Based on a new, broader approach to forests, the Strategy deals with the new challenges forests and the forest sector face at the present.

It stresses the importance of forests for rural development, as well as for the environment, for forest-based industries, bioenergy, and in the fight against climate change.

In this it underlines the need to follow a holistic approach, bringing together different internal and external forest-policy issues, covering the multiple benefits of forests, and addressing the whole forest value-chain (i.e. the way forest resources are used to generate goods and services).

The Strategy also emphasises that forest-linked EU policies should be taken into account in national forest policies.  Furthermore, it calls for a Forest Information System to be set up, for Europe-wide harmonised information on forests to be collected and for integrating diverse information systems and data platforms.

The Strategy has been submitted to the European Parliament and the Council.

More information at: http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/forest/strategy/