EN    EN EN 
 
EN    EN  EUROPEAN COMMISSION 
Brussels, 1.3.2010 
SEC(2010)163 final 
  
COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 
BACKGROUND INFORMATION 
  
Accompanying document to the 
  
Draft Green Paper on: 
Forest Protection and Information in the EU : Preparing forests for climate change 
   
COM(2010)66 final 
 
EN 2   EN COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 
accompanying the 
 
Draft Green Paper on: 
Forest Protection and Information in the EU : Preparing forests for climate change 
 
BACKGROUND INFORMATION 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
1. Annex A: Overview of EU Policy Tools that relate to forests and forestry ................ 3 
1.1. The Forestry Strategy for the EU and the EU Forest Action Plan............................... 3 1.2. The Action Plan on Innovative and Sustaina ble forest-based industries in the EU..... 3 
1.3. Environmental policy................................................................................................... 4 1.4. Agricultural policy ....................................................................................................... 5 
1.5. Energy policy ............................................................................................................. .. 6 
1.6. Industrial, Trade and Market Policies .......................................................................... 6 1.7. Plant Health Policy....................................................................................................... 7 
1.8. Research policy ........................................................................................................... .7  
1.9. Cohesion policy........................................................................................................... .8  
2. Annex B: forest map of Europe ................................................................................... 9 3. Annex C: Key Facts and Figur es on European Forests ............................................. 10 
4. Annex D: List of Acronyms....................................................................................... 13 
 
EN 3   EN 1. ANNEX A: OVERVIEW OF EU POLICY TOOLS THAT RELATE TO FORESTS AND 
FORESTRY  
1.1. The Forestry Strategy for the EU and the EU Forest Action Plan 
The 1998 Council Resolution on a Forestry Strategy for the EU1 is the basic political 
charter of the EU forest sector. It sets out multifunctionality as the common principle 
of EU forestry, and identifies sustainable forest management as the main tool for 
assuring the fulfilment of all forest functions, i.a. for the conservation and enhancement of the biological diversity as well as one of the measures to combat 
climate change. It confirms the National Fo rest Programme as the basic policy tool 
and lists a series of ongoing international processes and ac tivities to be followed up 
at national and EU level. It puts responsib ility for forest policy with the Member 
States according to the pr inciple of subsidiarity
2 and concludes that all common 
measures affecting forests and forest produc ts should be in line with the aims and 
recommendations of this strategy. This appr oach is based on the ab sence of a specific 
provision for an EU forest policy in the Tr eaties establishing the European Union. It 
implies that the formulation and implementation of forest policy is primarily an internal matter for Member States. 
The Forestry Strategy also addresses the n eed for better integrat ion of forests and 
forest products in all relevant sectoral common policies, even those generally not 
being specifically related to forests. 
The EU Forest Action Plan
3 which builds on the EU Forestry Strategy has been set 
up in close cooperation of Member States and the Commission. It addresses activities 
to enhance competitiveness, in improving the environment and contributing to the quality of life and stresses the need for coordination and cooperation. These are 
grouped around 18 key actions which i.a. fo cus on forest protection and monitoring. 
The Forest Action Plan does not setup new po licy means but refers to existing sector 
policies with relevance to forests, which are outlined below. 
1.2. The Action Plan on Innovative and Susta inable forest-based industries in the 
EU 
The 2008 Communication on innovative and sust ainable forest-based industries in 
the EU
4 includes a 19-point action plan to improve the long-term competitiveness of 
the forest-based sector while integrating climate change and energy objectives into 
the sector’s strategy. The acti ons it proposes are compleme ntary to the Forest Action 
Plan regarding the competitiveness of EU  FBI, focussing on access to raw material, 
impact of climate change, i nnovation, trade and communication. 
                                                 
1 OJ C 56/1 of 26 February 1999. 
2 It is the principle whereby the Union does not take action (except in the areas which fall within its 
exclusive competence) unless it is more effective than action taken at national, regional or local level. 
3 Forest Action Plan 2006 COM(2006) 302 final 
4 COM(2008)113  
 
