Policy brief on the potential of new spontaneous forests made public, addressed to the EU

The results of the SPONFOREST project are the basis of the recently published policy brief How natural forest expansion in Europe can offer cost-effective benefits to people, with policy recommendations on forest action and the potential of new spontaneous forests.

The document summarises some of the key results of SPONFOREST and points out a series of proposals related to current European Union policies on forestry action and the potential of new spontaneous forests to improve ecosystem services and functions in landscapes undergoing major changes in use. CREAF researchers Josep M. Espelta and Joan Pino have been involved in the project SPONFOREST, co-funded by the BiodivERsA call, which involves the ministries and national research agencies of France, Germany, Portugal and Spain, as well as the European Commission.

To carry out the report, several scientific publications linked to SPONFOREST have been reviewed to put into context and corroborate the results of the BiodivERsA research..

The report has been based on several scientific publications developed in the context of the SPONFOREST project. Likewise, resources on European policies have been taken into account, such as the European Green Deal, the European Union Forest Strategy, the communication on Stepping up EU action to protect and restore the world's forests, the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and Rural Development and the proposal for a European Climate Law, among many others, have also been reviewed.

The report has been written by Delbaere Consulting, in a joint work with the BiodivERsA policy report group and SPONFOREST researchers. BiodivERsA is a network of national and regional funding organisations, which promotes pan-European research on biodiversity and ecosystem services, and offers innovative opportunities to conserve and sustainably manage it.