The Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe (MCPFE, synonym of the Helsinki Process, and, from November 2009, of FOREST EUROPEPress Release Oslo, 26 November 2009) is a pan-European ministerial level voluntary political process for the promotion of sustainable management of European forests.
Through this process, guidelines, criteria & indicators of sustainable forest management and other instruments for the promotion of sustainable forest management (SFM) are developed.
The process is based on the Ministerial Conferences that have been convened with an interval of 3 to 5 years. These Conferences represent the highest decision-making body of the process, as well as its most important event. At Ministerial Conferences, the ministers responsible for forests in Europe take decisions on issues of the highest political and social relevance regarding forests and forestry through decisions and resolutions. Between ministerial conferences, the Expert Level Meeting (ELM) is a decision-making body of FOREST EUROPE. On top of that, ad hoc round table meetings, working groups, seminars and workshops are being established to work on specific subjects of scientific, technical or political nature.
FOREST EUROPE also has its supportive structures, namely the General Coordinating Committee (GCC) that coordinates the FOREST EUROPE work and advises the Liaison Unit on implementation of FOREST EUROPE decisions and on strategic developments. The Liaison Unit is the support office of the process. It organises and carries out all FOREST EUROPE meetings and prepares reports and necessary documentation for the meetings. The Liaison Unit is located in the country which holds the chairmanship of FOREST EUROPE – currently in Bonn, Germany, under the name of Liaison Unit Bonn.
Ministerial Conferences and commitments From 1990, eight (plus one extraordinary) Ministerial Conferences on the Protection of Forests in Europe have taken place. The last Ministerial Conference took place in Bratislava in spring 2021 (virtually). At every Conference, a joint political declaration is agreed and different resolutions are adopted, in order to develop common strategies for its 46 signatory countries and the European Union on how to protect and sustainably manage forests.
Strasbourg (1990)
Strasbourg Resolution S1 "Monitoring of Forest Ecosystems"Strasbourg Resolution S1 "Monitoring of Forest Ecosystems" Strasbourg Resolution S2 "Genetic Resources" Strasbourg Resolution S3 "Data Bank on Forest Fires"Strasbourg Resolution S3 "Data Bank on Forest Fires" Strasbourg Resolution S4 "Adapting the Management of Mountain Forests" Strasbourg Resolution S5 "Research on Tree Physiology"Strasbourg Resolution S5 "Research on Tree Physiology" Strasbourg Resolution S6 "Research into Forest Ecosystems"Strasbourg Resolution S6 "Research into Forest Ecosystems"
Helsinki (1993)
Helsinki Resolution H1 "General Guidelines for the Sustainable Management of Forests in Europe"Helsinki Resolution H1 "General Guidelines for the Sustainable Management of Forests in Europe" Helsinki Resolution H2 "General Guidelines for the Conservation of the Biodiversity" Helsinki Resolution H3 "Cooperation with Countries with Economies in Transition"Helsinki Resolution H3 "Cooperation with Countries with Economies in Transition" Helsinki Resolution H4 "Adaptation of Forests in Europe to Climate Change"Helsinki Resolution H4 "Adaptation of Forests in Europe to Climate Change"
Lisbon (1998)
Lisbon Resolution L1 "Socio-Economic Aspects of Sustainable Forest Management"Lisbon Resolution L1 "Socio-Economic Aspects of Sustainable Forest Management" Lisbon Resolution L2 "Pan-European Criteria, Indicators and PEOLG for Sustainable Forest Management"
Vienna (2003)
Vienna Resolution Forest V1 "Cross-Sectoral Co-operation and NFPs"Vienna Resolution Forest V1 "Cross-Sectoral Co-operation and NFPs" Vienna Resolution Forest V2 "Economic Viability of SFM"Vienna Resolution Forest V2 "Economic Viability of SFM" Vienna Resolution Forest V3 "Social and Cultural Dimension of SFM"Vienna Resolution Forest V3 "Social and Cultural Dimension of SFM" Vienna Resolution Forest V4 "Forest Biological Diversity"Vienna Resolution Forest V4 "Forest Biological Diversity" Vienna Resolution Forest V5 "Climate Change and Sustainable Forest Management in Europe"Vienna Resolution Forest V5 "Climate Change and Sustainable Forest Management in Europe"
Warsaw (2007)
Warsaw Resolution W1 "Forest, Wood and Energy"Warsaw Resolution W1 "Forest, Wood and Energy" Warsaw Resolution W2 "Forest and Water"Warsaw Resolution W2 "Forest and Water"
Oslo (2011)
In the Oslo Ministerial Conference ministers adopted a decision (the so-called Oslo Ministerial Decision: European Forests 2020) and agreed on a mandate to launch negotiations on a Legally Binding Agreement on Forests in Europe.The Independent
Oslo Ministerial Decision: European Forests 2020Oslo Ministerial Decision: European Forests 2020 Oslo Ministerial Mandate for Negotiating a Legally Binding Agreement on Forests in EuropeOslo Ministerial Mandate for Negotiating a Contract|Legally Binding Agreement
Madrid (2015) Two FOREST EUROPE Ministerial Conferences were held in Madrid in October 2015: the 7th Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe, and a FOREST EUROPE Extraordinary Ministerial Conference that received the results of the work of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for a Legally Binding Agreement on Forests in Europe. The Conferences were held back-to-back, on the following dates: 20–21 October the 7th FOREST EUROPE Ministerial Conference, and 21 October for the Extraordinary Ministerial Conference.