EN 4   EN 1.3. Environmental policy 
• Policy on nature protection 
Natura 2000 is the core elem ent of EU policy to protect nature and biodiversity. It 
consists of sites designated as requir ed by the Habitats and Birds Directives5 and 
covers around 17% of the tota l EU land area. Forest habita ts constitute almost 30% 
of the designated terrestrial sites. 
A recent assessment6 indicates that many habitats  (including fore sts) are in 
unfavourable conservation status and th at in many MS, information about the 
conservation status of designated Natura 2000 is lacking. The evaluation of the EU 
contribution to halt the loss of biodiversity by 20107, has shown that this objective 
will not be met mainly because conservati on of biodiversity in the use of natural 
resources (such as forests, agriculture a nd fisheries) beyond protected areas has not 
advanced as expected. Annex 4 gives an  overview of Natura 2000 designations of 
forest habitats by MS. 
• Climate policy  
EU climate policy focuses on mitigation by re duction of GHG emissions but the need 
for adaptation to climate change is increa singly recognized. The key instruments are 
the European Union Emission Trading Sc heme (ETS) and the Effort Sharing 
Decision8 (ESD) for reducing emissions, with policies on renewable energy, energy 
efficiency, etc. playi ng an additional role. 
The EU considers that to achieve its overall targets, all sectors, including the forest 
sector and land use, land  us change and forestry (LULUCF), must make a 
contribution9. According to the ESD and ETS directive10, the Commission will have 
to submit a report assessing, inter alia, th e appropriate modalities for including 
emissions and removals related to land use, land use change and forestry in the EU." 
On the basis of this report, the Commission shall, if appropriate, submit a legislative proposal related to LULUCF in the EU  GHG reduction commitment, including 
provisions on accurate monitoring and accounting according to harmonised 
modalities. This suggests that forest carbon data should be better harmonised in the 
EU GHG inventory. 
• Water policy  
The WFD
11 sets a single framework for the protection of all EU waters with the aim 
of reaching "good ecological status" as a rule by 2015. The originality of the WFD 
lies in the adoption of the river basin dist rict as the basic water management unit 
based on natural geography and hydrology, across to administrative boundaries. 
                                                 
5 Directive 92/43/EC http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/environment/nature/legis.htm ; Directive 
79/409/EC http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/environment/nature/legis.htm  
6 Ref. to Art. 17 HD - http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/knowledge/rep_habitats/index_en.htm  
7 Ref. to EEA report & Athens conference press comm 
8 ESD: Decision No 406/2009/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 
9 COM(2007)2 "Limiting climate change to 2°  …" & COM(2005)35 "Winning the Battle …" 
10 Directive 2009/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April2009 
11 Directive 2000/60/EC of the EP and the Council 
 
EN 5   EN Practically, the WFD could allow MS to suppo rt forest protection in order to assure 
water quality, although ther e is no specific support fo r water related forestry 
(managing forest soils to e nhance groundwater quantity and quality) at EU level.  
The introduction of schemes for paym ent of ecosystem services (PES)12 that 
remunerate forest owners and managers fo r taking a water-consci ous approach is a 
promising development.  
• Forest fire management/disaster prevention 
The European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), in operation since 2000, is 
based on the scientific work developed at the EC Joint Research Centre in 
cooperation with DG Environment. It collects fire statistics on fire occurrence from 
the European (EU and nei ghbour) countries( are provided  on the basis of voluntary 
co-operation)In addition to the information received from the countries, daily fire danger forecasts and fire damage assessmen ts are generated through the use of GIS 
and remote sensing technologies. The info rmation provided to and generated by 
EFFIS feeds the European Forest Data Centre (EFDAC)
13. Information in EFFIS 
supports decision-making for fire preventi on and preparedness for fires, assists in 
urgent action during active fire s, allows to better evaluate the effects of fires as well 
as to assess post-fire damages. The operati onal part of EFFIS is  currently financed 
from the LIFE+ budget on an ad hoc basis. 
1.4. Agricultural policy 
The Rural Development Regulation  (RDR / 2007-201314) of the Common 
Agricultural Policy (CAP)  offers a wide range of EU co-financing measures for 
managing forest land, which have become th e main EU financial instrument for the 
forest sector in the EU. The measur es address the improvement of the 
competitiveness of farm and forest holdings, giving grants for improvement of the environment including prevention actions and co-financing activities to maintain the 
quality of life and diversification of inco mes in rural areas. The aid given therefore 
also contributes to job creation and income maintaining vital rural societies. It also plays a prominent role when financing m easures for adapting forests to climate 
change. MS have spent between 5 and 10 % of their EU co funded Rural Development budget on forests since 2000
15. From 2000-2006, 10 % of the RD 
budget (4,8 bn €) went for forestry support,  split 50/50 between afforestation and 
other measures. 
According to recent Commission reporting16, during the period 2007 – 2013, 
programming of forest measures has decreased compared to the previous budget 
period and afforestation has lost importanc e compared to other measures. According 
to the programming before the modification due to the CAP Health Check and 
                                                 
