REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the implementation of the Forest Focus scheme according to Regulation (EC) No 2152/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 November 2003 concerning monitoring of forests and environmental interactions in the Community (Forest Focus) – Final report
Date: 2010-08-26
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU action, EU environmental policy, activity report, environmental monitoring, forest conservation, transfrontier pollution

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EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 26.8.2010 
COM(2010) 430 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND 
THE COUNCIL 

on the implementation of the Forest Focus scheme according to Regulation (EC) No 
2152/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 November 2003 
concerning monitoring of forests and environmental interactions in the Community 
(Forest Focus) – Final report 

SEC(2010) 978 

EN 

   EN 

 
 
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND 
THE COUNCIL 

on the implementation of the Forest Focus scheme according to Regulation (EC) No 
2152/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 November 2003 
concerning monitoring of forests and environmental interactions in the Community 
(Forest Focus) – Final report 

1. 

INTRODUCTION AND MAIN ACHIEVEMENTS 

Regulation (EC) No 2152/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council (the 
Forest Focus Regulation1) aimed to establish a scheme for long term monitoring of 
the condition and of the environmental interactions on forests in the European Union. 

The  scheme  included  the  continuation  of  the  existing  monitoring  networks  on  air 
pollution and its impacts on forests, forest fires, their causes and effects and the co-
financing of forest fire prevention activities. It also broadened the scope of EU forest 
monitoring  through  the  gathering  of  information  on  soils,  biodiversity,  carbon 
sequestration, climate change effects and protective functions of forests.  

Articles 18 and 19 of the Regulation require the Commission to submit a report on 
the  implementation  of  the  scheme  to  the  European  Parliament  and  to  the  Council, 
reviewing the effectiveness of the scheme in order to provide a basis for any future 
decision  on  the  continuation  of  these  activities.  Now  that  the  national  programmes 
are  all  implemented  and  the  financial  files  are  closed,  this  report  replies  to  that 
requirement  and  complements  the  previous  "interim"  implementation  report  of  22 
January 20082. Both of the reports aim at understanding how the entire Forest Focus 
scheme  was  implemented  between  2003  and  2010.  They  will  serve  as  a  basis  for 
reflecting on future monitoring needs and help the consultation process opened in the 
context of the Green Paper on forest protection and information in the EU as regards 
how to address forest information in the future. 

As already mentioned in the January 2008 report, the implementation of the Forest 
Focus  Regulation  took  more  time  than  the  foreseen  four  years.  The  present  report 
complements the previous one and mainly aims at reporting on the use of the Forest 
Focus  budget.  The  accompanying  Commission  staff  working  document  gives  the 
details on how the budget has been used by the national competent bodies. 

the  objectives  have  been  reached  and 

In  general, 
the  high 
implementation  rate  can  be  considered  as  a  success.  Former  forest  monitoring  and 
forest  fire  prevention  legislation  has  been  given  an  integrated  approach  by  Forest 
Focus. Under the  scheme,  the Forest  Focus database has been  created and contains 
aggregated data and information on the state of EU forests. 

in  particular 

The delay in setting up the scheme has caused problems for the national competent 
bodies  in  charge  of  the  implementation  of  the  activities  foreseen  in  the  national 
programmes.  However,  only  in  exceptional  cases  were  part  of  the  activities 
withdrawn from what was initially planned.  

1 
2 

OJ L 324, 11.12.2003, p.1. 
SEC(2008) 30; COM(2008)6 final 

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Forest-related  information  has  been  gathered,  notably  on  soil  and  biodiversity, 
broadening the scope of forest monitoring for the first time. The information on soils 
and  above  ground  biodiversity  form  part  of  the  Biosoil  database  established  under 
the scheme. 

A significant percentage of the funding was foreseen for the development of research 
studies  and  demonstration  projects  on  biodiversity,  carbon  stocks,  forest  soil 
biodiversity, forest fires, ozone, climate change, genetic diversity, fungi, lichens and 
other forest related issues. 

