How can we reward those who care for forests and the services they provide, such as clean water, protection against flooding and erosion, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity? This question was at the heart of the European project LIFE ProForPES, which has now published its final policy brief: a document setting out concrete guidelines and recommendations on how Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) mechanisms could be better integrated into European funding programmes. The brief is available to download on the project website.
The project
Funded by the European Commission under the LIFE programme, ProForPES was set up to collect, synthesise, and integrate the knowledge and know-how already available at EU level on Payment for Ecosystem Services schemes in the forestry sector. It brought together a network of forest PES experts through the collaboration of companies, institutes, and universities across five European countries: Italy, Finland, Spain, Austria, and Germany.
Over three years (2023–2026), the project studied current EU policy and financial programmes and carried out an extensive consultation process with key stakeholders, in order to develop policy and business recommendations on the integration and potential of PES schemes in Europe. In doing so, it analysed more than 100 PES projects across Europe and engaged over 120 stakeholders in its consultations and in co-developing the recommendations.
The partnership includes the University of Padua (coordinator) and Etifor | Valuing Nature, both in Italy; the European Forest Institute (with offices in Germany, Finland, and Spain); Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development in Germany; and the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) in Vienna, Austria.
The final policy brief
The policy brief, available in five languages (English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish), distils the findings of the project’s more extensive report, Guidelines and Recommendations for Future Funding Programmes. At its core are two key priorities, both aimed at giving forest ecosystem services a more solid place within European funding policy.
- The first recommendation calls for a dedicated European Forest PES framework. Rather than replacing existing funding streams, such a framework would build on them, allowing for longer contract terms, more flexible payment models, and a landscape-scale approach better suited to how forests actually function.
- The second focuses on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), calling for a stronger forest focus through larger and more visible budgets, easier access for forest managers, and a more deliberate use of PES as a tool to deliver biodiversity outcomes.
Around these two priorities, the brief sets out ten further recommendations on how such a framework could work in practice. Taken together, they address three areas the project identified as decisive for the success of forest PES: how schemes are designed, from payment models to monitoring systems; how they are governed and communicated, including questions of fairness, inclusiveness, and public awareness; and how they are integrated with the wider landscape of European environmental and land-use policy, from climate strategies to the Natura 2000 network. The full report, available online, explores each of these ten recommendations in depth.
Research is giving us increasingly solid pointers for how best to design and operationalise Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) schemes. Yet the challenge remains how to spark more implemented PES policies and practice in European forests. ProForPES provides valuable tools in that respect, with evidence-based yet practical, hands-on recommendations for decision-makers.
— Sven Wunder, Principal Scientist, European Forest Institute (EFI)
The project concludes in summer 2026, but its results, data, recommendations, and the network of contacts built over these three years will remain available on the project website after its closure.
The full policy brief can be downloaded here in five languages: English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish.
LIFE ProForPES (Grant Agreement No. 101086509) is a preparatory project of the EU LIFE programme, coordinated by the University of Padua in partnership with the European Forest Institute (EFI), Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (HNEE), the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU), and Etifor | Valuing Nature. The views expressed are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the CINEA executive agency.
This post is based on a press release from the LIFE ProForPES project (Padua, 16 July 2026). For further information, please contact Martina Doppio – Communication Manager, Etifor | Valuing Nature.
