FOREST EUROPE

Fredrik Silfwerbrand, head of Liaison unit Sweden, attended the 28th Session of the Committee on Forestry (COFO 28) held at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Rome, alongside the 10th World Forest Week. The statement made by Fredrik at the meeting reaffirmed the strong collaboration between FOREST EUROPE and FAO. FOREST EUROPE has worked closely with FAO to develop and refine its criteria and indicators for Sustainable Forest Management. These indicators support evidence-based policymaking and provide a comprehensive picture of the state of Europe's forests. FOREST EUROPE welcomes the opportunity to continue its collaboration with FAO in the ongoing improvement of Sustainable Forest Management reporting.

Under the theme “Forests for food, resilience and prosperity,” the event brought together government representatives, international organizations, researchers, Indigenous Peoples, youth and other stakeholders to discuss the contribution of forests to sustainable development. The side events complemented the main discussions by presenting practical solutions, research findings, policy initiatives and partnerships. Their central themes included forest conservation and restoration, sustainable forest-based economies, climate resilience, biodiversity, forest finance, digital monitoring and the livelihoods of forest-dependent communities.

How can Europe close the biodiversity finance gap?
Ambitious biodiversity targets alone will not halt biodiversity loss. At the 10th FOREST EUROPE Ministerial Conference, the seventh high-level session explored how policy instruments and financing can help bridge the biodiversity finance gap and turn commitments into practical action.

Speakers agreed that while public funding will remain essential, achieving long-term biodiversity goals will also require innovative financing mechanisms, stronger policy frameworks, effective monitoring and accountability, and closer cooperation with forest owners, businesses and other stakeholders.

Opening the discussion, Daniela Kleinschmit, President of IUFRO - International Union of Forest Research Organizations and Professor at the University of Freiburg, presented scientific evidence on the biodiversity finance gap and outlined why blended finance, combining public and private investment, is increasingly being discussed as part of the solution.
Joining the discussion, Aira Paliukėnaitė, Vice Minister, Ministry of Environment, Lithuania, Patrik Mlynář, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Czechia, Linda Böcker, Head of Department, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature, the Netherlands, and Peter Mayer, Director, Austrian Research Centre for Forests (BFW), shared national experiences on financing biodiversity through public support, biodiversity credits, policy development, contractual conservation and voluntary cooperation with forest owners.

Watch the recording of High-level segment #7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLUy_QBhDmM&t=4s

Photos: Peter Rombai/University of Sopron

‼REGISTER NOW‼ LUNCHTIME WEBINAR 23 October, 12-13 CEST: Forests in Numbers. Exploring how interactive data can strengthen forest dialogue.

The data that builds the SoEF-report is available in the report and as raw data. Today, data can be presented in more digestible and available formats; an innovative format can be found here - https://europeanforestdata.fi/metsat-lukuina-en/

Against this background, the webinar explores:
• How can the SoEF data be more available?
• If the data is more available, and updated, does that impact the dialogue on Europe’s forests in a positive direction?

Moderator: Fredrik Silfwerbrand, Head of Liason Unit Sweden.

📆23 October 2026
🕛12:00-13:00 CEST

Read more and register: https://foresteurope.org/state-of-europes-forests-report/webinars-exploring-soef-2025/forests-in-numbers/

What does the latest assessment tell us about Europe's forests, and how can it support future decisions?

The second high-level segment of the FOREEST EUROPE Ministerial Conference focused on State of Europe's Forests 2025, FOREST EUROPE's flagship report providing a shared evidence base for sustainable forest management across the pan-European region. Referring to the report's findings, Luigi D’Eramo, Ministero dell'Agricoltura, della Sovranità alimentare e delle Foreste, Italy, underlined the need for stronger forest monitoring, more timely and comparable data, and closer cross-border cooperation to improve Europe's ability to respond to growing challenges. Michele Bozzano of the European Forest Institute highlighted that the report reflects more than 30 years of pan-European cooperation on sustainable forest management, identifies both encouraging developments and growing challenges, and points to the actions needed to strengthen the resilience of Europe's forests.

Watch the recording of High-level segment #2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGbMldXg0kk

Photos: Peter Rombai/University of Sopron

LUNCHTIME WEBINAR 23 October, 12-13 CEST: Forests in Numbers. Exploring how interactive data can strengthen forest dialogue.

The data that builds the SoEF-report is available in the report and as raw data. Today, data can be presented in more digestible and available formats; an innovative format can be found here - https://europeanforestdata.fi/metsat-lukuina-en/

Against this background, the webinar explores:
• How can the SoEF data be more available?
• If the data is more available, and updated, does that impact the dialogue on Europe’s forests in a positive direction?

Moderator: Fredrik Silfwerbrand, Head of Liason Unit Sweden.

📆23 October 2026
🕛12:00-13:00 CEST

Read more and register: https://foresteurope.org/state-of-europes-forests-report/webinars-exploring-soef-2025/forests-in-numbers/

“Please wake up.” With those words, keynote speaker Tiago Oliveira challenged ministers and forest leaders to rethink how Europe addresses wildfires. His message set the tone for a discussion that called for a fundamental shift: from reacting to fires to managing landscapes for resilience.

At the 10th FOREST EUROPE Ministerial Conference, the panel explored how sustainable forest management, prevention, landscape-level planning and stronger cooperation across sectors and governance levels can reduce wildfire risks in a changing climate. The discussion also highlighted the importance of strengthening local capacity, engaging communities and sharing knowledge across countries to build long-term resilience.

Moderated by Silvia Abruscato (FoRISK), the session opened with a keynote by Tiago Oliveira, Associated Researcher at the IN+ Center for Innovation, Technology and Policy Research, University of Lisbon. The panel brought together İbrahim Yüzer, Deputy Director General of Forestry at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (Türkiye), Boris Greguška, Chief State Counsellor at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Slovakia), María Rodríguez de Sancho, Director General of Biodiversity, Forests and Desertification (Spain), and Michael Reinhard, Head of the Forest Division at the Federal Office for the Environment (Switzerland), who shared perspectives on how prevention, preparedness, forest management and cross-sectoral cooperation can strengthen Europe's resilience to wildfires.

Watch the recording of High-level segment #5: https://youtu.be/sr7_siiE_eI

Photos: Peter Rombai/University of Sopron

🌲 How much deadwood is enough?
In the FOREST EUROPE webinar from 22 Sep, we explored the key findings of the SoEF 2025 report with a special focus on deadwood, examining its ecological significance, current trends across Europe, and its role in promoting biodiversity and sustainable forest management.

The State of Europe’s Forests (SoEF) 2025 report highlights several encouraging trends in Europe’s forests, including increasing tree species diversity, expanding protected forest areas, and the continued importance of natural regeneration. Among these developments, the steady rise in deadwood across the continent stands out as a particularly important indicator of forest ecosystem health. Deadwood provides essential habitat for countless species, supports nutrient cycling, and contributes to the resilience and functioning of forest ecosystems.

While deadwood is vital for biodiversity, the report highlights the need for a balanced approach. Large accumulations of fresh deadwood can elevate regional wildfire risks or trigger destructive insect outbreaks, such as bark beetle infestations.

During the webinar, we discussed what increasing deadwood tells us about biodiversity. Is there an “optimal” amount? Should we establish targets, or do appropriate levels depend too strongly on forest type and region?

The webinar focused on current and future policy and management challenges related to deadwood in European forests.

Watch the webinar recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnGEvZtVJvw