Forests and the European Union Resource Network

FERN, the Forests and the European Union Resource Network, is an international non-governmental organization created in 1995 to keep track of the EU’s involvement in forests and to co-ordinate NGO activities at the European level. Through its work, FERN aims to increase the political and economic opportunities for people to create a more balanced society in which human rights are fully respected and environmental and social values are fully integrated.

Although FERN is known for its work on forests, since 2000 FERN has widened its scope beyond forests to also include work on general aid, trade and climate issues, as many of the decisions made in these areas have a direct or indirect impact on forests and forest peoples’ rights. FERN campaigns fall within the following five areas: climate change, development aid, forest peoples’ rights, forests and biodiversity, and trade and investment. In all these areas, FERN works very closely with a large number of environmental groups and social movements across the world.

FERN works as a non-hierarchical structure. Currently, the organisation has three offices (Brussels, Belgium; Moreton-in-Marsh, UK; and Leiden, The Netherlands) and eight staff positions.

FERN’s official mission statement describes the organisation and its aims thus: FERN works to achieve greater environmental and social justice, focusing on forests and forest peoples’ rights in the policies and practices of the European Union.