The Ad-Hoc Policy Analysis on Forestry (October 2025) explores how international, EU, and national policies are shaping the future of forests — from climate action and biodiversity conservation to sustainable timber use and bioeconomy development.
At the international level, frameworks like the Paris Agreement, UN Strategic Plan for Forests, and Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework provide the foundation for global action against deforestation and forest degradation.
At the EU level, forestry has become a key pillar of the European Green Deal. Central initiatives include the EU Forest Strategy 2030, EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030, and EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). Recent debates around the Forest Monitoring Law highlight both the opportunities and challenges of integrating better forest data, Earth Observation (EO), and national monitoring systems.
At the national level, Member States are implementing these policies through National Forest Inventories, Competent Authorities, and national forest strategies tailored to local conditions — from carbon neutrality goals in Finland to combating desertification in Spain.
Across all policy levels, Earth Observation plays an increasingly vital role — from tracking global forest goals and biodiversity restoration to ensuring compliance with EU forest and agricultural policies. Despite concerns over data reliability and privacy, EO technologies are now essential to monitoring, reporting, and verifying progress in sustainable forest management.
For the full report, download here.
Disclaimer: This policy analysis was produced on 21 October 2025. Policy developments in the forestry domain are rapidly evolving, and some information may have become outdated since publication.
IMAGE CREDIT: zlikovec | LICENCE: ESA Standard Licence
