The European Forest Institute (EFI) is an international organisation established by the European States. By the spring of 2011, a total of 23 European States had ratified the Convention

Convention

Convention may refer to:* Treaty, an agreement in international law* Convention , a large gathering of people who share a common interest** Political convention, a formal gathering of people for political purposes...

 on EFI. With its about 120 Associate and Affiliate Member organisations, five Regional Offices and one Project Centre, it offers forest research

Forestry

Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...

 contacts and collaboration at the European level

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

. The Headquarter of the Institute is in Joensuu

Joensuu

Joensuu is a city and municipality in North Karelia in eastern Finland. It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of North Karelia region. It was founded in 1848...

, Finland.

Regional offices

EFI's five Regional Offices are integral parts of the institute. They give EFI a strong regional presence around Europe, while in return EFI brings increasing visibility to regional issues at the European level.

Country members

The Convention on the European Forest Institute has been ratified by total of 23 European countries by the spring of 2011, namely Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden,Switzerland, Turkey and United Kingdom. These countries each have a seat in the highest decision-making body in EFI's organisation, the Council.

Associate and affiliate members

EFI currently has approximately 120 member organisations from more than 30 countries. The benefits of associate and affiliate membership include voting rights for important decisions, access to the EFI network, news and announcements related to European forest research, visibility on the EFI website, and opportunity to receive EFI publications and publish announcements in EFI News free of charge.

Project centres

EFI also has project centres around Europe. These centres focus on specific topics relevant to particular regions or important issues.

Activities

EFI conducts research and provides policy advice on forest related issues. Further, it facilitate and stimulates forest related networking as well as promotes the supply of unbiased and policy relevant information on forests and forestry. It also advocates for forest research and for scientifically sound information as a basis for policy-making on forests. All these activities are done either at the pan-European level or the work is of European relevance and they are carried out by both the Institute's HQ and Regional Offices. The Headquarters' research units are:

• Sustainability and Climate Change
• Policy and Governance
• Foresight and Information

EFI's work on the field of policy advice includes enhanced support for decision and policy makers. It has a strong policy advice role by hosting the EU FLEGT Facility which supports the EU Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) process in developing countries, related to the implementation of the EU FLEGT Action Plan. EU FLEGT Facility assist the European Commission and the EU Member States in their joint efforts of its implementation.