0 Executive Summary
1 Introduction
1.1 Background of the study
1.2 Study objectives
1.3 Methodology and outline
2 Forests in Europe: state and challenges
2.1 State and management of European forests
2.1.1 Ecological and socioeconomic aspects
2.1.2 Sustainable forest management
2.2 Challenges for European Forests
2.2.1 Ecological Trends
2.2.2 Socioeconomic Trends
2.3 Impacts and Threats
2.4 Needs for action
3 Forest and forest related policies – current state and policy coherence
3.1 International level
3.2 Pan-European level
3.3 European level
3.3.1 Forest policy
3.3.2 Agricultural Policy
3.3.3 Water policy
3.3.4 Policy on nature protection
3.3.5 Policy on renewable energy
3.3.6 Climate policy
3.4 Forest Monitoring
3.5 Policy Coherence
3.5.1 Vertical coherence
3.5.2 Horizontal coherence
4 Needs for action at the Community level towards better forest protection
4.1 Ecological arguments for the need for action at the Community level
4.2 Economic arguments for the need for action at the Community level
4.3 Political arguments for the need for action at the Community level
4.4 Resume
5 Options for European forest protection policy
5.1 EU environmental governance modes and competences
5.1.1 EU environmental governance modes
5.1.2 Regulatory approach
5.1.3 Framework approach
5.1.4 Voluntarism
5.1.5 Corresponding legal basis
5.2 Policy concept 1: “Continue and Improve Current Approach”
5.2.1 Rationale
5.2.2 Aim and Objectives
5.2.3 Governance and implementation
5.2.4 Plan for implementation
5.2.5 Summary “Continue and Improve Current Approach”
5.3 Policy concept 2: “Forest Monitoring for Europe”
5.3.1 Rationale
5.3.2 Aim and objectives
5.3.3 Priorities and principles
5.3.4 Governance
5.3.5 Plan for policy concept implementation
5.3.6 Summary “Forest Monitoring for Europe”
5.4 Policy concept 3: “Forest Framework Directive”
5.4.1 Rationale
5.4.2 Objectives, instruments and requirements
5.4.3 Implementation and governance structure
5.4.4 Reporting and evaluation measures
5.4.5 Summary “Forest Framework Directive”
5.5 Policy Concept 4: “Open Method of Coordination”
5.5.1 The Open Method of Coordination for Forest Protection
5.5.2 Rationale and objectives
5.5.3 Governance and implementation mechanisms: actors, competences, coordination and instruments/monitoring and evaluation measures
5.5.4 Summary OMC
6 Evaluation of policy concepts for a European forest protection policy
6.1 Evaluation Methodology
6.2 Results
6.2.1 General strengths and weaknesses of the options
6.2.2 Policy effectiveness
6.2.3 Policy feasibility
6.2.4 Resume
7 Policy recommendations
7.1 Initial Considerations: How to integrate a Community Initiative on forest protection into the current forest policy system?
7.2 Scenarios for Community action
7.3 Concluding remarks: Using the window of opportunity
8 References
9 Appendix
9.1 Needs for forest protection policy and already established EU policy means
9.2 Summary of the Expert Workshop “EU policy options for the protection of European forests against harmful Impacts”, Brussels, 7 – 8 May, 2009
9.3 List of participants at the expert workshop
9.4 Interview guidline for the evaluation of the options for forest protection at the Community level
9.5 List of expert interview partners