As  regards  forest  fires,  the  European  Forest  Fire  Information  System,  EFFIS,  has 
been established and further developed under the scheme. Especially noteworthy are 
the modules on Natura 2000 and forests, estimated atmospheric emissions or post fire 
soil  erosion  that  have  been  created.  EFFIS  is  therefore  now  a  core  element  of 
European  forest  fire  monitoring  and  its  maintenance  is  assured  till  end  2010  by 
means of a pilot project requested by the European Parliament. 

2. 

OVERVIEW OF THE FOREST FOCUS REGULATION 

After  the  expiration  of  Regulation  (EEC)  No  3528/86  on  the  protection  of  the 
Community's forests against atmospheric pollution3 and Regulation (EC) No 2158/92 
on  the  protection  of  the  Community's  forests  against  fire4  at  the  end  of  2002,  the 
Forest  Focus  Regulation  was  set  up  for  a  four  year  period.  It  aimed  to  ensure  long 
term continuation and further development of this common monitoring. 

The overall budget foreseen for the implementation of the Forest Focus scheme over 
this period was 65 M€.  
123  agreements  were  established  between  41  competent  authorities5  designated  by 
the Member States and the European Commission, as explained in Section 3.  

The  national  authorities  drew  up  two-year  national  programmes  for  2003/2004  and 
2005/20066 containing the description of the activities and studies to be developed.  

The scheme allowed EU funding up to 50% in the case of monitoring activities, the 
development  of  the  EFFIS,  for  studies  on  fires,  for  awareness  raising  campaigns, 
special trainings and for fire prevention measures. The review of the scheme and the 
studies on identifying new monitoring activities were also co-funded up to 50 %.  

Studies,  experiments  and  demonstration  projects  to  further  develop  the  scheme,  to 
promote harmonised data collection and delivery and to improve data evaluation and 
data quality were co-funded up to 75% of the costs.  

Besides  the  national  programmes,  16%  of  the  budget  covered  the  following  Forest 
Focus activities: 

– 

The Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) provided overall scientific and 
technical support, the creation and management of the Forest Focus data base, 
the 
the  coordination  of 

the  European  Forest  Data  Centre  (EFDAC), 

3 

4 

5 
6 

OJ  L  326,  21.11.1986,  p.2. Regulation  as  last  amended by  Regulation (EC)  No 804/2002  (OJ  L  132, 
17.5.2002, p.1). 
OJ  L  217,  31.7.1992,  p.3.  Regulation  as  last  amended  by  Regulation  (EC)  No  805/2002  (OJ  L  132, 
17.5.2002, p.3). 
SEC (2010) 978  
see the interim implementation report under '2.2 Operation' of COM (2008) 6 final and SEC (2008) 30 

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maintenance  and  improvement  developing  of  the  EFFIS  and  the  coordination 
of studies, experiments and demonstration projects; 

The  agreement  with  UN-ECE  International  Co-operative  programme  on 
Assessment and Monitoring of Air pollution effects and forests, ICP-Forests,7 
that aimed to gather the data collected on the Level I network.  

The agreement with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe to 
write the report "State of forests and sustainable forest management in Europe 
2007".8  

The execution of the mid-term report "Development and review of the Forest 
Focus scheme"9.  

The  organisation  of  meetings  and  conferences  for  the  dissemination  of  the 
results of activities funded under the scheme. 10 

– 

– 

– 

– 

3. 

RESULTS 

3.1. 

Forest Focus database 

One  of  the  main  results  of  the  Forest  Focus  scheme  has  been  the  Forest  Focus 
database containing information on air pollution effects of forests. It consists on data 
on crown condition (discolouration and defoliation) on the 6000 plots of the Level I 
network  and  on  the  800  plots  of  the  intensive  Level  II  network.  In  the  intensive 
survey growth data, soil solution, deposition, ground vegetation foliar chemistry and 
soil solution were also gathered and are part of the database.  

For  reasons  of  data  protection,  validated  plot  data  can  only  be  disclosed  to  the 
competent authorities. Information on the aggregated data is available and accessible 
in the EFDAC and several reports on forest health and forest monitoring have been 
produced  and  are  available  to  the  general  public  e.g.  JRC  reports  and  ICP  forest 
yearly reports. 

