What are the potential synergies between Forestry and Natura2000? Dr. Peri Kourakli Forest Task Force Coordinator

Who we are Birdlife International is the largest global partnership of conservation organisations We conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources Stichting BirdLife Europe is a partnership of 45 nature conservation organisations with almost 3,000 staff, 1.9 million members and more than 6,000 reserves covering over 300,000 hectares in Europe, Central Asia and Israel

What about forestry and NATURA2000 forests in the EU?

FOREST EUROPE Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe There are several pan National initiatives to foster “Sustainable Forest Management (SFM)”: 46 countries (from EU to Russia) Define “SFM” (Helsinki 1993) “General guidelines for SFM” (Helsinki 1993) “Pan-European Operational Guidelines for SFM” (Lisbon 1998) “Improved Pan-European Indicators for SFM” (Vienna 2002) Negotiations for a Legally Binding Agreement/LBA on Forests in Europe (Oslo 2011)

Conservation of Wild Birds Directive 2009/147/EC indicative Article 3 1. …. Member States shall take the requisite measures to preserve, maintain or re- establish a sufficient diversity and area of habitats for all the species of birds.... 2. The preservation, maintenance and re-establishment of biotopes and habitats shall include primarily the following measures: …….. (b) upkeep and management in accordance with the ecological needs of habitats inside and outside the protected zones……

Habitat and Species Directive 92/43/EC indicative Art. 2: “to maintain or restore, at favourable conservation status, natural habitats and species of wild fauna and flora of Community interest” Art. 10: “MS shall endeavour (…) in their land use planning and development policies (…), with a view to improving the ecological coherence of the Natura 2000 network , to encourage the management of features of the landscape of major importance for wild flora and fauna (…)” Art. 6.1: “establish necessary conservation measures, if need be management plans – specifically designed or integrated to other plans – and appropriate (…) measures corresponding to the ecological requirement of habitats and species present on the sites”

2020 Biodiversity Strategy Most relevent element Target 3b: Sustainable Forestry By 2020, Forest Management Plans or equivalent instruments, in line with Sustainable Forest Management (SFM), are in place for all forests that are publicly owned and for forest holdings above a certain size* that receive funding under the EU Rural Development Policy so as to bring about a measurable improvement (*) in the conservation status of species and habitats that depend on or are affected by forestry and in the provision of related ecosystem services as compared to the EU 2010 Baseline. (*) Improvement is to be measured against the quantified enhancement targets for the conservation status of species and habitats of EU interest in Target 1 and the restoration of degraded ecosystems under target 2. (**) For smaller forest holdings, Member States may provide additional incentives to encourage the adoption of Management Plans or equivalent instruments that are in line with SFM.

Are these applied by the MS? ?

European Environmental Agency key findings on forest biodiversity, 2010 Unsustainable forest management, fragmentation, airborne pollution and climate change are major threats to Europe's forest biodiversity Interacting pressures on forest ecosystems are increasing, they threaten species and habitats of European interest Old growth forests are the most valuable forest type in terms of storing biodiversity (including genetic variety) and carbon but only 4% of Europe’s forests are undisturbed by humans Remaining old-growth forests are being felled

MESSAGES FROM FOREST ECOSYSTEMS Source: ETC/BD,in EEA 2010 EEA report 2010 – Ten messages for 2010 on Forest Ecosystems Nearly 170 species of European interest (indentified in the EC Habitats Directive) are linked to forest ecosystems. According to current knowledge, IUCN estimates that 27 % of mammals, 10 % of reptiles and 8 % of amphibians related to forests are threatened with extinction in the EU region (ETC/BD, 2010, based on IUCN, 2009 ). EU Member State reporting pursuant to the Habitats Directive (EC, 2009) shows that 52 % of forest species of European interest are in 'unfavourable conservation status’. Only 14 % of the assessments report a favourable conservation status. Even more worrying, of the 73 forest habitat types listed in the EC Habitats Directive that were assessed, 63 % held 'unfavourable' conservation status, while just 21 % were 'favourable’. Source: ETC/BD,in EEA 2010

Regional indicators of common forest birds in 4 European regions West Europe Central & East Europe North Europe South Europe Forest Birds in EU Forest bird population trends One of the best-developed European biodiversity datasets comes from the pan-European Common Bird Monitoring programme, which includes 28 common forest bird species in 20 countries within the EEA region. As a particular example, populations of Lesser-spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos minor) and the Willow Tit (Parus montanus) declined more steeply in western Europe than in central and eastern Europe. Both depend on deciduous forests With old trees and deadwood . Trend of species increasing 12 declining 11 stable 7 uncertain 3 Source: European Bird Census Council, www.ebcc.info

“On the Way to Recovery“ Birdlife Assessment of the Progress on the EU 2020 Biodiversity Strategy Progress assessment summary: Wood production is the main goal of forest management Forest undisturbed by humans are only 4% in Europe Guidelines and monitoring for SFM is lacking

Any future messages for synergies between forestry and NATURA2000 management?

Key Actions of 2020 Biodiversity Strategy EU Level Key Actions of 2020 Biodiversity Strategy Target 1: Conservation status assessment (Bird& Habitats Directives) MS have started assessments and have displayed several good practices Biogeographical Seminars to ensure good management of Natura 2000 sites Seminars held include only habitats’ management Target 3b: Encourage forest holders to establish-fund Management Plans & Integrate biodiversity measures in forest management plans CAP/ RDR forest measures: Management Plans or equivalent are included but MEPs have asked for these to be removed, while several oppose any biodiversity measures

EU Level Article 3/ Bird’s Directive asks MS to “..take the requisite measures to preserve, maintain or re-establish a sufficient diversity and area of habitats for all the species of birds....” Some MS have designated special measures for wild birds including forestry; most haven’t implemented N2k management plans in forests Article 8.4/ Habitats’ Directive asks the EC to “… adopt, having regard to the available sources of funding … a prioritised action framework of measures involving co-financing…” Under developed by MS&EC. Funding is one of the main obstacles for biodiversity-friendly forest management. EU Budget under discussion & biodiversity under pressure Development of a new 2020 Forest Strategy MS & EC have decided to aim for forest multi-functionality and coherence in application; if not well planned, it will fail Development of LULUCF legislation

National Level Several MS have taken small steps forward due to their forest or biodiversity strategy, eg. Germany started serious discussions on forest protection (Project “Impacts of nature protection requirements on forestry -forest sector”) Sweden implemented measures for the enhancement of forest biodiversity over the last CAP period Bulgaria have started to monitor dead wood of forests GB have started to measure each habitats condition Significant volunteer initiatives are taking place, eg. Austria; SFM guidelines developed through the cooperation of BirdLife Austria and Austrian Federal Company (ÖBf) Volunteer certification schemes have supported forest biodiversity in some countries (eg. FSC in Spain & UK)

Are we ready to take advantage of the opportunities of the biodiversity- friendly forest management in NATURA2000? Are we on the right track to achieve the 2020 Biodiversity Strategy goals for forests? Let’s discuss this

www.birdlife.org pkourakli@ornithologiki.gr