European forests

Conserving biodiversity through sustainable forestry management

260.000 jobs in Europe

Bringing social and economic added value to rural areas

Use more wood

Reduce CO2 emissions and tackle climate change

Building with wood

A natural, strong, durable and recyclable material

Evaluation of forestry measures under rural development.

06.04.2018

Evaluation of forestry measures under rural development.

Under rural development policy, forestry measures cover the needs of the forest sector. They provide tools for member states and beneficiaries to support sustainable forest management and multifunctional forests. In addition, these measures deliver on economic, environmental and social objectives, in line with the EU forest strategy. These are among the main findings of a study on the evaluation of forestry measures under rural development.

Produced by an independent evaluator, this study focuses on how forestry measures are in line with the objectives of the common agricultural policy and of the EU forest strategy. To do this, it measured the impact across all EU member states, with a focus on the implementation done in fourteen distinctive areas across the EU.

Under the EU’s rural development policy member states run Rural Development Programmes based on local needs in line with six common EU priorities – four of which have a forest focus. This has resulted in a diversity of implementation choices, which are described and analysed in detail in this evaluation study.

The evaluation concluded that the coherence of the forestry measures and the tools provided to member states and beneficiaries were in line with the EU forest strategy. These measures also play a role in broader EU policy goals such as rural social resilience, economic development and support to the bio-economy, climate change mitigation and adaptation, provision of ecosystem services and biodiversity conservation.  

This study is part of a greater evaluation of forestry measures that will be finalised in summer 2018 with the publication of a staff working document, which will outline the main findings and analyse the contribution of forestry measures to the common agricultural policy and EU forest strategy.

This evaluation will then feed in the common agricultural policy performance report that will be presented in December 2018, as well as the 2018 review of the EU forest strategy.

Source: European Commission News