Forests are key in guaranteeing humankind’s survival and progress by providing a wide array of economic and social benefits, from maintaining ecosystems and biodiversity to supporting livelihoods and national economies.
While recent successes should be celebrated, with deforestation slowing down worldwide, 10 million hectares of forests are still destroyed annually, driven by population growth and urbanisation.
In the aftermath of the 2019 Communication on “deforestation” and under DG INTPA’s leadership, the EU has increasingly strengthened its role as a global leader in forest policies, legislation, political instruments and financial commitments. With the creation of Forest Partnerships (FPs), a more holistic approach to forests was introduced to leverage their multifunctionality and to better align with EU priorities. This relatively new tool aims to enhance cooperation with partner countries in addressing climate, biodiversity and inequality challenges while advancing the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Under the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), FPs help partner countries put in place legislations and policies to reduce deforestation via the implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement. While creating these partnerships has confirmed partner countries’ commitments to work in unison on this important topic (with seven established partnerships so far in Congo, Gabon, Guyana, Honduras, Mongolia, Uganda, Zambia), the lack of funding to meet 2030 targets in time is daunting.
Achievements so far and partners’ engagement: some good news
FPs promote sustainable practices, community involvement, and private sector engagement, driving a shift in forest management and benefitting partner countries and the EU altogether. The partnerships have strengthened forest governance and elevated forest conservation and related initiatives on national agendas. This is already a significant step forward.
In Mongolia, the FP with the EU supports an ambitious and long-term forest vision and economic diversification so that multiple societal levels can reap the fruits of sustainable forest management. Countries previously uninvolved in EU forest cooperation are now witnessing unprecedented stakeholder participation, proving the key role FPs have in fostering inclusive and impactful policies beyond forest management.
In Uganda, the harmonisation of competing priorities via institutional cooperation, is also proving that the country’s FP with the EU is going in the right direction. Partnerships are implemented via detailed roadmaps aligned with national priorities and climate commitments: deforestation, climate change, and biodiversity loss are addressed while collaboration among different ministries is fostered.
EU Member States, who have often focused on bilateral projects, are now starting to coordinate their efforts more closely and through the FP process, so that there is a truly common strategic framework for forest-related initiatives that effectively tackle deforestation and forest degradation. The implementation of FPs has definitely amplified the Team Europe spirit.
Uganda: prioritising the forest sector at the national level
Agricultural expansion, urbanisation, industrialisation and unsustainable harvesting of timber and fuelwood are among the primary drivers that led to a worrisome decline in Uganda’s forest cover. In the last 30-odd years, the latter went from 24% (1990) to 13.3% (2022). Extreme weather events and rising temperatures create more significant challenges for a country mainly relying on rain-fed agriculture and limited adaptation measures.
The forests that are left are degraded due to deforestation driven by agricultural expansion (especially on private lands). At the same time wood fuel production, which supplies over 90% of the country’s energy needs, remains wasteful and unsustainable. Non-wood forest products are underutilised, even though they hold potential for Uganda’s economic growth. Sustainable forest management and better industrial practices, together with technological innovations, could improve the situation while also hindering deforestation.
To support Uganda in prioritising its forest sector by promoting the protection, restoration and sustainable management and use of forests and tree resources, the EU signed a Memorandum of Understanding for a Forest Partnership between the EU and Uganda in November 2022, during COP27. The main objectives of the partnership are:
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increase the area of protected, restored or sustainably managed forests;
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increase the number of forest-related decent jobs;
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reduce the annual rate of deforestation of natural forests and
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look for ways to facilitate trade in legal and sustainable wood products.
With a roadmap finalised in June 2023, “there has been an increased political and technical engagement around forestry,” explains Jan Sadek, EU Ambassador to Uganda, “with the participation of the Office of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Water and Environment. It is still early to make a concrete before and after comparison of the approach to forestry in Uganda. That said,” he continues, “the EU-Uganda Forest Partnership has already elevated forest conservation to a higher priority on the national agenda. Formal commitments to protect and restore forests have been incorporated into Uganda’s national communications beyond what is normally present in policies’ engagements and strategies.”
The Forest Partnership is helping Uganda make consistent financial commitments to reach 2030 targets, attract additional investment in sustainable forestry and commit to collaborating more with the private sector. “Before the Partnership, forest management was often viewed in isolation, with limited connection to broader ecosystem services,” clarifies Ambassador Sadek. “After the Partnership, stakeholder engagement, including local populations, businesses, and civil society is targeted to become a central feature of forest management strategies and interventions. [...] This holistic dialogue enriches EU-Uganda relations and clearly draws linkages to the EU’s cooperation in other sectors, including energy, agriculture, and trade.”
