Protection of the Community's forests against atmospheric pollution
The Council of the European Union has adopted a Regulation extending the ongoing scheme for the protection of the Community's forests against atmospheric pollution for a further five years. The Community scheme for the protection of forests against atmospheric pollution was set up in 1986 by Regulation EEC No 3528/86. The scheme set up a network of permanent observation plots to carry out intensive and continuous surveillance of forest ecosystems. The data thus gathered is forwarded to the Commission by the Member States and used for the compilation of a regular forest damage survey. Results from the systematic network show obvious trends in spatial and temporary distribution of forest damage over the entire area of the European Union. The Council Regulation ensures the continuation of these monitoring activities over a longer period, deemed necessary in order to improve the understanding of the causal relationship between changes in forest ecosystems and the factors influencing it. The proposed budget for the five-year extension of the scheme is ECU 40 million.