12 "The Economic Value of Groundwater in European Forests – IUCN/EC 2009 
13 See http://timber.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/meetings/05-jrc-gaigalas.pdf  for detailed description 
14 RDR: Council Regulation (EC) 1698/2005 on support for rural development by the EAFRD 
15 EU Forestry Strategy report COM (2005) 84 (working paper) and the recent "Report on implementation 
of Forestry Measures under the Rural Development Regulation 1698/2005 for the period 2007-2013", 
available at http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/fore/publi/index_en.htm   
16 http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/fore/publi/index_en.htm 
 
EN 6   EN Recovery Package the EAFRD will spend € 8 billion (from a to tal RD commitment 
2007-2013 of € 90.8 billion) for forests and fo restry-related measures. This includes 
€ 2.8 billion for planting approximately 890,000 ha of new forests, support for 
managing 400,000 hectares of Natura 2000 fo rest areas and forest- environment 
measures covering 2 million hectares, as well as support for implementing fire prevention measures. 
The additional funding related to the Health Check
17 and the Recovery Package also 
allows providing more support for c limate change, renewable energy, water 
management and biodiversity measures. Part  of the total additional funding of € 4.4 
billion is likely to be directly related to forestry measures. 
1.5. Energy policy 
Wood for heating or electricity generati on and combined heat and power (CHP) 
based on biomass (from waste, forest and agriculture) remain the main renewable 
energy source (RES) in the EU. After a number of earlier initiatives18, the Council 
and the EP adopted the EU Climate and Energy Package on 23 April 2009, including a Directive on the promotion of energies from renewable sources (RES-D)
19 that 
set an overall binding target for the European Union to achieve a 20% renewable 
energy share by 2020 and a 10 % target for renewable energy used in transport. 
The increase in biomass use generated by the RES-D brings oppor tunities for the EU 
forest sector but leads also  to increased competition be tween other users of the raw 
material (e.g., pulp, building material, fu rniture). This situation may justify 
additional efforts to improve forest information in the EU. 
The RES-D includes sustainability criteria20 for biomass used for biofuels and 
bioliquids, which concerns feedstock main ly coming from agricultural crops and 
residues but also from forests and wast e.. By the end of 2009, the Commission is 
required by Article 17(9) of RES-D to presen t a report on the need for sustainability 
criteria for other types of biomass used for energy purposes, namely solid and gaseous biomass used for heat  and electricity generation. 
1.6. Industrial, Trade and Market Policies 
The Action Plan on Sustainable Consum ption and Production and Sustainable 
Industrial Policy (SCP/SIP ) establishes a framework for the integrated 
implementation of a mix of instrume nts aims at improving the energy and 
environmental performances of products . It includes, a voluntary green public 
procurement policy covering environmental criteria for use in tendering procedures 
for products and services commonly purchas ed by public bodies, including specific 
environmental criteria for wood and wood products
21, and the revised EU Ecolabel22 
which also sets specific crit eria for wood and wood products. 
                                                 
17 http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/healthcheck/index_en.htm 
18 RES-E 2001/77 - Directive 2003/30/EC on the promotion of biofuels – Biomass Action Plan 
COM(2005)628 
19 RES-D : Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April2009 
20 Art 17 RES-D , related only to counting against the 10 % biofuels target 
21 More information at http://ec.europa.eu/environment/gpp/index_en.htm  
 
