Forests and other wooded areas cover slightly more of the EU land area than is used by agriculture. However, these two land uses overlap and interact, particularly in areas used for traditional silvo-pastoral farming and modern agro-forestry. IEEP’s Agriculture and Land Management Programme examines how long-term sustainable management of Europe’s forests and wooded land can deliver biodiversity, ecosystem services and other benefits for society, while providing a wide range of raw materials and rural employment.

We also focus on the need to improve the resilience of Europe’s forests to the effects of climate change and their important but complex role in carbon storage and renewable energy. Our Biodiversity Programme addresses the need to improve conservation management of internationally important forest habitats and species and the role of forests in providing green infrastructure and supporting the adaptation of other ecosystems to climate change.

We support the integration of environmentally-friendly forestry into EU and Member States’ policies through our work on rural development within the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the EU Forest Strategy, the Natura 2000 Directives and the EU Biodiversity Strategy. We have a long-standing commitment to improve the knowledge base and awareness of High Nature Value forestry. We also seek to inform the policy debate on climate change, including the benefits and impacts of wood fuel. IEEP is actively involved in improving cross-sectoral linkages between EU forest, energy, agriculture and nature conservation policies, particularly in the context of the accounting rules for greenhouse gas emissions in the Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry sector.