Official bodies for tree work in Europe
Official bodies and official schemes in Europe that matter to tree workers, grouped by what they do. Each row links to the body's own page.
Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 8, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.
This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here.
On this page
- Workplace safety regulators
- Plant health and biosecurity
- Forestry and urban forestry
- Qualifications and apprenticeships
Workplace safety regulators
| Body | Covers | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Institut national de recherche et de sécurité (INRS) (page in French) | France | French reference body for occupational health and risk prevention, with a training catalogue covering the main areas of risk prevention. |
| German Social Accident Insurance (DGUV) | Germany | Umbrella body of the statutory accident insurance, with pages on prevention, occupational diseases, training and work-related accident figures. |
| Occupational Safety and Health (Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, BMAS) | Germany | Federal ministry page on workplace safety: employer duties under the Occupational Safety and Health Act and the accident prevention regulations of the accident insurance funds. |
| Inail (page in Italian) | Italy | Italian national insurance institute for accidents at work, with a health and safety awareness competition for schools on its home page. |
| Ispettorato Nazionale del Lavoro (INL) (page in Italian) | Italy | Italian national labour inspectorate portal, including recruiting for technical health and safety inspectors. |
| Nederlandse Arbeidsinspectie (page in Dutch) | Netherlands | Dutch labour inspectorate that supervises healthy and safe working conditions and fair pay, with self-inspection tools for employers. |
| Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority (Arbeidstilsynet) | Norway | Norwegian authority for supervision and guidance on a safe working environment, with pages on HSE cards for sectors that require them. |
| State Labour Inspection (Państwowa Inspekcja Pracy) | Poland | Polish labour inspectorate with English pages including how to report an accident. |
| Inspección de Trabajo y Seguridad Social (page in Spanish) | Spain | State labour inspectorate page for reporting breaches of labour, social security and occupational risk prevention rules and for online procedures. |
| Instituto Nacional de Seguridad y Salud en el Trabajo (INSST) (page in Spanish) | Spain | Scientific and technical body of the state administration for occupational risk prevention and workplace safety and health. |
Plant health and biosecurity
| Body | Covers | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Santé / Protection des végétaux (Ministère de l’Agriculture) (page in French) | France | Ministry hub saying the ministry and its operators oversee plant health through rules, prevention and control of diseases and pests affecting plants and forests. |
| Plant health (Julius Kühn Institute, JKI) | Germany | Federal research centre page on plant health: measures and rules that keep non-native plant pests out of the EU. |
| Protezione delle piante, Servizio Fitosanitario Nazionale (page in Italian) | Italy | Italian national phytosanitary portal run by the agriculture ministry, with sections on phytosanitary emergencies, plant passports and import surveillance. |
| Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA), English site | Netherlands | English-language NVWA home page, with a notice on additional declarations for plants for planting imported into the EU. |
| Plants (Norwegian Food Safety Authority, Mattilsynet) | Norway | English-language page on plant health and plant health regulations, imports, fees and plant varieties. |
| Państwowa Inspekcja Ochrony Roślin i Nasiennictwa (PIORiN) (page in Polish) | Poland | Polish plant health and seed inspection service page, with news on its inspections and its work with EPPO. |
| Sanidad vegetal (Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación) (page in Spanish) | Spain | Ministry page on plant health, with sections on plant protection means and on hygiene and traceability. |
Forestry and urban forestry
| Body | Covers | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Office national des forêts (ONF) (page in French) | France | National forest office, present in mainland France and overseas, working on wood production, environmental protection and public access to forests. |
| Forests (Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, BMLEH) | Germany | Federal ministry page on German forests, their habitat, climate, water and soil functions, and recreation. |
| Staatsbosbeheer (page in Dutch) | Netherlands | Dutch state forestry body founded in 1899 with a legal task to manage and put to public use the land entrusted to it; it manages 270,000 hectares. |
| Skogbruk (Landbruksdirektoratet) (page in Norwegian) | Norway | Norwegian Agriculture Agency page for forest owners on grants, rules and duties, with forms to apply and report. |
| State Forests (Lasy Państwowe) | Poland | Polish State Forests site in English, with news and a forest fire protection section. |
| Política forestal (Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica) (page in Spanish) | Spain | Ministry page on forest policy, with links to forest fires, legal timber and desertification topics. |
Qualifications and apprenticeships
| Body | Covers | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Société française d’arboriculture (SFA) (page in French) | France | French arboricultural society that the European Arboricultural Council lists as its member; its site has pages on regulation and on recognition of arboriculture certifications abroad. |
| Società Italiana di Arboricoltura (SIA) (page in Italian) | Italy | Italian arboriculture society, listed by the European Arboricultural Council; its page names ornamental arboriculture, tree climbing and European Tree Worker certification. |
| Koninklijke VHG, Platform Boomspecialisten (page in Dutch) | Netherlands | Dutch trade association for green-sector businesses, including tree specialists, that the European Arboricultural Council lists as its Dutch member. |
| Norsk Trepleieforum (NTF) (page in Norwegian) | Norway | Norwegian tree care forum, listed by the European Arboricultural Council; its site has pages on events and courses, find an arborist, and education and certifications. |
| Federacja Arborystów Polskich (page in Polish) | Poland | Polish arborists federation, listed by the European Arboricultural Council as a Polish member, with contact details and a gallery. |
| Asociación Española de Arboricultura (AEA) (page in Spanish) | Spain | Spanish arboriculture association, listed by the European Arboricultural Council; its page lists ETW, ETT and VetCert certifications and training courses. |