Legal provisions of COM(2023)728 - Monitoring framework for resilient European forests - Main contents

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dossier	COM(2023)728 - Monitoring framework for resilient European forests.
document	COM(2023)728
date	November 22, 2023

CHAPTER - 1

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1 - Subject matter

1. This Regulation lays down a forest monitoring framework for the Union by providing for rules:

(a)ensuring timeliness, accuracy, consistency, transparency, comparability and completeness of forest data within the Union and their public accessibility;

(b)supporting the voluntary development of integrated long-term plans at the level of the Member States through an evidence-based, inclusive, cross-sectoral and adaptive approach;

(c)setting up a strengthened governance between the Commission and the Member States.

2. This Regulation lays down rules for collecting and making accessible information to support:

(d)the implementation of Union legislation and policies pertaining to the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of forest ecosystems and their services, with particular attention to the objective of increasing forest resilience and enabling to safeguard the multifunctionality of forests, including in relation to:

(a)climate change adaptation and mitigation;

(b)biodiversity;

(c)disaster risk prevention and management;

(d)forest health;

(e)forest biomass use for different socio-economic purposes;

(f)invasive alien species;

(e)national forest management and integrated long-term planning by the Member States, inter alia, to increase forest resilience against wildfires, pests, droughts and other disturbances.

Article 2 - Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions apply:

(1) ‘geographically explicit information’ means information referenced and stored in a manner that permits it to be mapped and localised with specific precision and accuracy;

(2) ‘geographic information system’ means a computer system capable of capturing, storing, analysing, and displaying geographically explicit information;

(3) ‘forest unit’ means a geographically explicit area representing a sufficiently homogenous area of forest as determined by Earth Observation and any other suitable ancillary layer of geographically explicit information, such as tree cover density, administrative boundary, or topographic boundary in a national mapping system;

(4) ‘forest data’ means information relating to the state and condition of forest ecosystems and their use, including primary data and aggregated data derived from such information;

(5) ‘Earth Observation’ means the collection of data about the physical, chemical, and biological systems of the Earth through remote sensing technologies such as satellites or airborne platforms carrying imaging or other sensors, combined with in situ data, where appropriate;

(6) ‘forest’ means land spanning more than 0,5 hectares with trees higher than 5 metres and a tree crown cover of more than 10 %, or trees able to reach those thresholds in situ, excluding land that is predominantly under agricultural or urban land use. It includes areas with trees, including groups of growing, young, natural trees, or plantations that have yet to reach the minimum values for tree crown cover or an equivalent stocking level or minimum tree height, including any area that normally forms part of the forest area but on which there are temporarily no trees as a result of human intervention, such as harvesting, or as a result of natural causes, but which area can be expected to revert to forest;

(7) ‘other wooded land’ means land other than forest, spanning more than 0,5 hectares; with trees higher than 5 meters and a tree crown cover of 5 to 10%, or trees able to reach these thresholds in situ; or with a combined cover of shrubs, bushes and trees above 10 %. It excludes land that is predominantly under agricultural or urban land use;

(8) ‘data harmonisation’ means a process utilising available data collected through different monitoring systems to derive comparable estimates corresponding to an agreed reference description;

(9) ‘standardisation’ means the outcome of a process establishing and implementing common standards for data, in order to ensure that data is collected, stored, and used consistently and accurately across the Union;

(10) ‘in situ data’ means data collected in the field through a network of monitoring sites following standardised protocols. It includes the geographically explicit location of the measurement, georeferenced inter alia with Global Navigation Satellite System services.

CHAPTER - 2

FOREST MONITORING

Article 3 - Forest monitoring system

1. The Commission shall set up, in cooperation with the Member States in accordance with Article 11, and operate a forest monitoring system comprising the following elements:

(a)a geographically explicit identification system for the mapping and localisation of forest units, as set out in Article 4;

(b)a forest data collection framework, as set out in Articles 5 and 8;

(c)a forest data sharing framework, as set out in Article 7.

2. The forest monitoring system shall consist of electronic databases and geographic information systems and shall enable the exchange and integration of forest data with other electronic databases and geographic information systems, including those developed in accordance with Part 3 of Annex V to Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council ²² and Article 33 of Regulation (EU) 2023/1115.

The forest monitoring system shall ensure the regular and systematic collection of:

(a)forest data on the basis of aerial or space-borne ortho-imagery, by Copernicus Sentinel satellites or other equivalent systems;

(b)in situ data through a network of monitoring sites.

3. The Commission may seek the assistance of specialised bodies to facilitate the setting up and operation of the forest monitoring system and to provide the competent authorities of the Member States with technical advice on forest monitoring.

4. The European Environment Agency shall assist the Commission in the implementation of the forest monitoring system, including in the development and operation of the Forest Information System for Europe (FISE).

5. The Commission shall share the Earth Observation data it produces free of charge with the Member States’ authorities competent for the forest monitoring system or with suppliers of services authorised by those authorities to represent them.

