FOREST EUROPE
High-Level Talks
30 August 2022
Sustainable Forest Management:
Unlocking forest biodiversity’s potential
Thanks for joining!
About FOREST EUROPE
FOREST EUROPE (former Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forest in Europe) develops common strategies for its 46 signatories on how to protect and sustainably manage their forests.
At the High-Level Policy Dialogue on 30 August 2022, FOREST EUROPE offers an inclusive dialogue among interested actors to exchange on the latest scientific findings, best practices, (e.g. region-specific approaches), and specific national policies to strengthen the development and implementation of future policies and practices.
This dialogue brings together ministers, high-level policy makers, environmental organizations, forest managers, researchers, youth and landowners to provide a space for knowledge exchange and promote synergies in the pan-European region and beyond. To set the scene for these lively discussions, renowned researchers present the short science-policy report “Forest biodiversity in the pan-European region”.
Forest ecosystems cover 35% of Europe’s total land area (FOREST EUROPE, 2020). In pan-European countries, forests are becoming steadily more diverse in species composition, having almost all forests composed of a variety of native tree species. Nevertheless, forest biodiversity is under pressure in some regions due to climate change, landscape fragmentation, atmospheric deposition, and unsustainable forest management practices.
The High Level Policy Dialogue will discuss to what extent Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) can maintain and eventually enhance forest biological diversity, and ensure the balance with other forest ecosystem services.
Agenda
August 30, 2022
12:00 – 13:00
Welcome coffee
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.