Forests are the most species-rich of all terrestrial ecosystems. Biological diversity in forests encompasses the multitude of plants, animals and micro-organisms that inhabit forest areas and their associated genetic diversity. Forest biological diversity refers to all the life forms found within forested areas and the ecological roles they perform. Biodiversity can be considered at different levels, including the ecosystem, landscapes, species, populations and genes. Complex and varying interactions can occur within and between these levels. In biologically diverse forests, this complexity enables organisms to adapt to continually changing environmental conditions and to maintain ecosystem functions.
Over the years, sustainable forest management practices in European countries have been implemented to promote the conservation and enhancement of biological diversity. These forest practices are based on the guidelines developed by FOREST EUROPE. Selective measures have notably lead to increased natural regeneration and more mixed species stands. Actions are also being taken to encourage deadwood accumulation. Deadwood is an important component of diversity in forest ecosystems, as it provides habitats and food for a vast number of animals and plants. The area of protected forests has expanded by about 2 million ha in the last 5 years. Today, almost 5 percent of Europe’s forests are protected.
According to the report on sustainable forest management in Europe, State of Europe’s Forests 2007, 26 percent of the European forests are considered undisturbed – they are mainly located in eastern and northern European countries. About 70 percent of Europe’s forests are classified as semi-natural and about 4 percent as plantations. Three percent of the European forests are protected with the main objective of conserving biodiversity; equivalent to more than 8 percent if Russia’s vast forest area is excluded. Another 1.7 percent is protected with the main objective of conserving landscapes and specific natural features.
Fostering biodiversity conservation
In Europe, it is recognised that the conservation of forest biodiversity is an essential element of sustainably managed forests. The FOREST EUROPE guidelines address conservation and the appropriate enhancement of biological diversity, together with other objectives set for forests in the forestry policies and legislations. Several specific tools for sustainable forest management in Europe are relevant for enhancing forest biodiversity.
Forest biodiversity conservation was one of the main issues addressed at the Ministerial Conference in Helsinki in 1993, as a response to the objectives and measures set out in the Convention on Biological Diversity. Helsinki Resolution 2 provides General Guidelines for Conservation of the Biodiversity of European Forests. In 2003, the forest ministers adopted Vienna Resolution 4, Conserving and Enhancing Forest Biological Diversity in Europe, as well as the MCPFE Assessment Guidelines for Protected and Protective Forest and Other Wooded Land in Europe. Several of the MCPFE criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management are relevant to forest biodiversity. Criterion 4, with nine associated indicators, is directed exclusively towards biodiversity in forests. The Pan-European Guidelines for Afforestation and Reforestation with a special focus on the provisions of the UNFCC comprise, among others, a set of ecological guidelines, taking into account effects of afforestation on biological diversity. These guidelines have been jointly developed by FOREST EUROPE and the Environment for Europe (EfE)/Pan-European Biological and Landscape Diversity Strategy (PEBLDS).
Tools for achieving the 2010 Biodiversity Targets
The conservation and sustainable use of forest biological diversity requires specific approaches and strong cooperation between sectors. Since 1997 FOREST EUROPE has cooperated closely with the EfE/PEBLDS. This collaboration is recognised in the pan-European region as a role model. The implementation of the joint Work Programme on the Conservation and Enhancement of Biological Diversity in Forest Ecosystems and Framework of Cooperation has significantly improved cross-sectoral cooperation between forestry and biodiversity sectors for the benefit of forest biological diversity in Europe.
The “Joint position of the MCPFE and the EfE/PEBLDS on the pan-European understanding on the linkage between the ecosystem approach and sustainable forest management” has made clear the significant contribution of the FOREST EUROPE tools for achieving the 2010 Biodiversity Targets. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has recognised that the concept of sustainable forest management as defined and developed by FOREST EUROPE is consistent with the application of the ecosystem approach to forest ecosystems in the pan-European region. The ecosystem approach has been elaborated by the CBD as a strategy for the integrated management of land, water and living resources to promote conservation and sustainable use in an equitable way.
Through the FOREST EUROPE work European countries aim to coordinate implementation at the pan-European level of the Expanded Programme of Work on Forest Biological Diversity of the CBD.
