Poland 2023
Poland 2023
In 2023, we were able to bring the forest movement together in Białowieża Forest in Poland. One of the last remaining primeval forests in Europe on the border with Belarus. It was one of the largest FMEs of all time with more than 75 participants, including many new people who we hope will be rejoining us in the future. It was hosted by Pracownia – Workshop for all beings.
The main issues discussed were:
- Forest Management and the forest movement in Poland
- Forests in a changing climate
- Clearcut for the bioeconomy?
- A vison for EU forests
- The wall. Humanitarian and environmental crisis in Białowieża Forest
- How data-driven technologies are changing environmental politics
- Activists and NGOs how do we work better together?
- Forests and mining
- Fighting the pulp and paper industry.
In addition we had several visits to the forest and to the wall between Poland and Belarus which is causing such devastation to people on the move escaping persecution as well as wildlife.

France 2022
France 2022
In 2022, we could finally host FME face-to-face again, and despite there being a few cases of Covid, there was a huge amount of relief about being able to get back together again. With more than 40 participants, we had many new faces as well as three people who had been at the first ever FME. It was hosted by Canopee.
The main issues discussed were:
- Nature-Based Solutions, Net Zero & Carbon Offsets: How to tackle the Greenwashing
- Close to Nature Forestry vs. Strict protection
- Biomass and the links to paper
- Responding to illegal logging
- How is the war in Ukraine affecting our work?
- Logging in European forests
- EU deforestation-free products regulation: how to make the best use of it?
- Dreaming the future of Europe’s forests session
- What is our long-term (10 year) vision for European forests?
- Strategies to challenge certification
- How to join forces and strengthen consumption reduction campaigns.
In addition to the events, we hosted a party to celebrate 30 years of the Forest Movement – even though this was technically our 32nd year!
Participants visited nearby examples of close-to-nature forestry where communities are turning plantations back to forests.

Online 2021
Online 2021
FME 2021 was held on-line for the second time in our 30 year history, due to the COVID pandemic. It was hosted by Fern.
Due to feedback from FME 2020 we decided it did not make sense to organise more Zoom calls and so, instead we focussed on creating a FME Facebook group. This was little used as many people raised concerns that they did not use such social media for ethical reasons. We produced two opinion pieces based on presentations that would have been given at the event:
Online 2020
Online 2020
FME 2020 was held on-line for the first time in our 30 year history, due to the COVID pandemic. It was hosted by Fern.
The main issues discussed were:
- What we stand for: (re)emerging issues in the time of Covid
- Watering down environmental regulations under the guise of COVID
- Consumption, the return of single-use products
Monitoring in the time of home-working - Activism in the time of home-working
- Recovery plans: risks and opportunities
- Dangers of the bioeconomy
Due to the on-line nature of the event, there was no visit to a forest and many participants recognised that it was not possible to host the FME on-line as the key aim is to meet each other and to build relationships to ensure we can work as one movement rather than distinct organisations.
Slovakia 2019
Slovakia 2019
FME 2019 was held in Morské Oko Lake, Slovakia, hosted by
Wolf.
The main issues discussed were:
- Who is the FME and what do we want!
- Defending European forests
- Responding to illegal logging
- How do we respond to the bioeconomy
- A year of change in Europe—and how we can make the most of it
- The EU forest strategy: a joint response from the FME
- How do we deal with the rise of the far right in Europe?
- Forest defenders in danger: in Brazil and beyond, how do we work as a movement to protect them? What do we do about Bolsonaro in Brazil?
- Restoring forests – the new ‘planting trees’ narrative?
- Forests and finance
- What is Envol Vert and how can others develop similar tools?
Participants also visited an UNESCO-listed beech forest they are fighting to protect from illegal logging and ski resorts.
Following the event many members joined Free Svydovets from Western Ukraine to visit the heart of the Ukrainian Carpathians under threat of destruction by illegal logging and a megalomaniac ski project.

