest owners to large-scale, cross border damage. However, measured by the volume of damaged timber, storms are still considered the most devastating risk factor on forests (Gardiner et al, 2013). As a result, the consequences and required management actions vary. Smaller storm events may require action of few individual forest owners, but supranational events can require transnational forest- related and economic policies and decisions. This Policy Brief focuses on “traditional” large-scale windthrows and wind breakages, particularly in conifer dominated stands, that are often more prone to storm damage and therefore still pose the greatest challenge. However, it is worth mentioning that e.g. drought effects lead to increased canopy (treetop) death in deciduous stands, which increases the risk of damage even at low wind speeds. This can lead to particular challenges, especially with regard to operational safety and health protection as well as public safety. Storm and the consequences associated with them have some special characteristics compared to most other risk factors in the forest.

Bark beetles and other biotic agents have devastated European forests with unexpected severity. The worst is likely still ahead of us. It is crucial to devise strategies to mitigate disturbance impacts across the entire forest value chain and increase the preparedness of all actors and institutions. However, every crisis presents an opportunity. Let’s seize this one and use it to create resilient forestry sectors and forests fit for the future.

This report has been prepared by the Liaison Unit Bonn of Forest Europe (LUBo) with the support of Liubov Poliakova, a Ukrainian expert, as a contribution to implement the Ministerial Decision (see Annex 1) that was endorsed at the High-Level Policy Dialogue on 30 August 2022. The content of the report was reviewed and discussed with the FOREST EUROPE Ukraine network of experts at the FOREST EUROPE workshop on 6 June 2023.