Primary forests of Europe’s temperate zone play an important role in providing key ecosystem functions to our society. Primary forests also provide habitat for many species that help maintain biodiversity. Institutions and individuals behind the REMOTE (REsearch on MOuntain TEmperate) Primary Forests project help enhance our understanding of unique primary forests over long periods of time by means of various activities including research, public outreach, and education.

Romania: Boia Mica valley is finally protected

After years of bureaucratic burdens some iconic primary forest – such as Boia Mica valley in Fagaras Mountains, where our REMOTE team has several research plots – are finally protected. However, studies about 13.000 ha of precious forest are still blocked by the government – and hundreds of thousands of hectares of high nature value forests are still under threat from destructive logging.

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FERN report: EU forests in danger

Trees cover 182 million hectares of the EU. That’s six times the size of Italy. Yet as the stories in this report show, European Union (EU) forests are under threat, and rapid and committed action is required to save them. We all - citizens, policy-makers, civil society organisations and political leaders - have a responsibility to protect our forests, and to make sure they are managed in a way which respects biodiversity, indigenous and community rights, and natural resource limits.

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