EN 7   EN The possible differences between different sustainability criteria for wood as a bio-
energy source and as a building material have  raised concerns in the forest sector 
about: 
– Efficient trading of forest products as green and renewable materials; 
– National public procurement system s possibly not complying with EU 
sustainability criteria and EU procuremen t rules as well as discriminating forest 
products compared to competing materials. 
The Commission recently adopted a communi cation reflecting the concerns of the 
EU industry regarding access to raw mate rials, including wood from EU forests23. 
1.7. Plant Health Policy 
The Community plant health regime (CPHR), deals with organisms harmful to plants 
and plant products. It regulates the trade of  plants and plant pr oducts within the EU 
as well as imports from the rest of the worl d. It also implements preventive measures 
to guard against the introduction and spread  of harmful organisms with quarantine 
status harmful to pl ants and ensures quality conditi ons, including the health status, 
for the sale multiplication of propagating mate rial in agriculture and forestry within 
the EU through certification schemes. 
Nevertheless these schemes do not contai n provisions to mana ge and control the 
natural spread of organisms below a quarantin e threshold, or prov isions for insects, 
fungi and plants normally found in forest  ecosystems that do not always cause 
damage, but could become harmful and/or invasive with the changes due to global 
warming. 
1.8. Research policy 
In the 7th Framework Programme (FP7 2007-2013)  forest research in a broader 
sense, falls mainly under the “Cooperation” programme. During the former Framework Programme and with the goal of developing the European Research Area 
and reaching the Lisbon objectives, the EC  promoted the creation of "technology 
platforms", and launched the ERA-Net progr amme to improve the coordination of 
national research programmes. The forest  sector succeeded in establishing a 
technology platform and in building an ER A-Net project that is currently running. 
The JRC has always been active on issues re lated to forests, such as remote sensing, 
climate change, forest monitoring, forest fragmentation, forest  fires and forest 
information systems. The intergovernmental  framework for Eur opean Co-operation 
in the field of Scientific and Technical  Research (COST) has supported important 
projects
24 such as COST E27 on harmonization of  Protected Forest Areas and COST 
E43 on Harmonization of Nati onal Forest Inventories. 
                                                                                                                                                         
22 More information at: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/ecolabel/index_en.htm  
23 COM(2008)699 
24 COST E27: harmonization of Protected Forest Areas  and COST E43: Harmonization of National Forest 
Inventories 
 
EN 8   EN In 2005 major EU forest based industries decided to co-fund a European Technology 
Platform25 to ensure their contribution for a globally competitive EU economy. 
The recent call under FP7 on the functional significance of forest biodiversity, 
including soil biodiversity26 should provide improved scientific information for the 
management and sustainable use of forest ecosystems.  
1.9. Cohesion policy 
• Regional policy 
In the current programming period 2007-2013, the environment is a key priority of 
Cohesion Policy with more than 30 % of the total planned allocations to be spent on 
environmental actions. 
Even though forests are only di rectly addressed in the fram e of forest fire prevention, 
a number of priority themes affect forests and forest management in a much broader 
perspective. 
Cohesion Policy supports investments in rene wable energies such as biomass and co-
finances as well programmes and projects that preserve  and promote natural areas 
and biodiversity, including in forests. In addition, the signific ant funding for natural 
risk prevention or the rehabilitation of c ontaminated land leads to projects dealing 
with forest management. In this framework, it is up to the Member States to make the actual selection and implemen tation of the co-financed pr ojects. Therefore Cohesion 
Policy is one of the policies available to MS  and regions to develop forest protection 
measures. 
In addition, in the frame of European Territorial C ooperation (ETC), a number of 
cross-border, transnational a nd interregional projects deal with forestry and forest 
management, such as the impact of climate change on forests
27. The goal is to 
exchange good practices, transf er know-how and/or to set up and implement shared 
management strategies across borders. 
• The EU Solidarity Fund 
The EU Solidarity Fund (SF)28 assists MS in coping with damage caused by major 
natural disasters including storms and forest fires. Financial assistance29 from the 
EUSF may however only be used for a limite d types of remediation and restoration 
measures carried out by the public author ities. France, Germany, Greece, Slovakia, 
Spain and Sweden have recently received its support to address large forest damages. 
                                                 
25 See http://www.forestplatform.org/  for detailed information 
26 ENV.2010.2.1.4.1 
27 A current project example in  this area is 'ForestClim': http://www.forestclim.eu/ . Another ETC project 
example is the 'Balticforest' project: http://www.balticforest.net/ 
28 Established by Council Regulation (EC) No 2012/2002 
29 http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/funds/solidar/solid_en.htm   
 
EN 9   EN 2. ANNEX B: FOREST MAP OF EUROPE  
Source:  JRC 
 
Note: This image has a resolution of 600 dpi and should be expanded to several times the size show so 
as reveal its level of detail.  
 
