FOREST EUROPE
High-Level Talks

09 November 2023

Growing healthier forests:

How can Sustainable Forest Management enhance resilience?

Learn more about FOREST EUROPE’s mission.

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

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

Minister Cem Özdemir
Minister Cem Özdemir

15:20 – 15:35

The latest update by Science, setting the scene for the first panel

Rupert Seidl

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)? The views from different pan-European high-level policy representatives.

High-level policy representatives will share their best practice examples from their country/region, followed by an active discussion.

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Speakers
Rupert Seidl
Minister Cem Özdemir
Minister Cem Özdemir
María Jesús Rodríguez de Sancho
Stefanie Schmidt
Jo O’Hara, Director FutureArk Ltd
Jo O’Hara

16:45 – 17:05

Coffee break

17:05 – 17:20

Policy brief presentation, setting the scene for the second panel

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? The 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.

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Speakers
Alessandra Stefani
Juha S. Niemelä
Þröstur Eysteinsson
Jo O’Hara, Director FutureArk Ltd
Jo O’Hara

18:20 – 18:30

Conclusion and closing statements

by Matthias Schwoerer on behalf of the FOREST EUROPE lead country (Germany)

Matthias Schwoerer
Matthias Schwoerer

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.

State Secretary 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.

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Speakers
State Secretary Silvia Bender
Deputy Minister Patrik Mlynář
State Secretary Oskar Magnusson
Eckart Senitza
Eckart Senitza
Erica Di Girolami
Saša Stamatović
Jo O’Hara, Director FutureArk Ltd
Jo O’Hara

14:40 – 14:50

Coffee break

14:50 – 15:30

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Speakers
State Secretary Silvia Bender
Deputy Minister Patrik Mlynář
State Secretary Oskar Magnusson
Liubov Poliakova
Liubov Poliakova
Sergiy Vlasenko
Matthias Schwoerer
Matthias Schwoerer

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.

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Speakers
Bart Muys
Bart Muys
Fanny-Pomme Langue
Fanny-Pomme Langue
Kelsey Perlman
María Jesús Rodríguez de Sancho
Erno Järvinen
Jo O’Hara, Director FutureArk Ltd
Jo O’Hara

16:45 – 16:55

Conclusion and take-home messages

by Thomas Haußmann, Head of Forest Europe Liaison Unit Bonn

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Thomas Haußmann
Thomas Haußmann

16:55 – 17:00

Closing statements

Matthias Schwoerer on behalf of the FOREST EUROPE lead country (Germany)

Matthias Schwoerer
Matthias Schwoerer

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Welcome speech
Cem Özdemir, Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture of Germany

Minister of Food and Agriculture Cem Özdemir

Cem Özdemir is originally from Bad Urach in Baden-Württemberg. He served as Chair of BÜNDNIS 90/DIE GRÜNEN (the German Green Party) from 2008 until 2018. Between 1994 and 2002 and again since 2013, he has been a member of the German Bundestag. Until 2021, he was also Chair of the Bundestag Committee on Transport and Digital Infrastructure. From 2004 to 2009, he was a member of the European Parliament. In the federal elections of 2021, he became the first Green Party politician in the constituency of Stuttgart to be elected directly.

Cem Özdemir is a qualified “Diplom-Sozialpädagoge” (Master of Arts in Social Pedagogy) and, since December 2021, was appointed as Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture.

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The latest update by Science
Rupert Seidl

Rupert Seidl is a professor of ecosystem dynamics and forest management at the Technical University of Munich. He also leads the research department of Berchtesgaden National Park. In his work, Seidl studies the dynamics of ecosystems and applies insights on ecosystem functioning for sustainable forest management. A particular focus of his work is the disturbance and resilience of forest ecosystems under climate change. Prof. Seidl is among the most cited forest scientists. He is a contributing author of the current assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and has recently received a grant of the European Research Council to study the ongoing reorganization of forest ecosystems.

