The Group was established at the AC4 and reconstituted at the AC 6 under the name "Transboundary programme - habitats: Forest practices". 

 
The IWG’s objectives follow MoP4, Resolution 4.4, which directs the AC to:

• Instigate the investigation and, if appropriate, the development of the use of bats as indicators for sustainable forestry and biodiversity in certain habitats in Europe;
• To develop guidelines on bat-friendly, forestry practices to fulfill Actions 3.1 and 9.3 of the CBD/CMS Joint Work Programme 2002-2005;

In addition, MoP6, Resolution 6.12 urges Parties and Range States to:

• Develop their own national guidance appropriate to their bat communities, forest ecosystems and forest management practices based on the principles in the EUROBATS Bats and Forestry leaflet;
• Share best practice forestry guidance via the EUROBATS website.

Furthermore, Resolution 6.12 instructs:

• The AC to consider whether it would be timely to update the review on bats and forest management undertaken by Boye and Dietz and published as Boye, P. & Dietz, M. (2005): The development of good practice guidelines for woodland management for bats, English Nature Research Report Number 661.
• Calls upon the Secretariat and the Parties to explore possibilities for using the UN International Year of the Forest 2011 to bring joint issues of bat conservation in forests forward.