With Europe’s forests, we can’t manage what we can’t measure (commentary)

A group of European policymakers are currently trying to derail a law that would harmonize data used to monitor the European Union’s forests.
The Forest Monitoring Law (FML) was proposed by the European Commission in November 2023, but conservative and far-right members of the European Parliament recently moved to scrap it.
“We cannot manage what we cannot measure. By ensuring cost efficiency, enhancing competitiveness, transformation to a true bio-economy and responding to the growing demand for forest information, the law positions Europe as a leader in forestry data and management. Let us seize this opportunity,” a new op-ed argues.
This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Basic logic dictates that the more accurate and detailed knowledge one has about a problem, the better one can solve it.

Take Europe’s forests. The bigger picture is clear: over the past half century, logging and climate change have eroded our forests’ resilience, leading to collapsing carbon sinks, a dramatic loss of biodiversity, and the decline in the availability of wood. This information comes in waves. We are surprised by headlines reporting that Germany’s and Finland’s forests have turned into carbon sources. We also experience a structural deficit in the wood supply to the industry as a result of climate change calamities and increased logging. Yet we do not have the comprehensive, harmonized data we need to arrest this crisis.

There is a lack of uniformity — and transparency — in what we measure, how and where. This means decision-makers are semi-blindfolded when crafting ways to tackle it. The Forest Monitoring Law (FML), proposed by the European Commission in November 2023 to harmonize how the EU’s forests are monitored, marked an overdue recognition of the problem. But now there is a real danger that the law could fall prey to the same forces that have tried to sabotage other progressive EU environmental measures.

Possibilities and pitfalls

As a forestry researcher, I have worked with the available European forest data since the 1980s, and I am acutely aware of the potential pitfalls and challenges in Europe’s quest for sustainable forest management and wood use. I also believe that this monitoring law can be a vital tool in overcoming them. Information is power, and in forestry better information gives forest owners and managers the ability to adapt their management to climate change’s looming impacts and secure a sustainable wood supply for the industry.

Dead and downed trees must be measured. Image courtesy of the author. — Dead wood, Dalarna, Sweden Image courtesy of Mark Olden.

The combination of geographically explicit measurements on the ground (where the location of the forest is known) with satellite mapping capabilities offers unparalleled information on forests that is better than either data source on their own. Earth observation experts have highlighted the importance of this synergy in a letter, urging us not to squander this opportunity. The global race to transform data sets into analytic services, often referred to as the “remote sensing Olympics,” is intensifying. The United States has already expressed concerns about falling behind due to insufficient federal funding.

The EU has made an impressive investment in the Copernicus system of satellites, named for the researcher whose spirit of discovery allowed us to understand better the world we live in. It offers an enormous opportunity to develop services for a variety of sectors, and forestry is no exception. If Europe does not seize the opportunity provided by Earth observation in the Forest Monitoring Law, we lose out developing competitive industries.

Critical insights

Beyond industries, the monitoring law offers advantages for countries with tight budgets. For example, the integration of artificial intelligence (which is developing exponentially) and satellite systems for data analysis is a complex and costly endeavor.

However, the monitoring law provides a unique opportunity for member states to develop their own national forest inventories (NFIs) using the Copernicus satellites and the pan-European development of artificial intelligence, with the financial burden already shouldered by the union. This collaborative approach not only leverages EU expertise to analyze the data but also ensures that even EU member states with limited resources can participate. By doing so, the EU enhances competitiveness at minimal cost, fostering a more inclusive and efficient forest sector. The law as originally proposed facilitates the sharing of monitoring site inputs to refine Copernicus images, providing critical insights into various forestry aspects.

Wooded landscape in Kõrvemaa Nature Park, Estonia. Image courtesy of Ireen Trummer via Creative Commons CC BY-SA 3.0.

Now, however, this is all under threat. The FML is now being attacked by short-sighted policymakers, who are part of a wider movement to thwart EU measures to protect the natural world, such as the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).

In early March, conservative and far-right MEPs tabled amendments in the European Parliament to scrap the law altogether. This move follows the current trend of increased nationalism in times when we need more European coordination, and not less. It is imperative that we retain the original provisions in the European Commission’s proposal to maintain our competitive edge and continue leading in forestry data analytics.

The FML is not just a legislative measure, it is a pivotal step toward a sustainable future for our forests, as we cannot manage what we cannot measure. By ensuring cost efficiency, enhancing competitiveness, transformation to a true bio-economy and responding to the growing demand for forest information, the law positions Europe as a leader in forestry data and management. Let us seize this opportunity to safeguard our forests and secure a sustainable future for future generations and a long-term sustainable European forest sector.

Professor Sten B. Nilsson is an expert on boreal forests. He has written or co-authored approximately 400 scientific papers and contributed to the reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Related audio from Mongabay’s podcast: Rewilding and reforestation author Eoghun Daltun describes how his project is growing a surprising forest in one of the E.U.’s most deforested nations, listen here:

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