Priority Actions for the Conservation of Primary and Old‐Growth Forests in Europe
ABSTRACT Primary and old‐growth forests are important for nature and society. Although global commitments to their conservation are increasing and the EU has aligned itself with these efforts, these forests remain critically threatened. Consequently, to meet its own targets rooted in global commitments, the EU needs a strategy that ensures their conservation. The Nature Restoration Regulation offers a promising framework for this. We outline four priority actions for the conservation of these forests and explain how they can be achieved under the Regulation: (1) assess progress and address barriers to identifying, mapping, and protecting primary and old‐growth forests and implement a logging moratorium; (2) prevent degradation from anthropogenic pressures and protect natural processes; (3) expand strict protection and establish buffer zones; and (4) improve connectivity and create secondary old‐growth forests through passive and active restoration. Additionally, we highlight how the Regulation provides an opportunity to address further policy gaps.
Authors
- Johan Svensson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1679-3506)
- Marcus Lindner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0770-003X)
- Kris Vandekerkhove (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1954-692X)
- Lyla O’Brien
- Tobias Kuemmerle (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9775-142X)
- Georg Winkel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9254-0447)
- Miroslav Svoboda (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4050-3422)
- Martin Mikoláš (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3637-3074)
- Catalina Munteanu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1616-9639)
- Adam Felton
- Fabio Castelli
- Francesco Maria Sabatini
Institutions
- University of Freiburg (DE)
- Research Institute for Nature and Forest (BE)
- Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (CZ)
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (CH)
- Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SE)
- Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (DE)
- Institute for Environmental Sciences (JP)
- European Forest Institute (DE)
- Wageningen University & Research (NL)
- University of Bologna (IT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Conservation Letters
- Published
- 2026-06-28
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1111/con4.70054
- Primary Topic
- Forest Ecology and Biodiversity Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Biodiversa+
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
- Svenska Forskningsrådet Formas
- Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz, Bau und Reaktorsicherheit
- Ministero dell'Università e della Ricerca
- HORIZON EUROPE Climate, Energy and Mobility