A  first  assessment  of  the  data  on  the  extensive  monitoring  "Level  I"  provides 
information  on  the  crown  defoliation  and  discolouration  and  the  trends  on  those 
parameters over time as an indicator of forest health.  

Measurements  and  observations  conducted  on  the  intensive  Level  II  plots  have 
provided knowledge on:  

– 

– 

The mean defoliation of the main coniferous and broadleaf species showing a 
general EU wide stable trend with local variations  related to drought periods, 
extreme high temperatures, etc  

The  pH  levels  in  the  upper  mineral  layer  of  the  plots  with  different  values 
depending on the location of the plots.  

7 

8 
9 
10 

ICP Forests (the International Co-operative Programme on assessment and monitoring of air pollution 
effects  on  forests)  was  launched  in  1985  under  the  Convention  on  Long-range  Transboundary  Air 
Pollution of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) due to the growing public 
awareness of possible adverse effects of air pollution on forests. The Level I and II plots are common 
with  the  Forest  Focus  programme.  Currently  40  countries  participate  in  the  ICP  Forests.  See  also: 
http://www.icp-forests.org/Political.htm 
http://www.mcpfe.org/filestore/mcpfe/publications/pdf/state_of_europes_forests_2007.pdf 
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/forests/pdf/final_report.pdf 
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/forests/pdf/biosoil_brochure2010.pdf 

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– 

The mean concentrations of sulphur depositions which show a general decrease 
by  25%  from  2000  to  2005,  meanwhile  the  average  nitrogen  inputs  remained 
rather unchanged in the same period11. 

– 

Tree dimensions and forest growth per plot measured with a 5 year periodicity. 

–  Meteorology data (mean temperature and total annual precipitation) pursued to 
give information on their influence on forest condition and to explain punctual 
local variations when extreme episodes happened. 

– 

Ground  vegetation,  plant  species  richness  (measured  through  the  number  of 
species reported by layer: tree, shrubs, herbs and mosses) and the changes on 
richness over time.  

The  results  of  the  period  2003-2006  together  with  the  previous  information  from 
forest monitoring in the period 1986 -2002 permit to assess the current status and the 
evolution  of  forest  health  through  crown  condition  observations.  The  crown 
condition  indicator  showed  a  deterioration  of  forest  condition  in  2003,  when 
extremely  dry  and  warm  conditions  affected  Europe  and  a  slight  recovery  of  the 
defoliation level in the following years depending on the species considered and on 
the regions.  

The original ambition of the intensive network was to extrapolate results to produce 
EU-wide representative information. This objective could not be reached because of 
the lack of statistical precision of the Level II system. Deriving results from intensive 
monitoring at the EU level still requires further research.  

The Forest Focus database has already been used for modelling habitat suitability of 
dominant  tree  species  and  vegetation  shift  under  future  climate  scenarios12.  As 
climatic  conditions  change  over  time,  this  helps  to  understand  how  forest  species 
could  be  displaced  across  the  EU.  Data  from  the  database  could  also  feed  into 
international  policy  processes  such  as  the  UN  Convention  on  Biological  Diversity, 
Forest Europe or the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. 

3.2. 

Forest fire prevention activities and European Forest Fire Information System 

The  forest  fires  prevention  activities  co-funded  under  the  Forest  Focus  scheme 
included  the  construction  of  forest  paths,  tracks,  water  supply  points,  fire  breaks, 
to  fire  risk,  monitoring  facilities, 
clearance  and  felling  of  areas  exposed 
communication equipment, awareness raising campaigns and special trainings. 

As  described  in  the  interim  implementation  report  in  2008,  the  Commission 
developed  the  European  Forest  Fire  Information  System  (EFFIS)  in  collaboration 
with  the  Member  States  in  order  to  provide  a  platform  for  comprehensive  and 
intensive data and information exchange as regards monitoring and mapping of forest 
fires and their effects on the environment. 

Yearly  fire  reports  drafted  with  the  help  of  the  most  affected  Member  States, 
newsletters,  damage  assessment  in  Natura  2000  and  storm  damage  assessment 
reports  related  to  forests  are  published  within  the  EFFIS  activities13.  EFFIS  is  also 
used by the Commission's Monitoring and Information Centre for coordinating civil 
protection operations.  