Uganda’s updated 2022 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) is a key climate action framework that plans to reduce 24,7% of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 by improving agriculture, forestry, and land use. However, recent analysis shows that there are significant gaps in baseline data and targets for key conservation priorities. Uganda needs international support via, for example, climate finance and capacity building to succeed in implementing its commitments.
The EU-Uganda Forest Partnership (FP) closely aligns with, but also expands on, the NDC’s ambitions, by strengthening policy coordination and investment mobilisation. With EUR 55.5 million in EU funding, it promotes forestry jobs, conservation, and nature-based tourism. By integrating climate actions into FP planning, Uganda can enhance its institutional response to climate change and achieve both NDC and national development goals.
Mongolia: fostering the mobilisation of innovative finance
Deforestation, unsustainable logging, overgrazing, and rising firewood demand are some of the issues challenging Mongolia’s vast forests, which are fundamental for biodiversity, climate regulation and local livelihoods.
Over 70% of the country’s energy comes from biomass, especially from firewood and coal, contributing to the acceleration of forest degradation: local communities are forced to intensify the extraction of forest products, with all the negative consequences on the environment including the exacerbation of greenhouse gas emissions. Climate change has also added another challenging dimension to the equation, with temperatures rising by 2.24°C since the 1940s, three times the global average, leading to desertification affecting 77% of the land.
To address these challenges, Mongolia is stepping up efforts to implement sustainable solutions like, for example, ecotourism and the commercial use of non-timber forest products to reduce its dependence on logging. One such solution is the so-called Green Wall project, aiming to plant one billion trees to respond to desertification and the threat of climate change.
As for Uganda, the EU signed a Memorandum of Understanding for a Forest Partnership between the EU and Mongolia in November 2022 during COP27 to enhance the role of Mongolian forests in sustainable and inclusive national development and to address the challenges of deforestation, desertification, land degradation, climate change and loss of biodiversity.
The Forest Partnership has the following objectives:
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increase the area of protected, restored or sustainably managed forests;
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enable and increase the number of forest-related decent jobs;
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reduce the annual rate of deforestation of natural forests;
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promote productive forest management, and
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look for ways to facilitate investment and trade in legal and sustainable wood production and resulting trade between Mongolia and the EU.
“The EU-Mongolia Forest Partnership has brought significant changes,” says Ina Marciulionyte, EU Ambassador to Mongolia. “Forests are now higher on the bilateral agenda, leading to better coordination and increased investments. The Partnership has fostered EU Member States’ involvement and opened a new era for the European Investment Bank (EIB)’s cooperation in Mongolia.”
EIB Global has recently signed a financing agreement that will initially provide EUR 54.4 million, inclusive of a EUR 9.5 million European Commission investment grant, to be invested in urban development in Mongolia, to work with “Mongolian partners to reverse deforestation, increase climate action, protect biodiversity and expand sustainable forest management.”1 The EIB-EU financing will support the Aimag and Soum Centres Green and Resilient Regional Development Investment Programme (ASDIP) in upgrading basic infrastructure in Mongolian regional cities in a unique and innovative way. From constructing wastewater treatment plants and affordable housing to improving energy efficiency in public buildings, hospitals and schools to addressing degradation and overgrazing of Mongolian land and much more, the impact will be felt in all sectors of society.
The financing will also support the EU-Mongolia Forest Partnership in its work to “better preserve existing forests and facilitate the development of a sustainable and inclusive economy and society under sound forest management that takes into account the needs of the local communities.”2
Initiatives under the Partnership also expand to building local capacity so that, as EU Ambassador Marciulionyte explains, “Mongolia has the expertise needed for sustainable forest management tailored to the country and for the effective implementation of forest policies.”
The Partnership “holds immense potential for advancing sustainability,” says EU Ambassador Marciulionyte. “By sharing knowledge, technologies, and expertise, we can develop better forest governance, enhance biodiversity, and address climate change together. Moving forward, I expect stronger collaboration and innovative solutions to forest management challenges.” The EIB investment is just another step towards creating climate-resilient and low-carbon cities and protecting forests.
Concluding thoughts
Forest Partnerships are significantly tipping the scales towards prioritising forest management in national agendas in ways not seen before. Partnerships facilitate policy coordination, the mobilisation of innovative investment plans and multi-sectoral collaboration with a firm commitment to sustainability, climate action, and economic development.
They are creating a framework for long-term sustainability that benefits both the EU and its partner countries by including the private sectors, involving local communities and broader stakeholder participation, which helps make them impactful. As Uganda and Mongolia continue implementing more climate- and forest-friendly policies together with other countries, the initiatives under FPs highlight the crucial role forests have in achieving climate resilience and the 2030 SDGs and targets.
1. https://www.eib.org/en/press/all/2024-104-global-gateway-eib-global-supports-urban-development-and-sustainable-forestry-in-mongolia.
2. ibid.
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