Building upon the knowledge and experience gained from the Civil Dialogue Group on Forestry and Cork, as well as the Working Group on Forest and Nature, the European Commission established a new Expert Group called 'Forest and Forestry Stakeholder Platform.'
This Platform has been created to provide expertise to European Commission services Its primary purpose is to address a wide range of issues related to forests and forestry, with a particular emphasis on implementation of the New EU Forest Strategy for 2030, policy development and its monitoring, sharing experiences and good practices, including those related to Sustainable Forest Management. The Platform's main responsibility is to assist the Commission in implementing existing Union legislation, programs, and policies, as well as fostering coordination with Member States and facilitating the exchange of views.1
First meeting of the Forest and Forestry Stakeholder Platform took place on 11 September 2023 featuring discussions on several significant topics including:
- Proposal for a Directive on Soil Monitoring and Resilience;
- State of play of the implementation of forestry measures under the CAP Rural Development Programme 2014-2022;
- Forests and forestry interventions in the new CAP Strategic Plans 2023 – 2027;
- Commission’s Guidance on the development of Public and Private Payment Schemes for Forest Ecosystem Services; and
- Commission’s Guidelines covering Primary and Old Growth Forests, Biodiversity-friendly afforestation, reforestation, and tree planting, as well as Closer-to-nature forest management practices.
CEPF’s Secretary General, Ms. Fanny-Pomme Langue, and several CEPF’s members representing different countries had an opportunity to participate in the meeting and share their views on relevant topics. CEPF is very pleased to have been appointed as a member of this Expert Group, allowing it to actively participate and contribute by sharing considerations European forest owners.
For more information on Forest and Forestry Stakeholder Platform, please visit the European Commission’s website
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