11 
12 
13 

The condition of forest in Europe. 2008 Executive Report. 
http://forest.jrc.ec.europa.eu/climate-change 
http://effis.jrc.ec.europa.eu/reports 

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3.3. 

Studies  

143 studies and demonstration projects have been co-financed under the Forest Focus 
scheme  as  foreseen  in  the  national  programmes14.  They  aimed  at  increasing 
knowledge  on  forest  fires,  the  impacts  of  climate  change  on  biodiversity,  climate 
change and its relation with carbon sequestration, forest soils, biodiversity indicators, 
fungi, lichens genetic diversity, integrated pest management, and other forest related 
issues.  

The  Biosoil  project  aiming  to  develop  the  monitoring  of  forest  soils  and 
biodiversity15  brought  together  59  demonstration  projects  co-funded  by  75%.  The 
project was divided into two modules, one on soil and one on biodiversity.  

The  result  of  Biosoil  is  that  forest  biodiversity  information  has  been  collected  on 
3.379  Level  1  plots.  It  is  the  first  time  that  an  inventory  of  forest  biodiversity 
components is conducted at EU level. Harmonised information has been gathered on 
tree species diameter, high, deadwood, stand and canopy and ground vegetation, as 
well as a description of the forest type classification. The soil chemical and physical 
parameters  (i.e.  pH,  nitrogen,  carbon  stock,  etc)  together  with  the  biodiversity 
indicators collected are included in the Biosoil database managed by the JRC. 

In addition to the studies developed under the national programmes, 8 studies were 
launched and coordinated by the JRC. They focused on climate change, forest fires, 
harmonisation of  national forest inventories, protective functions  of forests, as well 
as part of the Biosoil demonstration study.  

4. 

4.1. 

FINANCIAL IMPLEMENTATION 

Break down of funds by activities for the period 2003-2006  

From  the  total  budget  of  the  scheme  (€65  million),  a  total  amount  of  €56,468,222 
was  allocated  to  perform  the  national  programmes.  A  total  of  €7,587,586  were 
allocated for the agreement with the Joint Research Centre, the execution of the mid 
term  review  of  the  scheme,  the  agreement  with  ICP-Forest,  and  for  the  different 
expert meetings and conferences.  

From  the  total  budget  committed  for  the  implementation  of  the  scheme  the  biggest 
amount  was  foreseen  for  the  intensive  monitoring  plots  (more  than  €21  million) 
followed  by  the  studies  and  demonstration  projects  (€17  million)  and  then  for  the 
forest  fire  prevention  activities  together  with  the  development  of  the  EFFIS  (more 
than €9 million) 16. 

Studies  and  demonstration  projects  on  forest  biodiversity,  soil,  carbon,  climate 
change, genetics etc accounted for 30% of the budget17. This reflects the importance 
that the Forest Focus scheme has given since the beginning to broaden the scope of 
the  traditional  forest  monitoring  on  atmospheric  pollution  and  forest  fires.  The 
Biosoil  project  on  forest  soil  and  biodiversity  had  an  allocation  of  €10  million:  €9 
million devoted to the soil part and approximately €1 million for biodiversity. 

14 
15 
16 
17 

See Annex I on forest focus C studies 
http://biosoil.jrc.it/  
SEC (2010) 978 
SEC (2010) 978 

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4.2. 

Expenditure and consumption of the Forest focus scheme 

The scheme is foreseen to be technically and financially closed by mid 2010.  

The average consumption rate of the Forest Focus national programmes is over 86% 
what  can  be  considered  a  success  in  the  implementation  of  the  scheme.  Only  three 
competent  bodies  had  a  low  consumption  rate  of  below  50%.  Due  to  the  delay  in 
starting  the  programme  and  the  administrative  burden  that  this  created,  some 
competent  bodies  found  difficulties 
the 
in 
consequence was that some of the activities were finally not performed. 

the  scheme  and 

implementing 

A total amount of € 53,342,555.09 was spent on the scheme. The activities foreseen 
in  the  national  programmes  accounted  for  €45,772,306.10  and  the  other  use  of  the 
Forest Focus budget for €7,570,248.99.  
An analysis of the expenditure per activity18 shows that the larger part of the funding, 
43% has gone to the intensive air pollution monitoring (Level II network). Following 
in  magnitude,  32%  has  gone  to  the  studies  and  demonstration  projects.  11%  was 
spent in forest fire related activities. The systematic Level I monitoring network used 
only  9%  of  the  total  budget  and  5%  of  the  budget  went  to  coordination  and 
management activities. 