Estonia 2018
Estonia 2018
FME 2018 was held in Elbiku, Estonia, hosted by Estonian Forest Aid.
- The main issues discussed were:
- The issue of Estonian forests
- The campaign for an EU deforestation action plan
- The state of the global paper industry
- Grassroots campaigning
- Wood sourcing for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics
- Negative emissions and the role of forest restoration to fight climate change
- The global threat of increasing bioenergy demand and faulty carbon accounting of biomass
FME members also expressed their concern with the planned Estonian EstFor Pulp and Paper mill.

Romania 2017
The Forest Movement Europe (FME) is a network of more than 45 European NGOs from over 12 European countries working on forest-related issues with a focus on social justice.
The FME 2017 was held in Brasov, Romania, hosted by 2Celcius Network.
Main issues discussed were:
- Romania’s primary forests
- Olympic scandal – campaign to prevent illegal timber being used to build Tokyo stadium 2020
- Why Countries in the Global North need an aggressive forest protection policy in their own backyard
- Boreal Forests
- Packaging – the ‘new’ paper campaign
- EU Bioenergy
- FSC

Scotland 2016
FME 2016 was held in Biggar, Scotland, hosted by Reforesting Scotland.
Main issues discussed were:
- How Non-timber Forest Products can be used to diversify economic activities in forests and rural areas
- The impact of EU bioenergy demand on forests in the South of USA
- Forests, BECCS and the Paris Agreement
- Traditional conservation measures and how they fail wildlife and communities in the Congo Basin
- The impact of the pulp and paper industry on forests
- The EU Timber Regulation and the potential for a new Action Plan on Deforestation
- The EU’s Free Trade Agreement with Malaysia and the impact on forests
- Scotland’s new land law
- Showing how banks are implicated in deforestation
FME members also expressed their anger at the imminent logging of the Bialowieza Forest in Poland.
Belgium 2015
FME 2015 was held in Brussels, Belgium, hosted by Fern. It was held at the same time as Fern’s 20th anniversary.
Main issues discussed were:
- Stopping irresponsible finance of companies involved in landgrabbing, pulp, palm oil, timber, bioenergy, meat and other products that involve forest destruction
- REDD: new developments and trends
- Forests and Paris COP21
- Bioenergy CCS (BECCS)
- Bioenergy
- Peatland re-wetting in South East Asia
- Community Forestry
- EUTR and VPA implementation
FME members also took the opportunity to send a letter of protest to the Brazilian Embassy in Brussels against their cultivation of Genetically Engineered Trees.

Austria 2014

FME 2014 was held in Vienna, Austria, hosted by Friends of the Earth Austria (Global 2000) and Finance and Trade Watch – Austria.
Main issues discussed were:
- Forests and the financial sector
- Drivers of Deforestation
- EUTR implementation
- International Climate Change negotiations – LULUCF and REDD
- Bioenergy
- World Bank Safeguards Review
- History of the Environmental Movement in Austria
Sweden 2013

FME 2013 was held in Sweden and hosted by SSNC. The site visit was on the subject of threatened forests and clear-cuts in mid-Sweden.
One of the outcomes of the meeting was that forestry experts and conservationists from Indonesia, Tajikistan and twelve European countries sent a letter to the Norwegian government requesting Norway allocate a Norwegian forest protection billion to secure the Norwegian biodiversity in forests.
Portugal 2012
FME 2012 was held in Gaia, Portugal, hosted by Quercus.

France 2011
Friends of the Earth France hosted the 2011 Forest Movement Europe Meeting from the 17th to the 19th of June in the Castle of Ligoure, Le Vigen.
The event took place at the Castle of Ligoure, surrounded by fields and forests, in the heart of an agricultural domain, crossed by a river. This place is managed by a non-profit organisation and is open for groups. The Castle of Ligoure is not a classical « hotel »: people are invited to organise and participate in cleaning bedrooms, dressing tables or washing dishes after meals.

