As part of the Czech Presidency, the Towards harmonised forest observation, reporting and data collection framework workshop was held in Kutná Hora from 14 to 16 September.
During the workshop, participants discussed the current state of forest monitoring in EU Member States and its readiness for the establishment of a common harmonised framework for forest observation, reporting and data collection, as outlined in the New EU Forest Strategy.
The importance of the topic is evidenced by the participation of over 70 experts from 20 countries, representatives of the European Commission and representatives of major international organizations such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the European Forestry Institute (EFI) and Forest Europe. The main organiser was the Forest Management Institute (FMI) in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture. The workshop was opened by the Deputy Minister of Agriculture Patrik Mlynář.
In addition to presentations and the preparation of joint conclusions, the workshop included a field trip including a practical demonstration of the use of drones. The excursion was prepared by the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology of the ČZU in Prague near Kostelec nad Černými lesy.
In the conclusions of the workshop, participants pointed out that the objectives of the prepared common framework are not yet sufficiently specified by the European Commission and the need to use data obtained from remote sensing in parallel with ground survey data, which in the Czech Republic is, for example, the measurement within the National Forest Inventory. They also recommend that the European Commission should support the further development of tools to enable effective use of the available data.
The conclusions will be presented at the Meeting of the EU Forest Directors General in Prague in October. As part of the cooperation with the successor Presidency, this topic will be discussed in more detail at the Swedish Presidency event in February 2023.
More information (workshop conclusions and presentations)
The Swedish Presidency followed up with Workshop towards harmonised forest monitoring and reporting, Uppsala, Sweden, February 1-2 2023