EN 10   EN 3. ANNEX C: KEY FACTS AND FIGURES ON EUROPEAN FORESTS  
Forest & OWL (1) Forest available 
for wood supply % of Forests (not including OWL) 
with a protective function
 (4) 
 
1000 
ha % of 
land 
area % of forest Fellings in % of net 
annual increment 
 % 
2000 % 
2005 Forest under public 
ownership area as % of forest area (5) 
Austria 3.980 48 84 60 22 25 20 
Belgium  698 23 96 85 22 26 44 
Bulgaria 3.678 34 70 41 17 16 92 
Cyprus 388 42 11 16 - - 61 
Czech Republic 2.647 34 95 84 15 15 77 
Denmark 636 15 61 35 7 7 28 
Estonia 2.358 56 89 52 12 11 38 
Finland 23.311 77 86 69 3 3 32 
France 17.262 31 85 55 3 3 26 
Germany (2) 11.076 32 99 50 27 34 53 
Greece  6.532 51 53 48 - - 78 
Hungary 1.948 22 86 56 12 9 61 
Ireland 710 10 92 - - - 64 
Italy 11.026 37 81 26 5 5 35 
Latvia 3.150 51 90 68 4 4 54 
Lithuania 2.198 35 83 73 15 16 77 
Luxembourg 88 34 98 38 1 1 46 
Malta 0 1 - - - - - 
Netherlands 365 11 81 70 - - 50 
Poland (2) 9.200 30 91 55 38 35 83 
Portugal 3.867 42 52 103 1 6 7 
Romania 6.649 29 70 46 - 29 94 
Slovakia 1.932 40 91 75 16 18 52 
Slovenia 1.308 65 88 44 7 9 28 
Spain  28.214 57 37 67 15 13 30 
Sweden 30.929 75 69 86 12 11 20 
United Kingdom 2.865 12 83 48 - - 36 
EU27 (3) 177016 42 73 60 11 13 39 
 
EN 11   EN (1) OWL: Other wooded land (2) Data do not cover OWL 
(3) Totals exclude Ireland for net annual increment and fellings 
(4) According to MCPFE assessment guidelines (5) Includes forests owned by the state, provinces, regions and municipalities.  
- : no data or very small value / Italics show estimates using pre-2005 data  
Ecological aspects 
Forest 
Cover Species 
Composition Age 
Structure Growing 
Stock Carbon 
Budget Biodiversity; 
Naturalness Protected 
Areas Growth; 
Vitality 
EU (or Pan-European) average 
40% (177 
million. 
ha) 
7% 
increase 
since 
1990 50% Coniferous 
25% Broadleaved 
25% Mixed  
30% single tree 
species dominated 
forests; 50% 
forests of 2-3 tree 
species; 17% 
forests of 4-5 tree 
species; 3% forests 
of 6-10 tree 
species (MCPFE 
region) 
Slowly increasing 
percentage of 
multi-species 
forests (MCPFE 
region) 
8,1 million ha 
(5%) (Pan-Europe, 
excl. Russia) 
dominated by 
introduced 
species; 10% 
(0.5% of the total 
forest area) of that 
area are dominated 
by invasive 
species 87% Even-
aged forests  151 m3/ha 
(Pan-Europe, 
excluding 
Russia) 
Increasing 
total growing 
stock 
 9.8 billion 
tons of C 
stored (2005, 
EU-27) 
137 Mio. 
tons annual 
storage of C 
between 
1990-2005 
(MCPFE 
Region) 
From 2000 
to 2005, 
annual 
increase in C 
store in EU 
forests was 
less than 
10% of CO2 
equivalent 
emissions of 
MS (EU-27) 87% Semi-natural 
forests 
5% undisturbed by 
man (natural 
forests) 
8% plantations 
over 60% of forest 
habitats under 
Natura 2000 
present and 
unfavourable 
conservation status 
11 forest mammal 
species threatened 8% forest 
biodiversity 
and land-
scape conser-
vation area 
13% of forest 
surface 
designated 
Habitats 
Directive 
sites (EU-27) 
Below 2% 
are strictly 
protected 
forest areas Site pro-
ductivity and 
tree growth: 
Increasing in 
Northern 
and Central 
Europe; 
Decreasing 
in Southern 
Europe 
22% 
damaged or 
dead forests 
(crown 
conditions) 
Stable crown 
conditions; 
defoliation 
of oak and 
spruce, 
improve-
ments of 
pine and 
beech 
Exemplary regional patterns  
Increase 
in rural 
and 
mountain 
areas 
Decrease 
in densely 
populated 
regions Predominantly 
coniferous 
forests: 
Scandinavian and 
Baltic states 
Predominantly 
broadleaved 
forests: Southern 
and Western 
Europe 2/3 of the 
forests in 
Central Europe 
are younger 
than 60 years 
Forests aged 1-
20 years cover 
an area twice 
as large as 
forests aged 
81-100 years in 
North Europe Record volume 
increase of 
growing stock 
per hectare in 
Central Europe 
 
