Our “indispensable” natural forests: perspectives from the open public consultation on stepping up EU action on deforestation and forest degradation

Though the state of forests in the EU are generally positive (growing net forest areas, aboveground biomass stocks, good proportion of protected areas and independent verified forest management schemes), global deforestation is still a major concern. Much of this is caused by the international demand for products and commodities from forests. The EU is a large contributor to the  deforestation caused by this consumption, being a major global…