Session: Regulating and financing Forest Ecosystem Services for Climate Goals, Biodiversity and Nature Restauration

Beschreibung / Description

The demand for forest-based ecosystem services is surging dramatically. To meet EU policy goals the Land Use, Land-Use change, and Forestry sector (LULUCF) has to increase it’s carbon sink by 310 Mio. t. by 2030. At the same time the European Nature Restoration Law (NRL) aims to halt the loss of biodiversity by increasing the percentage of protected land areas and certain biodiversity indicators, also targeting woodlands and forest biodiversity. The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) requests wood producers overseas but also in Europe to fulfill certain diligence requirements, potentially challenging the way wood is being produced by stallholders in Europe.

These policy goals have led to both public praise and fierce protest across Europe. They pose great challenges for forestry, the forest ecosystems and forest policy and land use policy scientists. How can these goals be addressed in a coherent way – or is policy coherence not even necessary or desirable? What power networks can be observed and how could they be orchestrated to meet common goals? How can common and public goals be fulfilled by individual state and private actors?

The question of choice of the appropriate or most effective policy instruments to meet these goals has been raised by the EU itself. There are numerous calls for the involvement of the private sector and policies in preparation for a legal framework to help public-private partnerships. In sight of new geopolitical challenges public funds across Europe seem less available for climate an biodiversity action in the foreseeable future. Most notably the EU Commission’s President v.d. Leyen herself has called for the development of a “Nature Credit” system to activate private capital, but this far little progress has been made.

While faced by the same European goals the European countries have chosen different paths to address these challenges. The session aims to bring together experts int his field from various European countries to share lessons learned and discuss best practice examples from around the continent.

Keywords: LULUCF, Forest Ecosystem Services, Policy Coherence, Nature Restauration, Market based solution