Robust forest data ensured by joint collection with the FAO, UNECE and FOREST EUROPE pan-European partnership

Anssi Pekkarinen, Senior Forestry Officer at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Roman Michalak, Economic Affairs Officer for the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), and Bernhard Wolfslehner, Team Leader of the European Forest Institute (EFI) for FOREST EUROPE, discuss the history and success of the FAO, UNECE and FOREST EUROPE pan-European partnership for forest data collection.

What is the pan-European partnership and how has it evolved from establishment to the present?

Forest data collected by UNECE and FAO have been used by the pan-European process since its onset in 1990. However, the cooperation of FAO, UNECE and FOREST EUROPE to jointly collect data began with the first report on the State of Europe’s Forests, released in 2003. The three secretariats FAO’s Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA), the Joint UNECE/FAO Forestry and Timber Section and FOREST EUROPE’s Liaison Unit) collaborate to collect and disseminate national data on forest resources and the environmental, social and economic aspects of sustainable forest management in the pan-European region.

“By joining forces in pursuit of unified data collection, relevant and pressing matters are addressed with the necessary attention and technical expertise without increasing the reporting burden on countries,” said Anssi Pekkarinen. “Together we are able to advance our tools and collaboration to take action regarding climate change, socioeconomic needs, and statuses and trends as applicable to forest resources.” 

How does the partnership collect forest-related data?

In parallel to FRA, the Joint Pan-European Data Collection (JPEDC) initiative – created by FAO, UNECE and FOREST EUROPE – is the primary source for comprehensive information on forests and sustainable forest management (SFM) in the pan-European region (FOREST EUROPE signatory countries), utilizing FOREST EUROPE criteria and indicators. The JPEDC collects and verifies national data on quantitative indicators for SFM to promote consistent analyses and reports. Since its inception, pan-European data collection has evolved along with the changing demands on forests by society with each reporting cycle.

The partnership has been involving the same network of National Correspondents, reviewers and technical workshops as those for FRA, which optimizes the use of national and international resources and supports the consistency of data reported to these two processes. The 2025 cycle of the pan-European data collection features a new development in this direction – a digital online interface coordinated with the FRA platform for data submission, review and accessibility. The JPEDC platform was developed with the financial support of the governments of Switzerland and Sweden.

How are the partner organizations engaged in reporting and assessing forest resources?

Since 1948, FAO has been conducting global assessments on the extent, condition, management and use of forest resources through country evaluations with expert analyses, remote sensing and statistical monitoring. While the initial assessments had limited country involvement, the global country reporting has been the foundation of FRA since 2005. The high-quality assessments compile comprehensive country reports every five years from officially nominated National Correspondents using a standardized methodology.

Established in 1947 to facilitate pan-European economic integration, UNECE as a multilateral platform facilitates greater economic integration and cooperation among its fifty-six Member States and promotes sustainable development and economic prosperity. UNECE has been working jointly with FAO to monitor and assess not only forest resources, but also forest products in the pan-European region since 1948. To adequately address modern challenges to the forest sector in general, the Joint UNECE/FAO Forestry and Timber Section focuses on the concepts of SFM and forest resources, promotes a circular economy and innovation in the forest sector, and highlights forest´s roles and conditions in a changing climate.

FOREST EUROPE was established in 1990 as a voluntary and high-level political process to promote the sustainable management of European forests. Currently composed of 45 European signatory countries and the European Union, FOREST EUROPE promotes guidelines, criteria and indicators for SFM developed through ministerial conferences every 3 to 5 years. To address pressing topics related to forests, the Liaison Unit organizes meetings, working groups, seminars and workshops.

“Each organization contributes to this partnership with distinct expertise and functions – from forest resource monitoring and analyses to economic cooperation and sustainable forest management – thus forming a collaboration platform that facilitates stronger and more holistic results than could be achieved by one organization alone,” said Roman Michalak.

What are the benefits and notable achievements of the pan-European data collection?

As a voluntary and country-driven process, the ongoing data collection cycle examines the status and trends of forest resources through transparent and traceable data collection with a well-established network of National Correspondents, national focal points and regional partners. This coordination will result in a significant reduction of the national reporting burden and the optimization of secretariats’ resources, as well as an improved completeness, credibility and visibility of the data. The data are used to streamline information to the public through publications and knowledge platforms such as FAO’s FRA, the State of Europe’s Forests reports, the FRA and JPEDC dataset platforms, and UNECE’S INForest data and knowledge platform for forests in the UNECE region. 

The three organizations disseminate their findings widely through their networks of international organizations, academia and practitioners from the public and private sectors. These efforts promote progress towards achieving relevant international goals such as the Paris Agreement, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of Agenda 2030, the United Nations Strategic Plan for Forests 2017–2030 and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

“The close collaboration between FAO, UNECE and FOREST EUROPE to assess forest resources shall support decision-making in forest policy and sustainable management to match the evolving needs of the region’s forests with robust, comparable and extensive data.” said Bernhard Wolfslehner.

Learn more

• Webpage: Pan-European partnership
• Publication: State of Europe's Forests (2020)
• Platform: Joint pan-European dataset 2020
• Platform: INForest – Your data and knowledge platform for forests in the UNECE region