Article 4 - Geographically explicit identification system for forest units

1. The Commission shall set up the geographically explicit identification system for the mapping and localisation of forest units (the ‘identification system’) that shall be operational by [PO: please insert the date = 12 months after the date of entry into force of this Regulation].

2. The identification system shall be a geographic information system. The Commission shall establish and regularly update the identification system on the basis of aerial or space-borne ortho-imagery data, with a uniform standard that guarantees a level of accuracy that is at least equivalent to that of cartography at a scale of 1:100 000.

3. The identification system shall:

(a)enable the precise mapping and localisation of forest areas and, subject to the establishment of methodologies pursuant to Article 8(3), of other wooded land across the Union;

(b)uniquely identify forest units on the basis of a combination of forest data referred to in Article 5(2) and Article 8(1);

(c)facilitate the detection and location of change between land containing and not containing forest.

Article 5 - Forest data collection framework

1. The forest data collection framework shall be operational by [PO: please insert the date = 12 months after the entry into force of this Regulation], with regard to the collection of forest data referred to in paragraph 2, and by [PO: please insert the date = 30 months after the date of entry into force of this Regulation], with regard to the collection of forest data referred to in paragraph 3.

2. The Commission shall collect the following forest data in accordance with the technical specifications set out in Annex I, thereby ensuring the standardisation of the data:

(a)forest area;

(a)tree cover density;

(b)forest type;

(c)forest connectivity;

(d)defoliation;

(e)forest fires;

(f)wildfire risk assessment;

(g)tree cover disturbances.

3. Member States shall collect the following forest data, in accordance with the frequency specified in Annex II:

(a)forest available for wood supply and forest not available for wood supply;

(b)growing stock volume;

(c)net annual increment;

(d)stand structure;

(e)tree species composition and richness;

(f)European forest type;

(g)removals;

(h)deadwood;

(i)location of forest habitats in Natura 2000 sites;

(j)abundance of common forest birds;

(k)location of primary and old-growth forests;

(l)protected forest areas;

(m)production and trade of wood products;

(n)forest biomass for bioenergy.

4. For the purposes of paragraph 3, points (a) to (h), Member States shall collect in situ data on the basis of ground surveys in combination with, where available, data from Earth Observation, and data from other relevant information sources. The ground surveys shall be based on a network of monitoring sites that are representative of, and consistent with, the Member State’s forest area referred to in paragraph 2, point (a).

5. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 14 to amend the technical specifications set out in Annex I, in order to adapt them to technical and scientific progress.

Article 6 - Opt-out

1. Concerning the collection of forest data referred in Article 5(2), the Member States may choose not to use the service provided by the Commission and to contribute with their own data to the operation of the forest monitoring system referred to in Article 3.

2. Where a Member State chooses the option provided for in paragraph 1, it shall:

(a)collect the forest data referred to in Article 5(2) in accordance with the technical specifications set out in Annex I;

(b)share the forest data referred to in Article 5(2) in accordance with Article 7(2);

(c)annually assess the quality of the data collected, in accordance with Article 10.

Article 7 - Forest data sharing framework

1. By [PO: please insert the date = 30 months after the date of entry into force of this Regulation], the Member States shall share the latest available forest data referred to in Article 5(3) in accordance with the technical specifications set out in Annex II, by making them publicly accessible. The Member States shall ensure data harmonisation by sharing aggregated forest data in accordance with the descriptions set out in Annex II. Sharing of the geographically explicit location of monitoring sites shall be subject to the establishment of the safeguards referred to in Article 9(2).

2. The Member States and the Commission shall make publicly accessible the data referred to in Article 5(2) and (3) and in Article 8(1) in an open format that is machine-readable and that ensures interoperability and re-usability in accordance with Article 5 of Directive (EU) 2019/1024.

3. The Commission shall make the following data publicly accessible in FISE:

(a)the data collected under Article 5(2);

(b)the data shared in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article, with the exception of the geographically explicit location of monitoring sites;

(c)the data shared in accordance with Article 6(2), point (b);

(d)the data collected in accordance with Article 8(1).

4. Member States may use the data shared through the forest data sharing framework for the development of the voluntary integrated long-term forest plans referred to in Article 13 of this Regulation, as well as for the purposes of Article 14 of Regulation (EU) 2018/841.

5. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 14 to amend the technical specifications set out in Annex II, in order to adapt them to technical and scientific progress.

The Commission is empowered to adopt implementing acts laying down technical rules and procedures for the sharing and the harmonisation of forest data under this Regulation. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 15(2).

Article 8 - Additional forest data

1. The Commission and the Member States shall collect the forest data listed in Annex III through a stepwise approach, subject to the adoption of the implementing acts referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article.

2. For the purposes of paragraph 1, the Commission and the Member States shall make use of the data from Earth Observation or in situ data and, as regards the forest data listed in points (a), (b) and (c) of Annex III, of a combination of data from Earth Observation, in situ data and other relevant information sources.

