Sustainable Forest Management A dynamic concept of Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) in Europe The pan-European concept of SFM is a success story. Since 1993, it safeguarded a common approach for dialogue, monitoring and policymaking. But forest policy and management face emerging environmental and political challenges. We need to revisit the role of SFM. How does it relate to other concepts? What are its strengths and weaknesses? Can it serve as a balancing tool to moderate new claims on forests and its resources? We need to keep it fit for the future.
Forest Europe leads the way in defining Sustainable Forest Management. The pan-European concept of SFM has provided a common approach for dialogue, monitoring, and policymaking across Europe. It is a dynamic and evolving concept, that continuously moderates the various claims on forests and forest resources balancing the three pillars of sustainability—ecological, social, and economic. The voluntary reporting assumes that the criteria and indicators (C&I) are firmly rooted among the Signatories and grounded in robust scientific principles. This provides a solid foundation for the results to be used to generate real impact. Since the adoption of the C&Is for SFM in Lisbon in 1998, they have served as a common framework for forest monitoring and reporting in Europe. Over the years, the C&I have undergone several adaptations, including collaborations with other regional processes and in the global context.
In the recent years, forest policy and management have faced emerging challenges, both from a changing environment and shifting political framework conditions. Societal demands on forests are increasing and the social, political, economic, and environmental contexts in which forest management is operated is continuously changing. Balancing the different claims on forests and forest ecosystem services is a complex task that requires proper handling of trade-offs in forest land use, management, and forest value chains. During the previous chairmanship, the concept of SFM has again been thoroughly reviewed; it remains relevant, and it provides a robust foundation that can be adapted to the changing needs of the future.
The aim of this workstream is to ensure that Forest Europe continues to advance SFM and keeps its C&Is at the forefront of forest policymaking and management. This workstream will continue to promote and implement the dynamic concept of SFM as the integrative basis for forest strategies, plans, and programs in political dialogues and in response to emerging issues and societal demands on European forests. The focus will be to build on previous efforts to review and strengthen the C&I for SFM in the pan-European region, while taking into account the most recent international commitments, such as the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Convention on Climate Change, the KUNMING-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, and the continuously changing social, political, economic and environmental context in which forest management is practised as well as the increasing societal demands on forests.
During the Work Programme 2025-2026, the Forest Europe’s flagship report, State of Europe’s Forests (SoEF), will be published. The report is an essential element of pan-European forest reporting. This workstream will establish a foundation for constructive dialogue on the findings of the report.
The Bonn Ministerial Declaration, “Keeping Sustainable Forest Management Fit for the Future”, provides a clear reference and commitment to the dynamic concept of SFM. Ministers have reaffirmed their commitment to the continued work on the dynamic concept of SFM, its Criteria and Indicators (C&I) and the joint publication of the flagship report State of Europe’s Forests (SoEF), in collaboration with UNECE and FAO, remain the key priorities of the Work Programme 2025-2026.
The continuation of the SFM Think Tank is essential for the success of this work.
What is SFM? According to the Helsinki resolution, SFM is: “the stewardship and use of forests and forest lands in a way, and at a rate, that maintains their biodiversity, productivity, regeneration capacity, vitality and their potential to fulfill, now and in the future, relevant ecological, economic and social functions, at local, national, and global levels, and that does not cause damage to other ecosystems” Criteria & IndicatorsC1
Forest Resources & Global Carbon CyclesIndicators
C2
Forest Ecosystem Health and VitalityIndicators
C3
Productive Functions of ForestsIndicators
C4
Forests Biological DiversityIndicators
C5
Protective Functions (Soil & Water)Indicators
C6
Socioeconomic FunctionsIndicators
Guidelines for each criterion, divided into the two parts: Forest Management Planning and Forest Management Practices, focused on basic ecological, economical and social requirements for sustainable forest management.
Guidelines for afforestation and reforestationSet of recommendations to implement economically viable, environmentally sound and socially equitable afforestation and reforestation programmes and projects.
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