This presentation tries to connect existing EU and European policies and funds to the management of forest focusing on mixed multifunctional forests.

1. The current knowledge vs. trends in international and European
policies with regard to mixed forests and climate changes
Dr. Peri Kourakli
pkourakli@gmail.com
@Peri Kourakli

2. EU Birds (2009/147/EC) &Habitats (92/43/EEC) Directives
REPORT: “The State of Nature in the EU (2007-2012)” (2015)
MANDATORYPOLICIES
For more: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/pdf/state_of_nature_en.pdf

3. EU Plant Health Legislation Directive (2000/29/EC)MANDATORYPOLICIES
Aims to protect crops, fruit, vegetables, flowers, ornamentals
and forests from harmful pests and diseases by preventing
their introduction into the EU or their spread within the EU
Measures have been taken for:
 Pine wood nematode – serious pine disease/ 2012-2014
 Citrus long-horned beetle – kills hardwood trees and fruitful wild or
ornamental trees/ 2012
 Chestnut gall wasp – kills chestnut trees/ 2006 & 2014
 Sudden oak death – deadly oaks’ disease/ 2002
 Wood Packaging Material used to transport certain commodities
from China/ 2013

4. EUTimber Regulation (995/2010, 03.03.2013)MANDATORYPOLICIES
Introduced so to exclude illegally harvested timber, including EU
market woody biomass.
Interested side-actions so far:
An online consultation after 2 years application (15.04-03.07.2015)
A list of recognized monitoring organisations
An EU study "The impact of EU consumption on deforestation“
influences the developement of "Roadmap for a resource-
efficient Europe“
Two studies of EFI for its assessment and the lessons learnt
A study of ClientEarth for illegally produced biomass and the role
of the society

5. EU Green Paper on forest protection & informationVOLUNTARYPOLICIES
It was an important EU policy high level document which lead
afterwards to the development of EU Forest Strategy
Multifunctional forests are consider extremely important and are
highly promoted in several goals and key actions
It also highlighted the EU gap on forest long-term information
since currently EU is lacking of long term data which are
monitoring all functions of forest under one uniform framework

6. EU Forest StrategyVOLUNTARYPOLICIES
Mixed forests are not clearly stated, but forests that are as
multifunctional as possible with diverse tree species and rich
ecosystem services are consider highly important and are
promoted in several strategic orientations
Currently criteria for evaluating SFM for all EU MS are under
development
Evaluation of EC of the content of FMP of each MS (highly
appreciating multifunctionality, biodiversity, ecosystem services)
EP has asked MS and EC to use the EU R&D programs so to fund
forest actions, to focus on a long data collection and to train
young foresters, but EP considers the forest more as a source of
energy than a multifunctional ecosystem

7. EU Biodiversity StrategyVOLUNTARYPOLICIES
There are several targets connected somehow to forests but there
one target explicitly for forests and sustainability
Natura 2000 Biogeographical Process, a multi-stakeholders' co-
operation process, has already developed first sets of
management recommendations for mixed forests which host
Annex habitats of Habitats Directive
EC developed official guidelines for managers of NATURA2000
Forests andWilderness Areas, which both promote mixed forests
For more: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/index_en.htm

8. EU Climate Change Adaptation StrategyVOLUNTARYPOLICIES
Biomass use and storage are included in the strategy, for several
(academics, politicians, NGOs) their goals are consider
unsustainable for EU and outside EU
 EC developed a report for sustainability of energy in which the
sustainability risks are recognized and discussed
 Several on going discussions on the biomass carbon accounting,
scientists are trying to lead current policy to knowledge, while
NGOs consider the bioenergy targets ambitious and are fighting
for the role of bioenergy in the climate and energy framework
post 2020
Several on going discussions on the cascading biomass use
principle on EC level and academic society

9. EU Climate Change Adaptation StrategyVOLUNTARYPOLICIES
EC biomass reports so far:
 Resource efficiency impacts of future EU bioenergy demand (ReceBio)
for DG Environment
 Climate benefits of material substitution by forest biomass and
harvested wood products: Perspective 2030 (ClimWood 2030) for DG
Clima
 Carbon impacts of biomass consumed in the EU for DG Energy
UK DECC published the report “Bioenergy Emissions and
Counterfactual calculator (BEAC)” which looks at the carbon
balance of different woody biomass conversion pathways used in
the UK- it is consider as a milestone currently on the topic
Interesting study which is against the zero rated criteria for
biomass was developed in 2015 and provoke discussions

10. EU Climate Change Adaptation StrategyVOLUNTARYPOLICIES
LULUCF covers greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions into the atmosphere
and removal of carbon from the atmosphere resulting from our use of
soils, trees, plants, biomass and timber.
Their accounting and monitoring is a key action of the Kyoto
Protocol and the United Nations Framework Convention of
climate Change
EU started to formulate accounting rules and common targets
since 2011 and hosted two consultations on the topic in 2015:
 preparation of a legislative proposal on the effort of MS to reduce their
greenhouse gas emissions to meet the EU's greenhouse gas emission
reduction commitment in a 2030 perspective
 addressing greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture and LULUCF in the
context of the 2030 EU climate and energy framework

11. FOREST EUROPEVOLUNTARYPOLICIES
It has developed SFM monitoring tools which are consider very
broad and ambiguous due to its scale, as Forest Europe stated in
their 2013 report
LBA for Forests was consider as the most important policy tool
when the negotiations started in 2011. Unfortunately, after
negotiating for more than 2 years, in 2014 the negotiations
paused due to disagreements on its content. On March 2015, it
was decided the Agreement to be signed on October 2015. In this
text the multifunctional forests hosting rich biodiversity are
consider highly important

12. CAP: Rural Development Regulation (RDR)FINANCIALEUPOLICYTOOLS
In 2014-2020 CAP, the role and funds of forests are more
enhanced since it is consider as the main implementation tool for
EU Forest Strategy and Biodiversity Strategy.
It includes measures for forest protection and restoration,
although it maintains the afforestation measure of CAP 2003-2013
(which was the only forest measure applied to all MS and had the highest absorption)
Mix forests are consider more important and are highly promoted,
especially if they are included in a protected area
EIP-AGRI Focus Groups (tool for enhancing innovation at the CAP)
are including for the first time forest ecosystems; the first Group
for forests just launched (agroforestry) while more Groups will be
formulated

13. State Aid RulesFINANCIALEUPOLICYTOOLS
It includes specific forest measures and its main priorities are in
line with CAP RDR’s priorities, meaning that part of its measures
are funded by the relevant CAP RDR’s measures
Its additional measures are not explicitly promoting mix forests:
 Aid for investment in infrastructure related to development, modernization and
adaptation of forestry
 - Advisory services
 Aid for investments in forestry technologies and in the processing, mobilizing
and marketing of forestry products
 Start up aid for producer groups and organizations
 Co-operation measure

14. More funding toolsFINANCIALEUPOLICYTOOLS
HORIZON 2020
LIFE+ and especially the subprogram for climate action and RDR
funding

15. Dr. Peri Kourakli
pkourakli@gmail.com
@Peri Kourakli