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First panel
Rupert Seidl

Rupert Seidl is a professor of ecosystem dynamics and forest management at the Technical University of Munich. He also leads the research department of Berchtesgaden National Park. In his work, Seidl studies the dynamics of ecosystems and applies insights on ecosystem functioning for sustainable forest management. A particular focus of his work is the disturbance and resilience of forest ecosystems under climate change. Prof. Seidl is among the most cited forest scientists. He is a contributing author of the current assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and has recently received a grant of the European Research Council to study the ongoing reorganization of forest ecosystems.

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First panel
Cem Özdemir

Minister of Food and Agriculture Cem Özdemir

Cem Özdemir is originally from Bad Urach in Baden-Württemberg. He served as Chair of BÜNDNIS 90/DIE GRÜNEN (the German Green Party) from 2008 until 2018. Between 1994 and 2002 and again since 2013, he has been a member of the German Bundestag. Until 2021, he was also Chair of the Bundestag Committee on Transport and Digital Infrastructure. From 2004 to 2009, he was a member of the European Parliament. In the federal elections of 2021, he became the first Green Party politician in the constituency of Stuttgart to be elected directly.

Cem Özdemir is a qualified “Diplom-Sozialpädagoge” (Master of Arts in Social Pedagogy) and, since December 2021, was appointed as Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture.

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First panel
María Jesús Rodríguez de Sancho

María Jesús Rodríguez de Sancho is the Director General of Biodiversity, Forests, and Desertification in the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge in Spain. She holds a MSc. in Forest Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Madrid and a Law degree from the National Distance Education University. She has been Director of the National Parks Agency (2020-2022), Director of the Center for Studies and Applied Techniques at the Center for Studies and Experimentation of Public Works (CEDEX) (2018-2020), General Director of Environmental Quality and Environmental Impact Assessment of the Ministry of the Environment (2008-2010) and Deputy Director General of Forest Policy and Desertification of the Ministry of Environment (2004- 2008). In 2008, she was elected Vice President of the Management Board of the European Environment Agency (2008-2010).

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First panel
Stefanie Schmidt

Stefanie Schmidt is a Policy Officer for Forests in the Directorate General for Environment (DG ENV) of the European Commission. She is responsible for the follow-up of the new EU Forest Strategy for 2030 with a particular focus on closer-to-nature forestry, payment schemes for forest ecosystem services, and forest monitoring. She is furthermore involved in the implementation of various other EU policies relevant to forests, including the Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 and the Taxonomy regulation.

With an academic background in natural sciences, environmental policy, and sustainability studies, Stefanie has been dealing with natural resource management and governance in various positions.

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First panel - Moderator
Jo O’Hara
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Second panel
Alessandra Stefani

Alessandra Stefani graduated in Forest Sciences from the University of Padua with top marks and honours. In May 1984, she qualified as a professional agronomist and forester.

In 1987, she joined the State Forestry Corps, and in 2014 she was appointed Deputy National Chief, after been Commander of Veneto and Piedmont.

Since 1 January 2017, she has been Director General of the Mountain Economy and Forests of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forests.

Head of the Certification Body within the governance of the Fund for Development and Cohesion (FSC) 2014-2020.

Cavaliere of the Italian Republic (27.12.2008), she is elected Corresponding Academician by the Council Assembly of the Italian Academy of Forest Sciences (2015), Ordinary Academician by the Council Assembly of the Italian Academy of Forest Sciences (2017), Corresponding Academician by the Georgofili Academy (2021).

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Second panel
Juha S. Niemelä

Juha S. Niemelä has a doctorate degree in Forest Products Marketing from the University of Helsinki. In addition, he has completed an MBA from Helsinki School of Economics and Business Administration.

At the moment, Juha S. Niemelä holds a post as CEO, Director General of Metsähallitus. Metsähallitus is a state-owned enterprise which sustainably uses, manages and protects state-owned land and water areas in Finland.

In March 2023, Mr. Niemelä was appointed as the President of the European State Forest Association (EUSTRAFOR).

