ABSTRACT Primary and old‐growth forests are important for nature and society. Although global commitments to their conservation are increasing and the EU has aligned itself with these efforts, these forests remain critically threatened. Consequently, to meet its own targets rooted in global commitments, the EU needs a strategy that ensures their conservation. The Nature Restoration Regulation offers a promising framework for this. We outline four priority actions for the conservation of these forests and explain how they can be achieved under the Regulation: (1) assess progress and address barriers to identifying, mapping, and protecting primary and old‐growth forests and implement a logging moratorium; (2) prevent degradation from anthropogenic pressures and protect natural processes; (3) expand strict protection and establish buffer zones; and (4) improve connectivity and create secondary old‐growth forests through passive and active restoration. Additionally, we highlight how the Regulation provides an opportunity to address further policy gaps.
O’Brien et al. (Sun,) studied this question.