The Confederation of European Forest Owners (CEPF) welcomes the 5th European Forest Week which is organised jointly by FAO and UNECE on 4 – 8 November, under the theme Forests and the Circular Economy. The week highlights the important role of forests in circular economy, especially in tackling the global problem of plastic waste. The week takes place in conjunction with Forêt2019, the Joint Session of the UNECE Committee of Forests and the Forest Industry (COFFI), and the FAO European Forestry Commission (EFC).
Forests have a key role in circular economy when providing raw material which is renewable, recyclable, biodegradable and stores carbon. The elected President of European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, states in her political guidelines that the circular economy is key for developing Europe’s future economic model and that she will propose a New Circular Economy Action Plan as part of the European Green Deal, focusing on high impact sectors such as textiles and construction. In addition, Ms von der Leyen wants Europe to lead on the issue of single use plastics. To reach these, as well as other objectives of a European Green Deal, multifunctional European forests are crucial.
On the occasion it is also important to highlight that forests’ contribution to the circular bio-based economy is only one of the growing number of expectations that society sets for forests. Sustainable and active forest management is the key in ensuring that forests will continue fulfilling all these expectations now and in the future thanks to balanced approach between the economic, ecological and social functions of forests.
Please find more information on the European Forest Week here.
More information about Forêt2019 can be found here.
