Its four aims are to improve long-term competitiveness, improve and protect the environment, contribute to quality of life, and foster co-ordination and communication.
The EC has proposed 18 key actions to be implemented with member states between 2007 and 2011.
“With the action plan we aim to contribute to sustainable forest management. Our intention is to maintain and enhance the multi-functional role of European forests, underpinning better and sustained provision of goods and services to citizens,” said commissioner Fischer Boel.
The action plan will encourage innovation and research activities as well as training for forest owners and workers.
And to improve competitiveness of the forest sector, the action plan, in line with the biomass action plan and the EU biofuels strategy, also proposes actions aimed at increasing the use of forest resources for energy production.
The EC said that currently forests cover 37.8% of the EU’s land area, and the amount increased by 2.3 million ha between 2000 and 2005.
Around 60% of the EU’s forests are owned by about 15 million private forest owners, and forestry and forest based industries employ some 3.4 million people.
The EU is the world’s second biggest producer of industrial roundwood, but the average annual volume of timber harvested is only slightly more than 60% of the annual forest growth.
