FOREST EUROPE
High-Level Talks
09 November 2023
Growing healthier forests:
How can Sustainable Forest Management enhance resilience?
Watch the official invitation by the German Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture, Cem Özdemir.
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)
14:00 – 15:00
Welcome coffee, registration
15:00 – 15:20
Welcome speech
by the Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture of Germany, Cem Özdemir
15:20 – 15:35
The latest update by Science, setting the scene for the first panel
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.
18:20 – 18:30
Conclusion and closing statements
by Matthias Schwoerer on behalf of the FOREST EUROPE lead country (Germany)
August 30, 2022
12:00 – 13:00
Welcome coffee
13:00 – 13:10
Welcome speech
by the German State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Silvia Bender.
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.
16:45 – 16:55
Conclusion and take-home messages
by Thomas Haußmann, Head of Forest Europe Liaison Unit Bonn
16:55 – 17:00
Closing statements
Matthias Schwoerer on behalf of the FOREST EUROPE lead country (Germany)
In cooperation with
Oskar Magnusson is the State Secretary to the Minister for Rural Affairs, at the Ministry of Enterprise and Innovation in Sweden. He is responsible of different areas such as rural affairs, food, land, and water-based industries, as well as regional development projects. He studied his bachelor on Modern History with Politics at the Royal Holloway University of London and finished his master’s degree on International Conflict Studies at the King’s College London. Oskar’s work experience dates back to 2011 as a Senior Assistant at the Diplomat Communications in Brussels. He worked as Political Adviser since 2012 at different entities such as the European Parliament, the Swedish Ministry of Enterprise and Innovation, and the Ministry of Justice. In 2020, he became State Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, and in 2021 he was appointed again to the Ministry of Enterprise and Innovation.
Saša Stamatović started his career as a field forest engineer. In the development of his professional career, Saša passed different levels of management and governing in the Serbian forestry sector, including the position of the director of Forest Estate and working as a State Inspector for Forestry and Hunting. Saša is known as a forestry environmental expert, expert for forest goods, and services valuation and forest sector strategic and financial planning. Since 2014, he works as Director of the Directorate of Forests of the Republic of Serbia. As a Director of the Directorate of Forests, Saša leads the preparation and implementation of improved methodology for forest management planning considering close-to-nature forestry concepts, establishing of forestry information system, as well as establishing of Chamber of Forestry Engineers as a tool for lifelong learning and licensing system. In this period, different supportive projects for the forestry sector are developed in cooperation with FAO, EFI, GEF and institutions from Germany, Austria, and Slovakia.
Liubov Poliakova is the Head of International Cooperation, Science and Public Relation Division of State Forest Resources Agency of Ukraine. She is the state employee for the last 15 years responsible among other for organization and conduction of international cooperation. Ms. Poliakova is a focal point of all international organization and processes related to forests, current Chair of the European Forestry Commission of FAO, former Co-Chair of the Working Group recommendations for the future direction of the FOREST EUROPE process, and former Co-Chair of the Bureau of International Negotiating Committee for preparation of the legally binding agreement on forests.
Sergiy Vlasenko is PhD in Public Administration, Master’s degree in Law, and former First Deputy Head of State Forest Resources Agency of Ukraine (2020). On June 21, 2022, by order of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 505-r, he was appointed to the position of Deputy Minister of Environment Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine for issues of digital development, digital transformations and digitalization.
Bart Muys is a professor of forest ecology and management at KU Leuven. His research focuses on the ecosystem function of tree diversity, forest restoration ecology and the evaluation of sustainability in forests and bioenergy systems. He has led several forest restoration projects in Ethiopia and participated in numerous projects worldwide on the role of forests for water, carbon and biodiversity.
Kelsey Perlman is a forest and climate campaigner at Fern and has worked on EU and international climate policy for the past 6 years with experience in various political institutions including ICAO, UNFCCC and the EU. Her current focus is on forest and climate policies in the EU where she follows discussions on negative emissions, sustainable forest management and policies such as the EU Forest Strategy and the Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry Regulation.
