“We need to see the trends, need to predict better, we need to see how they are responding to climate change,” EU Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius told Reuters.
“At this moment there are no comprehensive monitoring requirements to provide an overall picture of the state of our forests,” he said.
The new data will also help track other risks, like illegal logging, across national borders, Sinkevicius said.
The EU has clashed with countries including Poland over this issue. The European Court of Justice ruled in March that Poland’s policy of allowing logging during birds’ breeding seasons breached EU environment laws. The court also ruled in 2018 against Warsaw’s authorisation of logging in the ancient Bialowieza forest.
Campaign group Fern welcomed the EU proposal as “a potentially golden opportunity” to provide the data needed to protect Europe’s forests. However, the group said the law should go further and compel EU countries to then take action to improve forests’ health.
Brussels says forest data currently provided by member states has gaps and often long delays, hampering their ability to prepare for climate hazards.
