The Forest Europe Ministerial Conference welcomes progress on the Forest Genetic Resources Strategy for Europe and sets future priorities
Ministers from across Europe reaffirm their commitment to sustainable forest management, highlighting EUFORGEN’s role in enhancing forest resilience and setting new priorities for conserving forest genetic resources.
The 9th FOREST EUROPE Ministerial Conference, held in Bonn on 1–2 October 2024, marked a pivotal moment in advancing sustainable forest management across Europe. Ministers signed the Bonn Ministerial Declaration, acknowledging the role of EUFORGEN (European Forest Genetic Resources Programme) in enhancing forest resilience and adaptive capacity.
The declaration's signatories welcomed progress on the Forest Genetic Resources Strategy for Europe, and stressed the need to identify gaps, assess threats and set priorities for the conservation of forest genetic resources through the Genetic Conservation Unit Network, maintained by European countries through EUFORGEN. This challenge will be at the centre of the next phase of the EUFORGEN Programme, which will start in January 2025.
Speaking on the first day of the Ministerial Conference on 1 October, EUFORGEN Coordinator Michele Bozzano stressed the importance of genetic diversity in forests as a means of coping with current and future environmental challenges. He pointed out that a better understanding of this diversity will be crucial for forests' resilience, adaptability, and productivity.
Dr Bozzano also highlighted the increasing demand for forest reproductive material (FRM) to restore damaged forests and assist species in migrating from ecosystems at risk of collapse. He stressed that the future capacity of Europe to access and produce suitable FRM relies on current efforts to conserve forest genetic diversity.
To achieve this, forest managers, nurseries, and seed orchards require proper training, reliable decision-support tools, and a solid policy framework to develop skills for supporting forest adaptation. EUFORGEN, established in 1994 with a mandate from the FOREST EUROPE process, has a proven history of advancing knowledge and informing stakeholders about the sustainable use of forest genetic resources. Its recognition at the 9th Ministerial Conference marks a significant milestone as it celebrates three decades of promoting diverse and resilient forests.
The conference brought together representatives from 44 European ministries and 48 observer organisations, alongside the European Commission. It concluded with a reaffirmation of Europe's commitment to sustainable forest management and set priorities for the coming years, as climate change increasingly threatens forest resilience.
The EUFORGEN Programme is hosted by the European Forest Institute.