Germany 2010

In 2010, FME took place With thanks to in Nettersheim in Germany from Friday 11 June to Sunday 13. Our hosts were ARA www.araonline.de
Agenda items included:
- EU Green Paper on Forest Protection
- Shrink Campaign
- Forests and Climate Change
- Update Indonesia / Asian Pulp and Paper campaign
- The EU Expert Group on LULUCF
- Illegal Logging
- Bioenergy

Switzerland 2009

FME 2009 was held in Switzerland in a managed forest in the village of Leuenberg. It was hosted by the Bruno Manser Fonds (www.bmf.ch). The meeting included a discussion with Jurgen Blaser, advisor to the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF). It included representatives from many continents battling against unsustainable production of paper.
Main issues discussed during the meeting included:
- Paper Reduction: The Shrink Campaign, led by the European Paper Network
- Illegal logging : Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) and additional Legislation to control illegal logging
- Certification and FSC reforms
- REDD and UNFCC discussions
- Problems with carbon trading, specifically related to REDD
- Bio-energy, problems with biofuel and possibilities of biomass
Bulgaria 2008
FME 2008 was held in Bulgaria in the foothills of Rila National Park. It was hosted by the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (http://bspb.org/index.php).
The main issues discussed during the meeting included:
- Europe’s forests (concentrating on Bulgaria)
- Pulp, paper and the Shrink campaign (www.shrink.org)
- Bioenergy – problems with agrofuels and alternative visions
- Carbon trading
- Avoided deforestation, a new and upcoming issue
- The battle to save FSC from itself
- Illegal logging and forest governance
Many of the organisations present signed-on to the European paper vision.
Spain/Galicia 2007
Spain/Galicia 2007

Held in Spain at an environmental centre in the Castle of Santa Cruz near to the Galician city of Coruña, the meeting was hosted by the university extension centre for the dissemination of environmental information (CEIDA) (www.ceida.org). One day was devoted to a strategy for Galician NGOs, before the FME meeting took place.
The main issues discussed during the meeting included:
- Progress on the European paper campaign
- Preparing for the convention on biological diversity
- Certification and the timber trade
- Illegal logging and the FLEG(T) processes
- Impact of plantations in Galicia, Portugal and Brazil
- Forests and climate change
- Agrofuels/biofuels
- Forest Fires
Slovakia 2006
FME 2006 was held in Slovakia in a forested village called Nova Sedlica. It was hosted by the WOLF. The meeting included a Taiga Rescue Network meeting and a full day discussion on the FME, its history, present and future.
Issues discussed during the meeting included:
– Paper production and consumption
– Biomass and biofuel
– The situation in Slovakia
– Illegal logging
– Forest certification
Belgium 2005