  Forest birds 
populations: 
Decline in 
North and 
South Europe; 
Stable 
populations in 
Western and 
Eastern Europe Strictly 
protected 
areas in 
North/Baltic 
and South-
East Europe 
Areas 
actively 
managed for 
conservation 
in Central, 
North-
Western and 
South 
Europe  
 
EN 12   EN Sources: CEC (2008); EEA (2008); FAO (2007); ICP Forests (2004); MCPFE (2007); UNECE/FAO 
(2005), MCPFE/ECE/FAO State of Europe's Forests 2007& Habitats Directive Art 17 report (2001-
2006) 
Europe’s forests are, as compared to forests on ot her continents, growing in area and standing volume, 
are intensively managed, rather young and dominated by even-aged stands. They are, however, 
regionally diverse in terms of tree species compositi on, growth, and biodiversity. While natural forests 
rarely occur, very intensively used plantations are also rare. Thus, the dominance of semi-natural 
forests types shaped by a variety of social demands and locally diverse forest management practices is 
one of the main characteristics of European Union (EU) forests .  
Area of forest habitats designated under Natura 2000: (database DG ENV - February 2009)  
  N2000 terrestrial area 
(1.000 ha) N2000 forest habitats** 
designated under the N2000 total land area (%) Natura 2000 forest 
habitats types in FOWL (%) 
Austria  1.153 18 5 
Belgium  388 29 16 
Bulgaria  3.766 32 33 
Cyprus  101 53 13 
Czech Republic  1.045 17 7 
Denmark  386 9 6 
Estonia  799 20 7 
Finland  4.864 29 6 
France  6.842 10 4 
Germany* 4.847 17 7 
Greece  2.762 21 9 
Hungary  1.956 22 23 
Ireland  780 1 2 
Italy  5.737 20 10 
Latvia  712 9 2 
Lithuania  909 5 2 
Luxembourg  46 31 14 
Malta  4 2 0 
Netherlands  579 2 2 
Poland* 5.163 12 7 
Portugal  1.872 11 5 
Romania  4.885 26 20 
Slovakia  1.413 23 17 
Slovenia  720 34 19 
 
EN 13   EN Spain  13.464 18 9 
Sweden  6.015 33 6 
United Kingdom  1.736 3 2 
EU 27 72.943 20 8 
* data do not cover OWL ** Sites of community importance for forest habitats 
4. ANNEX D: LIST OF ACRONYMS  
CBD Convention on Biological Diversity 
COST European Cooperation in Science and Technology CHP Combined heat and power plants CPHR Community plant health regime EEA European Environment Agency EFDAC European Forest Data Centre EFFIS European Forest Fire Information System EFICP European Forest Informa tion and Communication Platform 
EFSOS European Forest Sector Outlook Study ETP European Technology Platforms ETS EU Emissions Trading System FAO Food and Agriculture Organi zation of the United Nations 
FAP Forest Action Plan FBI Forest Based Industries FP7 7th Framework Programme for Res earch and Technological Development 
FS European Forest Strategy FTP Forest Technology Platform GHG Greenhouse Gas GIS Geographic Information Systems GMES Global Monitoring for Environment and Security IACS Integrated administ ration and control system 
 
EN 14   EN INSPIRE Infrastructure for Spatial Information in Europe 
IUFRO International Union of Fo rest Research Organizations 
LULUCF Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry MCPFE Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe 
MS EU Member States NFI National Forest Inventories NFP National Forest Programmes OWL Other Wooded Lands REDD Reducing Emissions from Defore station and forest Degradation  
RES D EU Directive on the promotion of  energies from renewable sources 
SCP/SIP Sustainable Consumption and Pr oduction and Sustainable Industrial Policy 
SEIS Shared Environmental Information System SF EU Solidarity Fund SFM Sustainable Forest Management  SME Small and Medium Enterprises UN CCD United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification UN ECE United Nations Economic Commission for Europe 
UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change