The assessment of the expenditure by Member State and activity shows that most of 
the  financial  resources  were  devoted  to  the  intensive  monitoring  of  forest  health, 
followed by the development of studies and demonstration projects and in the third 
place by the fire monitoring activities.  

5. 

CONCLUSIONS 

A number of conclusions can be drawn from on the implementation of the scheme: 

•  Firstly that forest monitoring in the EU has devoted the majority of its financing 
resources  to  the  intensive  monitoring  network  (Level  II).  This  network  does  not 
provide  enough  representative  information  on  the  state  of  EU  forests  and  the 
resources and funds deployed in such a network are very high. 

•  Traditional  crown  condition  monitoring  has  been  gathered  already  for  20  years 
since  EU  forests  started  showing  symptoms  of  acid  rain  damage.  Latest  results 
have shown that forest condition is more stable nowadays and that sulphur content 
levels have decreased meanwhile nitrogen levels remain stable. Crown condition 
can still be considered as a representative and cost effective indicator for the state 
of forests. Nevertheless, it gives rough information on forest health and it should 
be complemented with other information on the visible damages. 

•  Other  indicators  should  be  included  in  future  forest  monitoring  systems,  using 

networks that provide consistent information at EU level. 

•  Forest soil and biodiversity monitoring should be continued in the future, as they 
deliver  crucial  information  for  EU  policy  making,  but  also  for  contributing  to 
international conventions, such as the UNCCC or the CBD. 

18 

With final figures taken on the 15th March 2010 considering all the final payments executed until the 
date, subject to eventual future audits, and estimations for the last pending payments. 

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With regard to forest fires and in the absence of a legal basis, the question of how to 
assure continuation of EFFIS and the Commission's expert group on forest fires will 
need  to  be  addressed  in  the  context  of  the  new  financial  perspectives  and  on  the 
Green  Paper  on  forest  protection  and  information19.  The  referring  Council 
conclusions  of  11  June  201020,  as  well  as  those  of  26  April  201021  give  the 
Commission further support and guidance on the continuation of forest related data 
management under the EFFIS system. 

The Forest Focus Regulation was repealed in 2006 by the Life+ Regulation (EC) No 
614/200722.  So  far,  there  is  one  forest  monitoring  project  ongoing  under  the  Life+ 
Regulation,  conceived  for  a  two-year  period  only  (2009  and  2010)  and  unlike  the 
Forest Focus scheme, it is based on a voluntary approach.  

In order to start a debate on EU policy needs, the European Commission adopted on 
1  March  2010  the  mentioned  Green  Paper  on  forest  protection  and  information.  It 
presents the current state of play of EU forests and sets out the main challenges they 
face  as  regards  climate  change,  as  part  of  the  follow-up  to  the  White  Paper  on 
adapting to climate change23. It also refers to existing forest information systems and 
the  tools  to  protect  forests,  and  raises  a  series  of  questions  relevant  to  the 
development of future policy options. A public consultation, to which this report may 
contribute as an important information tool, is open until end of July 2010 to feed the 
debate on forest protection and information 

The follow up to the Forest Focus Regulation, the more recent actions under Life+ 
and  the  wider  issue  of  forest  monitoring  will  be  taken  into  consideration  in  the 
context of the next steps after the Green Paper. 

19 
20 
21 

22 
23 

COM (2010) 66 
Council conclusions on forest protection and information in the EU, Council document 11037/10 
Council  conclusions  on  prevention  of  forest  fires  within  the  European  Union,  Council  document 
7788/10 
OJ L 149, 9.6.2007, p.1. 
COM(2009)147 

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