Hungary’s forests, covering over one-fifth of the country’s land area, play a vital role in biodiversity conservation, helping communities adapt to climate change, and supporting rural livelihoods. While forest cover has increased over recent decades and further expansion is planned through national afforestation efforts, achieving long-term sustainability depends on the consistent application of responsible forest management across different types of forest ownership. The approval of the FSC Interim Forest Stewardship Standard (IFSS) for Hungary (FSC-STD-HUN-01-2025 EN) provides a single, nationally applicable framework that reflects FSC’s updated international sustainability requirements, helping forest managers move from sustainability commitments to actions they can apply and track. The new IFSS strengthens forest protection in Hungary by reinforcing current actions to care for natural areas, including restrictions on large-scale tree cutting, and by reinforcing requirements for identifying and managing High Conservation Values (such as biodiversity, ecosystem services, or local communities).