Estonian Private Forest Union (founded in 1992) is an organization representing private forest owners, with its members being local forest owner organizations (cooperatives, societies, unions).

Principles

In our activities, we adhere to the principles of democracy, sustainable development, and environmentally friendly forest management. We develop the structure of private forest owners based on cooperative principles— ensuring all members have equal opportunities to participate in the organization’s work.

Activities

Our primary function is to represent the interests of forest owners in forest policy. To create a strong representative organization, we contribute to the nationwide organization of forest owners. We collaborate constructively with the government and representatives of the third sector.

In private forestry, our main partners include the Environmental Investment Centre, which distributes forestry-related subsidies, and the Estonian Timbertrade Centre for economic cooperation. We are members of the Central Union of Estonian Farmers, the Estonian Chamber of Agriculture and Commerce, and the Estonian Forestry Society. We are also part of the Europe-wide forest owners’ association CEPF, the European Landowners’ Organization (ELO), and the International Family Forestry Alliance (IFFA).

Communication with Members

We provide our members with forestry-related information and defend their positions at the forest policy level. We regularly issue a newsletter to our members, covering current topics and providing overviews of various forest policy processes. We organize training sessions and joint events for representatives of forest cooperatives and forest owners. Through various projects, we support the activities of member organizations.

The Estonian Private Forest Union follows the Code of Ethics for non-governmental organizations in its daily activities.