FOREST EUROPE
High-Level Talks
09 November 2023
Growing healthier forests:
How can Sustainable Forest Management enhance resilience?
About FOREST EUROPE
FOREST EUROPE (former Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe) develops common strategies for its 46 signatories on how to protect and sustainably manage their forests. FOREST EUROPE created High-Level Policy Dialogue (HLPD) format to react to emerging issues that relate to forests and the forest-based sector.
At the High-Level Policy Dialogue on 09 November 2023, FOREST EUROPE offers an informal platform for high-level policymakers and relevant stakeholders working in the forest sectors to engage in an inclusive exchange. This dialogue facilitates the sharing of recent scientific findings, good practices as well as national and international policies to develop and implement strategies. It builds a direct link to FOREST EUROPE’s 9th Ministerial Conference to support future activities of the FOREST EUROPE process.
This dialogue brings together ministers responsible for forests, high-level policymakers, high-level representatives of environmental organizations, forest managers, forest owners, researchers, and youth, creating an opportunity to encourage synergies within the pan-European region and beyond.
35% of Europe’s entire land expanse is covered by forest ecosystems. Ensuring the health and vitality of these forests stands as a paramount concern for policymakers, along with the establishment of a system of risk prediction and prevention (FOREST EUROPE, 2020). The increase in forest disturbances across pan-European nations within the last 70 years (EC, 2023) underscores the necessity to address resilience and develop and adapt Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) strategies to implement harmonized actions further.
The High-Level Policy Dialogue 2023 will discuss how SFM can maintain and enhance resilience in our forests, stimulating cross-border and cross-sectoral collaboration and providing important directions for the future.
Preliminary agenda
November 09, 2023 (Time in CET)
15:35 – 16:45
First-panel discussion
SFM and resilience in pan-European countries to tackle climate and biodiversity crisis.
Guiding questions: How can SFM contribute to maintaining and enhancing forest resilience (considering social, economic, and environmental functions)?
Views from different pan-European high-level policy and research representatives.
High-level policy representatives will share their best practice examples from their country/region, followed by an active discussion.
16:45 – 17:05
Coffee break
17:05 – 17:20
Policy brief presentation, setting the scene for the second panel
Forests for the future: How can forest resilience support Sustainable Forest Management? by Marcus Lindner and Bernhard Wolfslehner (European Forest Institute)
17:20 – 18:20
Second-panel discussion
Future-proofing SFM and resilience: experts’ perspectives on status quo and linkages
Guiding questions: What key aspects of SFM have the potential to enhance future resilience? How do they contribute?
Views from science, practice, and policy, and linking different needs to build on panel 1 outputs.
General Directors and high-level representatives from research, environmental organizations, forest owners, managers, and practitioners will join the discussion.
August 30, 2022
13:10 – 13:20
Agenda introduction
13:20 – 13:30
Science policy report presentation
(TBD)
This section will provide the scientific basis for the following discussion.
13:30 – 14:40
First panel
SFM maintains forest biodiversity, ensuring a balance between forest ecosystem services. What are common achievements of SFM related to the maintenance of biodiversity?
Ministers, forest owners and managers representative, and youth representative will join an open discussion on the topic above.
An online Q&A session will follow.
- Statement by the Slovak Republic.
- Statement by Rui Pombo, Member of the Board of the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests of Portugal.
- Council of European Foresters (CEF) statement.
- Statement by Erica di Girolami.
- Statement by the Forestry Directorate of the Executive Forest Agency, Republic of Bulgaria.
- Statement by the Confederation of European Paper Industries.
14:40 – 14:50
Coffee break
14:50 – 15:30
Emerging issue: Supporting the recovery and sustainable management of Ukrainian forests and the forest sector
The pan-European ministers responsible for forests and the observers of the FOREST EUROPE process will send out a strong signal of solidarity with the Ukrainian people and the forest sector and therefore endorse the Ministerial decision “Supporting the recovery and sustainable management of Ukrainian forests and its forest sector”.
- Letter from Yuri Bolokhovets, Head of the State Forest Resources Agency of Ukraine.
- Letter from Edward Siarka, Secretary Of State, Polish Ministry of Climate and Environment.
- Statement by the Slovak Republic.
- Statement by the International Forestry Students’ Association.
- 10 steps to reduce illegal logging in Ukraine (article by FSC).
- Ukrainian women entrepreneurs in wood industry call for more trade partners from the EU market (article by FSC).
15:30 – 15:40
Coffee break
15:40 – 16:45
Second panel
What is needed in the future to further enhance forest biodiversity and guarantee forests’ multi-functionality? Practical examples will be presented showing challenges, gaps, and tradeoffs from different pan-European regions.
High-level policymakers, senior researchers, forest owner and manager organizations, and high-level representatives from environmental organizations will join an open discussion on the topic above.
An online Q&A session will follow.