EU: Co-Benefits and Conflicts Between CO₂ Sequestration and Biodiversity Conservation in European Forests (FORESTS and CO)

Intact forests harbour large amounts of carbon and unique biodiversity, suggesting that protecting forests may benefit climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation alike. Yet, forests also provide other essential services, from timber to energy to recreation. Balancing these multiple, sometimes conflicting objectives requires understanding trade-offs and synergies among them. A key question in this context is whether schemes to maintain or increase carbon stocks through forest management actually co-benefit biodiversity. Although frequently promoted, assumptions about such co-benefits have not been rigorously assessed. FORESTS and CO assembles Europe’s first comprehensive database of primary forests, aims at understanding trade-offs and synergies among different functions that are attributed to forests, and tests whether policies designed to protect either biodiversity or carbon in European forests are effective. FORESTS and CO is an EU project, led by Dr. Francesco Sabatini and funded under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Programme.