Europeans have high expectations of their forests which must meet increasing and sometimes conflicting environmental, social and economic demands. Policy makers must balance the conservation of biodiversity, the need to sequester and store carbon, adaptation to a changing climate and the provision of opportunities for recreation and leisure, while also supplying wood for energy and raw material use.
The European Forest Sector Outlook Study II (EFSOS II), which covers the EU 27, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, provides pictures of the consequences of today’s policy choices for the forest of tomorrow.
A reference scenario and four policy scenarios have been prepared for the European forest sector between 2010 and 2030, covering the forest resource and forest products. The scenarios are based on the results of several different modelling approaches, and in particular of econometric projections of production and consumption of forest products, the Wood Resource Balance, the European Forest Information Scenario model (EFISCEN), the European Forest Institute – Global Forest Sector Model (EFI-GTM), and competitiveness analysis.
The four policy scenarios (Maximising biomass carbon, Priority to biodiversity, Promoting wood energy, Fostering innovation and competitiveness) help policy makers gain insights into the consequences of certain policy choices. These choices are assessed according to their sustainability and recommendations are proposed based on the trade-offs facing policy makers. Decision makers are encouraged to reflect upon these analyses and to consider them when
taking possible future policy actions.
The study is available at: http://live.unece.org/forests/
