No L 326/2 Official Journal of the European Communities 21. 11. 86 COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 3528/86 of 17 November 1986 on the protection of the Community’s forests against atmospheric pollution THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Articles 43 and 235 thereof, . Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ("), Having regard to the opinion of the European Parli- ament (%), Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Commitee (%), Whereas forests play an essential part in maintaining fundamental balances, particularly as regards soil, water, climate, fauna and flora; whereas they therefore contri- bute to the development of agriculture, a sector in which production conditions and, in some cases, the very exis- tence of activity depend largely on the presence and health of neighbouring forests ; Whereas atmospheric pollution, through its directly and indirectly harmful effects on forest vegetation and soil, contribute to the deterioration and even death of forest trees ; whereas the increase in damage suffered by forests is giving rise to concern in the Community; Whereas the protection of forests against this damage is thus a matter of particular importance and urgency in the Community ; whereas the Community must for its part contribute to the improvement of such protection; Whereas the chief objective of the Community scheme must be to establish, on the basis of an appropriate obser- vation network, a uniform periodic inventory of the damage caused to forests; Whereas, in particular on the basis of the data thus obtained, periodic forest helath reports with refernce to atmospheric pollution must be scientifically drawn up in order to determine the extent of damage and monitor its progress in the different regions of the Community; Whereas it is necessary to improve methods of observing and measuring damage to forests, as well as the under- standing of atmospheric pollution in forests and the effects of such pollution on forests ; whereas methods of maintaining and restoring damaged forests must be devised ; whereas to that end the Community must () OJ No C 187, 13. 7. 1983, p. 9. () O] No C 172, 2. 7. 1984, p. 87. () OJ No C 358, 31. 12. 1983, p. S0. encourage the carrying out of field experiments and pilot and demonstration projects ; Whereas the Commission should be responsible for coor- dinating and monitoring the Community scheme and to that end must be able to call on the services of research institutes and scientific advisers ; Whereas to facilitate implementation of the measures envisaged, provision should be made for a procedure establishing close cooperation between the Member States and the Commission ; Whereas before the end of a five-year period the measures taken must be reviewed in the light, inter alia, of the experience acquired and the progress of the damage observed ; Whereas the Community should help to finance Commu- nity schemes for the protection of forests against atmos- pheric pollution ; Whereas, given the innovatory nature of some of the measures provided for, it is appropriate to review the financial aspects of this Regulation after a period of two years, to enable any necessary budgetary adjustments to be made ; Whereas the Treaty has not provided for all the powers necessary for this purpose, HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION : Article 1 . A Community scheme is hereby established to protect forests against atmospheric pollution, hereinafter referred to as ‘scheme’, in order to provide increased protection for forests in the Community and thereby contribute in parti- cular to safeguarding the productive potential of agricul- ture. Article 2 1. The aim of the scheme shall be to help Member States to: — establish on the basis of common methods a periodic inventory of damage caused to forests, in particular by atmospheric pollution, — establish or extend, in a co-ordinated and harmonious way, the network of observation points required to draw up this inventory.