Madrid Ministerial Declaration: 25 years together promoting Sustainable Forest Management in Europe Madrid Ministerial Resolution 1: Forest sector in the center of Green Economy Madrid Ministerial Resolution 2: Protection of forests in a changing environment Madrid Ministerial Decision: The future direction of FOREST EUROPE
Madrid Ministerial Decision
Bratislava (2021) At the 8th Ministerial Converence on the Protection of Forests in Europe, a Ministerial Declaration and Resolution was signed. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the conference took place virtually.
Bratislava Ministerial Declaration:The Future We Want: The Forests We Need Bratislava Ministerial Resolution: Adapting pan-European forests to climate change
Composition
Signatories
The FOREST EUROPE signatory countries commit themselves to implement at national level the resolutions adopted during the Ministerial Conferences.
Between two Ministerial Conferences, delegates from the different signatory countries take part in different meetings, where the way to put into practice the agreements reached during the Conferences is planned and coordinated.
All the signatory countries inform the Liaison Unit about their implementation of the resolutions.
The number of signatories has increased over the years, and now account for 46 European countries, as well as the European Union: Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Holy See, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.
Observers Non-European countries and different kind of international organizations take also part in the FOREST EUROPE process as observers.
Countries (14) At the present time (beginning 2015), the number of FOREST EUROPE observer countries totals 14 non-European countries, Canada, USA, India, China, Japan and Morocco among others. This is the list of observer countries at present: Australia, Brazil, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Ghana, India, Japan, Malaysia, Morocco, New Zealand, South Korea and the United States.
Organisations (45) Intergovernmental organizations such as the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF), and the World Bank are among the observer organizations of the FOREST EUROPE process.
Stakeholders organizations are also represented among the observers, having the opportunity to defend their positions and express their concerns during the different meetings. The stakeholder organizations could be classified into the six following major groups:
Youth and students organizations (so far only represented by the International Forestry Students’ Association, IFSA) Forest owners, both public (EUSTAFOR) and private (CEPF, COPA-COGECA, ELO, FECOF, USSE), organizations Forest and forest related industry (CEI-Bois, CEPI) Social ONGs (BWI, UEF...) Scientific organizations (Bioversity International, EFI, IIASA, IUFRO, UNU...) Environmental NGOs (WWF, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, Pro-Natura)
As of the beginning of 2015, FOREST EUROPE observers included:
Alpine Convention Association Internationale Forêts Méditerranéennes (AIFM) Bioversity International / EUFORGEN (European Forest Genetic Resources Programme) Building and Wood Workers International (BWI, former IFBWW) Carpathian Convention CEI-Bois (European Confederation of Woodworking Industries) CEPF (Confederation of European Forest Owners) CEPI (Confederation of European Paper Industries) CIC (International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation) COPA-COGECA (Committee of Professional Agricultural Organisations and General Committee for Agricultural Cooperation in the European Union) Council of Europe Council of European Foresters (CEF) EFI (European Forest Institute) ELO (European Landowners' Organisation) ENFE (European Network of Forest Entrepreneurs) EOMF (European Observatory of Mountain Forest) European Forest Building and Wood Workers (EEBWW) European Investment Bank (EIB) EUSTAFOR (European State Forest Association) FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) FECOF (Fédération Européenne des Communes Forestières) FERN Friends of the Earth Europe FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) Greenpeace International IFSA (International Forestry Students’ Association) IIASA (International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis) ILO (International Labour Organization) ITTO (International Tropical Timber Organization) IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) IUFRO (International Union of Forest Research Organizations) Mediterranean Model Forest Network (MMFN) Montréal Process PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) Pro Natura - Friends of the Earth Switzerland Regional Environmental Center (REC) UEF (Union of European Foresters) UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) UNECE (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe) UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) UNFF (United Nations Forum on Forests) UNU (United Nations University) USSE (Union of Foresters of Southern Europe) World Bank World Wide Fund for Nature
Structure and functioning Besides the Ministerial Conferences themselves, the FOREST EUROPE process has a more elaborated structure and different working modalities.
Ministerial conferences Ministerial Conferences are the core of the FOREST EUROPE process. At these meetings, the ministers in charge of forest related issues in the pan-European region commit themselves and endorse decisions on forests a forestry related issues. Between Ministerial Conferences the FOREST EUROPE process works through different follow up mechanisms (see following points).
Expert Level Meetings