3. The Commission is empowered to adopt implementing acts, to establish methodologies, including the technical specifications, for the collection of the forest data listed in Annex III, and to further specify the descriptions of forest data listed therein. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 15(2).

Article 9 - Compatible data storage and exchange systems

1. The Commission and the Member States shall cooperate to develop compatible data storage and exchange systems for the collection and sharing of forest data under the forest monitoring system, with the assistance of specialised bodies referred to in Article 3(3).

2. The Commission is empowered to adopt implementing acts laying down rules on procedures and formats to be used to ensure the compatibility of data storage and exchange systems referred to in paragraph 1, and to establish confidentiality preserving safeguards for the inclusion into those data storage and exchange systems of information relating to geographically explicit location of monitoring sites. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 15(2).

Article 10 - Data quality control

1. The Commission and the Member States shall be responsible for the quality and completeness of the forest data that they collect and share under the forest monitoring system.

2. Member States shall annually assess the quality of the data shared in accordance with this Regulation.

Where the assessment reveals deficiencies in the data, Member States shall adopt appropriate remedial actions. Member States shall submit to the Commission the assessment reports on the quality of data and, where appropriate, the description of the remedial actions and the timetable for their implementation by 1 July following the calendar year in which the deficiency was identified.

3. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 14, to supplement this Regulation by establishing accuracy standards for data shared under this Regulation and rules on the quality assessment referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article and Article 6(2), point (c).

4. The Commission is empowered to adopt implementing acts to specify the contents of the assessment reports on the quality of data and arrangements for their submission to the Commission as well as the description of remedial actions referred to in paragraph 2, second subparagraph. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 15(2).

CHAPTER - 3

INTEGRATED GOVERNANCE

Article 11 - Coordination and cooperation

1. The Member States and the Commission shall coordinate their efforts and cooperate to improve the quality, timeliness and coverage of forest data.

2. The Commission shall support the Member States, upon request, in the development or adaptation of their voluntary integrated long-term forest plans referred to in Article 13, by providing information on the state of the underlying scientific knowledge and by facilitating knowledge and good practice exchange.

3. Member States shall cooperate among each other and coordinate their actions to improve the quality, timeliness and coverage of forest data. Such cooperation and coordination shall be based on open scientific debate and shall aim to promote impartial scientific advice.

4. Member States and the Commission may use existing regional institutional cooperation structures, including those under regional Conventions and other forest relevant fora and processes.

Article 12 - National correspondents

1. Each Member State shall designate a national correspondent and shall inform the Commission thereof.

2. The national correspondent shall, in particular, carry out the following tasks:

(a)coordinate the preparation of the forest data to be shared under this Regulation, taking into consideration all competent authorities, including those responsible for disaster risk prevention and management;

(b)coordinate attendance of relevant experts in expert group meetings organised by the Commission and other relevant bodies.

3. The national correspondent shall serve as focal point for the exchange of information between the Commission and the Member State for the development or adaptation of the voluntary integrated long-term plans referred to in Article 13. Where several authorities in a Member State are participating in the development or adaptation of the voluntary integrated long-term forest plan, the national correspondent shall be responsible for the coordination of that work.

Article 13 - Voluntary integrated long-term plans

1. Member States are encouraged to develop integrated long-term forest plans or adapt their existing integrated long-term forest plans or strategies, taking into account a medium to long-term perspective, including but not limited to 2040 and 2050.

2. Where Member States develop or adapt the plans referred to in paragraph 1, they are encouraged to cover the aspects set out in Annex IV.

3. Member States shall encourage the active involvement of all interested parties in the development of their integrated long-term forest plans. Member States shall make the plans publicly available.

CHAPTER 4
FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 14 - Exercise of the delegation

1. The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid down in this Article.

2. The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Article 5(5), Article 7(5), first subparagraph, and Article 10(3) shall be conferred on the Commission for an indeterminate period of time from [PO: please insert the date = the date of entry into force of this Regulation].

3. The delegation of power referred to in Article 5(5), Article 7(5), first subparagraph, and Article 10(3) may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to the delegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect the day following the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European Union or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in force.

4. Before adopting a delegated act, the Commission shall consult experts designated by each Member State in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making.

5. As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council.

6. Delegated acts adopted pursuant to Article 5(5), Article 7(5), first subparagraph, and Article 10(3) shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or by the Council within a period of 2 months of notification of that act to the European Parliament and the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission that they will not object. That period shall be extended by 2 months at the initiative of the European Parliament or of the Council.

Article 15 - Committee procedure

1. The Commission shall be assisted by a committee. That committee shall be a committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011.

2. Where reference is made to this Article, Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply.

Article 16 - Review

1. This Regulation shall be kept under review in all aspects, taking into account the relevant developments concerning Union legislation, international frameworks, technological and scientific progress, additional monitoring needs and the quality of data shared under this Regulation.

2. By [OP please insert the date = five years after the entry into force of this Regulation], the Commission shall report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the implementation of this Regulation.

Article 17 - Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.