Sectoral Brief: Forestry

As part of the EU-funded GoNaturePositive! project, five sectoral briefs were developed to explore how key economic sectors can contribute to a nature-positive economy. Covering agri-food systems, built environment, forestry, tourism, and the blue economy, these concise documents present the challenges, opportunities, and policy recommendations needed to transform these sectors – helping balance economic activity with ecosystem health and biodiversity conservation. The briefs are designed to guide upcoming project activities, including setting priorities, tackling policy barriers, and supporting targeted actions at project pilot sites. This brief - focusing on the forestry sector - highlights that forests cover 39% of the EU's land area, yet only 14% are reported as being in 'good' conservation status. A shift toward sustainable forest management through approaches like closer-to-nature forestry and agroforestry while limiting harmful practices such as clear-cutting can accelerate the transition to a nature-positive economy. Leveraging the EU Nature Restoration Regulation can further strengthen coordinated forest restoration. Finally, aligning forest-related funding and subsidies with biodiversity and climate objectives is crucial to ensure long-term ecological resilience and policy coherence.