Lithuania will not reach 35 percent forest cover by 2030 without accelerated growth

Lithuania will not achieve its target of 35 percent forest cover by 2030 at the current pace of afforestation, according to a report by the National Audit Office, cited by LRT.

The country’s forest cover has been increasing slowly over the past decade. Under the current trajectory, Lithuania would reach 35 percent only by 2047, missing its 2030 goal. The National Progress Plan set a 34 percent target for 2025 and 35 percent for 2030, while a parliamentary resolution on forest policy aims for 40 percent by 2050.

State Controller Irena Segalovičienė said that increasing forest cover must go hand in hand with improving forest resilience. “To meet ambitious forest cover targets, we must ensure that new forests are resilient to climate change, effectively preserve biodiversity, and create long-term value for the state. This requires faster strategic decisions to align nature conservation, climate change, and economic goals,” she said.

Lithuania’s forest cover remains among the lowest in the Nordic-Baltic region. In 2025, forests covered 33.9 percent of the country (2.214 million hectares), compared to the EU average of 39 percent. In Latvia and Estonia, forests cover more than half the territory, while in Finland and Sweden, the figure exceeds 60 percent.

The report identifies limited available land, restricted state-owned land, and declining private landowner activity as key barriers to increasing forest cover. Additionally, Lithuania’s forests are predominantly single-species and single-age, with pine, spruce, and birch forests accounting for about 73–74 percent of all forests. Single-age stands make up 61 percent, while multi-age forests account for just 6 percent.

Strictly protected forests remain scarce, covering only 1.25 percent of the total forest area in 2025, a slight increase of 0.04 percentage points over a decade. The EU Biodiversity Strategy calls for at least 10 percent of forest area to be under strict protection, which would require Lithuania to nearly double its reserved forest area to around 68,000 hectares.

The forestry sector contributed 3.63 percent to Lithuania’s GDP and 6.7 percent to exports in 2024, with wood being vital for the furniture, construction, and energy sectors. However, the share of commercial forests has grown from 71.4 percent to 75 percent over the past two decades, often at the expense of other forest categories. Around one-fifth of commercial forests are in protected areas, leading to conflicts between economic activities and biodiversity conservation.