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Forest Life - Building cooperation, developing skills and sharing knowledge for Natura 2000 forests in Greece

2nd Newsletter, May 2016

Editorial

LIFE Project ForestLife, in its first year of implementation, has already gathered the interest of the forest community, through its regularly updated web page, its presence in the social media Facebook and Twitter and also the meetings with a broad range of people involved in forest management in Greece. These meetings are held in the context of the assessment of needs in knowledge and information concerning forests within the Natura 2000 Network, an action in which the project is currently focusing on.

In this issue:

In this second Newsletter, you can be informed on the projects’s action on assessing the forest community’s needs and also, the project’s participation in the workshop on management of Mediterranean forests which was held in Luberon, France in May 2016. In the field of the wider forest timeliness, you can read the summary of the results of the 3rd Greek National Report on the conservation status of forest habitat types. Also, you can see an overview of the events held in Greece in celebration of the International Day of Forests, which this year focused in the relation between forests and water, an issue which the Forest Service has been addressing since its founding. Furthermore, you can read about the publication of the European Atlas of Forest Tree Species by the European Commission and the report European forest ecosystems: status and trends, by the European Environmental Agency.

ForestLife project News

The detection of the forest community’s needs is in progress

The project is focusing on the forest community’s needs, the detection of which, is a necessary condition for the achievement of the project’s goals. In the context of this action, the forest community members’ needs on matters relating to the conservation and management of Natura 2000 forests are recorded through targeted research.

ForestLife project in the workshop for the management of Natura 2000 Mediterranean forests

A popular destination for nature enthusiasts in France, Luberon Regional Natural Park, was selected as the grounds for the workshop on management of Mediterranean forests of the Natura 2000 network, which took place between 9-11 May 2016. Luberon Park, near the French Riviera, hosts characteristic West Mediterranean ecosystems and also, typical architectural elements of the French countryside.

Evaluation of conservation status of forest habitat types of Community Importance

The evaluation of the conservation status of the habitats types and species of Community Importance based on the results of the monitoring programmes, has been completed. The evaluation was done in the context of the 3rd National Report for the implementation of the Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC – Article 17) for the reference period 2007-2012, prolonged by two years (up to 2014) and was submitted to the European Commission in December 2014.

Celebrating the International Day of Forests in Greece

In 1971, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations established the 21st March as the World Forestry Day. In 2012, World Forestry Day was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations as the International Day of Forests in order to «celebrate and raise awareness of the importance of all types of forests and of trees outside forests».

World Water Day and forests

22nd March has been established by the United Nations as World Water Day. This event concides with the following day from the International Day of Forests and underlines the importance of forests in the creation and conservation of water resources. Forests play a leading role in the water cycle, improving the quality and increasing the quantity of water resources.

European Atlas of Forest Tree Species

21st March, the International Day of Forests, was chosen by the European Commission to publish the European Atlas of Forest Tree Species.

European forest ecosystems: state and trends

The European Environmental Agency released the report European forest ecosystems: state and trends. The aim of this report is, according to the authors, …to assess the current state of forest ecosystems in Europe on the pathway to healthy, diverse, resilient and productive forests for the benefit of present and future generations.