A One-Size-Fits-All Solution for Forests in the European Union : An Analysis of the New EU Forest Strategy

A new EU Forest Strategy for 2030 was announced by the European Commission in July 2021. The objective for our study was to analyze the Strategy in relation to its set boundary conditions namely, that it should be based on the best available scientific knowledge and respect the EU principle of subsidiarity. Our analysis demonstrates that although several – sometimes conflicting – policy pathways are promoted at the same time, the Strategy’s clear prioritization of forest biodiversity and conservation promotes a shift from a multi-functional approach toward a post-productive forest policy pathway promoting biodiversity-friendly and closer-to-nature forestry as a one-size-fits-all forest management solution. The suggestion that one common forest management practice across all of Europe’s forests would respond to the challenges outlined by the Strategy of climate change adaptation and mitigation while also reversing biodiversity loss is, however, not solidly backed up by scientific evidence. Also, the competence of Member States, e.g. in the form of regional, local, traditional, and indigenous knowledge on how to manage and monitor forests, is not sufficiently acknowledged in the Strategy. Furthermore, the proposed framework to govern forests, supposedly characterized by a bottom-up approach, appears to be a chimera, as the de facto implementation is primarily characterized by top-down measures, which implies a spill-over effect of EU's competence over forests in Europe, thus further challenging the subsidiarity principle in the forest policy sector