The Timber Section of the ECE/FAO Agricultural and Timber Division has prepared five decennial assessments of the European forest resources. The last one, dated 1990, includes the industrial countries of the Temperate zone. The assessments are based on the information provided by the countries and they form an indispensable information basis for developing forestry – in its all forms – and forest industries in Europe.

The European Forest Institute started its activities in the beginning of 1993. Already in the planning phase of EFI the discussions with the Timber Section of the ECE/FAO Agricultural and Timber Division led to the conclusion that an independent institute could initiate a study based on all ECE/FAO Forest Resource Assessments. The cooperation between EFI and the Timber Section in developing a computerized database using the published assessments made it possible to produce the basic material for this kind of study.

European Forest Institute entrusted the work to Professor Kullervo Kuusela, leader of the Finnish National Forest Inventory for almost 30 years. He has also prepared the Finnish reports for the ECE/FAO Forest Resource Assessments 1970 and 1980, and contributed to the forest resource forecasts as a part of the 1980 Assessment. His earlier international work is focused on the study European Forest Resources and the Trade of Industrial Wood in 1950-2000, which was published in Finnish in 1985.

This study is the first issue in EFI's research report series. It consists of four main parts: introduction, wood resources and harvests by country groups, country statistics and conclusions on the ecological and economic basis of forestry in Europe.