CEPF celebrates 30 years representing European forest ownership

20 / 04 / 2026

The Confederation of European Forest Owners (CEPF) celebrated its 30th anniversary on March 26 in Brussels, at an event that brought together a broad representation of the European forestry sector, including USSE, the organization representing the interests of forest owners in Southern Europe and maintaining active collaboration with CEPF across various areas of common interest.

The event marked three decades of CEPF’s commitment to representing forest ownership and promoting sustainable forest management at the EU level. Today, CEPF brings together nearly 16 million forest owners who manage approximately 60% of Europe’s forest area, playing a key role in political dialogue at the EU level.

During the meeting, its President, Sven-Erik Hammar, highlighted the strategic role of wood as a renewable resource aligned with climate objectives, and as a central element in developing a competitive and sustainable European bioeconomy.

The event also provided an opportunity to review CEPF’s trajectory over the past 30 years as a key interlocutor representing forest ownership and family forestry in Europe. In this regard, cooperation between representative organizations such as USSE is essential to defend and strengthen territorial diversity and the specific characteristics of forest owners in Southern Europe within the European debate.

The event addressed highly relevant issues for the sector, including the evolution of sustainable forest management, the implementation of the EUDR regulation, the role of forestry in the bioeconomy and climate change mitigation, certification systems such as PEFC, and integrated forest fire risk management.

One of the highlights was a high-level roundtable featuring experts from both the forestry and political fields, who analyzed CEPF’s achievements, the evolution of EU forest policies, and the importance of effective representation of sector interests in Brussels.

USSE’s collaboration with CEPF is particularly significant, as it strengthens the presence of forest owners from Southern Europe in EU-level discussions and helps bring territorial realities—often underrepresented in the European forestry agenda—to the attention of EU institutions. In a context shaped by climate adaptation, increasing fire risk, and new regulatory requirements, this coordination is essential to promote more balanced forest policies adapted to Europe’s territorial diversity.

Back to News list