Held in Brussels and hosted by FERN, the 2005 FME coincided with FERN’s 10th anniversary. As well as the usual meeting FERN and Futurart Gallery hosted an art exhibition on forests. A whole day was devoted to paper. Other main issues discussed at the FME meeting included:
- A workshop on how to lobby effectively at EU level
- Logging, bushmeat and Indigenous Peoples
- Illegal logging and governance
- Timber Procurement Policies
- Carbon sinks and carbon trading
- Specific country situations including Burma, Congo and Ghana
- The financers of Forest Destruction
- Soya and palm oil production and its impact on forests
- International Forest Policies, focusing on UNFF
- Forest certification schemes
- WWF Producer groups
Finland 2004
Germany 2003
Germany 2003
In 2003, FME was held in May in Munich, Germany.
The following issues were discussed:
- Consumer campaign against tropical timber
- Funding the Pulp Invasion a new WRM report
- The EC aid programme and its impact on forests
- Brazilian issues
- Certification of Malaysian projects
- World Bank Forest Policy and its impacts on development aid and lending
- Intergovernmental Processes in 2003
- Indonesia (looking at oil palm, pulp and paper and illegal logging)
- Forest Certification
- Illegal logging
- Carbon Sinks
- EU enlargement (looking at investment and logging in Eastern Europe)
One of the meeting outcomes was a statement by the NGOs present exposing Malaysia’s attempts to greenwash its logging industry.
Estonia 2002
In 2002, FME was held in April in Talinn, Estonia. As well as seeing FSC certification in Estonia first hand, participants discussed the following issues:
- The pulp and paper industry
- The Russian timber trade
- Illegal logging and illegal trade
- How to reduce paper consumption
- Forest certification (FSC)
- CBD Conference of the Parties six
- World Bank Forest Policy
- Forests and human rights abuses
- EC aid and forests
- Climate change and forests
- Export Credit Agencies, their effects on forests and how to improve them
Norway 2001
In 2001, FME was held in April in Oslo, Norway. It was hosted by Friends of the Earth Norway. The following issues were discussed:
- The campaign to save Norway’s forest
- Carbon sinks and their relation to plantations, forest certification and pesticides use.
- How trade networks are changing the logging industry
- How certification schemes are being taken over
- The Russian Timber Trade
- The CBD and its new work programme on forests
- A training session/workshop on financial institutions and the world’s forests
- Export Credit Agencies and the EU
- The World Bank and its policies on forests and indigenous peoples
- Malaysia
- Indonesia
There were varied outcomes of the meeting including a letter sent to WWF raising concern about their links with the logging industry. A letter was also sent to FSC and other Indonesian certifiers in support of a statement by WALHI (Friends of the Earth Indonesia) and more than 144 NGO and indigenous peoples’ organisations.
Belgium 2000
In 2000, FME was held in April in Antwerp, Belgium. The first day of the meeting was set aside for a discussion on strategy on boreal forests, jointly organised with the Taiga Rescue Network. Over the next two days, the following issues were discussed:
- The forests of North West Russia
- How should NGOs respond to PEFC?
- How the NGO community can ensure FSC continues to improve its performance.
- The World Bank’s Forest Policy and the World Bank’s Indigenous Peoples Policy.
- The failure of Seattle and the impact of the World Trade Organisation on forests and forest peoples
- The Intergovernmental Forum on Forests and its successor the UN Forum on Forests.
- Cambodia
- Indonesia (focusing on oil palm production)
- The Sami situation
- Mangroves and shrimp an update of the European campaign by SSNC, on paper only.
- Carbon sinks and carbon trading.
- ‘Industrial logging, forest management and certification in the Congo Basin’, organised by WWF Belgium
Two letters were signed by participants of the FME on the subjects of:
- European NGOs rejection of PEFC
- European NGOs demand the release of Mexican forest defenders
France 1999
France 1999
The first day of the meeting was set aside for a discussion on strategy in Africa jointly organised with Rainforest Action Network US. One of the main discussion points was how US and European groups could achieve more synergy to be able to strengthen the work of African NGOs and Indigenous Peoples’ Organisations. Over the next two days, the following issues were discussed:
- Malaysia and the Sarawak Campaign
- World Bank Implementation Review
- Intergovernmental Forum on Forests
- EC aid and forests
- Indonesia
- Cambodia
- The Amazon
- FSC Discussions
- The Sami people’s struggle within Sweden
Two letters were signed by participants of the FME on the subjects of:
- The closure of a diplomatic mission in central Africa
- Swedish treatment of the Sami people
Netherlands 1998
Netherlands 1998
In 1998, FME was held in March in a beautiful castle in Heemskerk, a town close to Amsterdam. It was hosted by http://www.milieudefensie.nl/english (Friends of the Earth Netherlands).
The main topics discussed were:
- EC aid to tropical forests
- World Bank (including the forest policy review)
- Shrimp farming and the destruction of mangrove forests
- World Resources Institute setting up a forest information project called the Global Forest Watch
Urgent action alerts were on the following issues:
- Malaysia (Sarawak)
- The Amazon
- Gabon
- Surinam/Guyana
- Indonesia: The merger of two huge pulp and paper companies April and UPM