EU funding for biodiversity and climate change in EU forests: positive but limited results

EU forests are multifunctional, serving environmental, economic and social purposes. Sustainable management practices are key to maintaining biodiversity and addressing climate change in forests. Nevertheless EU forested areas cover a similar area as agriculture, and this area has been growing in the last 30 years, resource EU funding is much lower than for agriculture (less than 1 % of the CAP Budget), and is mainly focused on supporting conservation measures and planting and restoring woodland. The European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) represents the 90% of the EU forestry financing.
The EU has also international obligations in forested area including combatting illegal logging and protecting biodiversity. The main findings highlight that in the areas where the EU is fully competent to act, the EU has had a positive but limited impact on protecting biodiversity and addressing climate change in EU forests.

The report findings aim to facilitate policy discussions impacting EU forests, also making recommendations to:

• improve the EU’s contribution to biodiversity and better tackling climate change in EU forests;
• strengthen the fight against illegal logging;
• improve the focus of rural development forestry measures on biodiversity and climate change.