Before working at Metsähallitus he held the position as Director General of Natural Resources Department at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Finland.

Previously, he has also worked in regional administration as Director General to Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment for Central Finland.

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Second panel
Þröstur Eysteinsson

Þröstur Eysteinsson is the director of the Icelandic Forest Service. He lives in a forest, which is uncommon in Iceland. He is trained as a biologist (BS), forester (MS), and forest geneticist (PhD). He initiated a breeding programme in the early 1990s to improve adaptation and growth in larch used in Icelandic forestry. The programme is ongoing and centred around producing larch hybrids adapted to Icelandic conditions. Þröstur was deputy director of the Icelandic Forest Service for 22 years before becoming director in 2016. He has participated in many projects and networks in Nordic, European and international cooperation and authored or coauthored several scientific papers and many general articles and book chapters. He was among Iceland´s representatives at three Forest Europe Ministerial Conferences. Þröstur looks forward to retiring at the end of 2023.

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Second panel - Moderator
Jo O’Hara
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Closing statements
Matthias Schwoerer

Matthias Schwoerer is the head of the European and International Department Forest policy in the current BMEL (Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture) in Germany. He studied forestry in Freiburg and Vancouver, Canada. After a legal clerkship, since 1988, he is an employee of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry Department, with the focus on forest policy, national forest program, tropical forest policy, combating illegal logging, international treaties, and international cooperation in the area of sustainable forest management. He is the German representative in numerous European and international forestry committees.

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Welcome speech
Silvia Bender, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture
First panel
Silvia Bender, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture

Silvia Bender is the State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture. She studied agricultural sciences at the University of Bonn. After various activities in the organic food industry, she was the head of department for rural areas, agriculture, and animal welfare of the parliamentary group of for almost two legislative periods until 2014.

From 2014, she worked, among other things, as Head of Unit of the Rhineland-Palatinate Ministry of Environment, Food, Energy and Forestry in the Rhineland-Palatinate State Representation in Berlin. In November 2019, she was appointed State Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Environment and Climate Protection of the State of Brandenburg. She has been State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture since December 2021.

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First panel
Patrik Mlynář, Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Agriculture
Patrik Mlynář graduated at the Palacký University in Olomouc, Faculty of Law in 2006. Then he worked at the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic as a lawyer, an officer at Minister`s Cabinet. Since 2007 to 2011, he was a secretary of the Deputy Minister responsible for the area of forestry. Since 2011 to 2014, he was the Managing Director of the Association of Forestry and Wood Processing Companies of the Czech Republic, and at the same time acted as the Director of Secretariat of the Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry. In 2014, he came back at the Ministry of Agriculture as he was appointed the Deputy Minister responsible for the Forestry Section. The section covers also other more or less associated agendas such as game management, fishery, or bee keeping. He is a member of the Supervisory Board of the state enterprise Forests of the Czech
Republic.
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Oskar Magnusson, State Secretary to the Ministry for Rural Affairs

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.

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Eckart Senitza
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Erica Di Girolami
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Saša Stamatović

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.

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Emerging issue
Silvia Bender, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture

State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture

Silvia Bender is the State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture. She studied agricultural sciences at the University of Bonn. After various activities in the organic food industry, she was the head of department for rural areas, agriculture, and animal welfare of the parliamentary group of for almost two legislative periods until 2014.

From 2014, she worked, among other things, as Head of Unit of the Rhineland-Palatinate Ministry of Environment, Food, Energy and Forestry in the Rhineland-Palatinate State Representation in Berlin. In November 2019, she was appointed State Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Environment and Climate Protection of the State of Brandenburg. She has been State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture since December 2021.

 

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Emerging issue
Patrik Mlynář, Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Agriculture

Patrik Mlynář graduated at the Palacký University in Olomouc, Faculty of Law in 2006. Then he worked at the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic as a lawyer, an officer at Minister`s Cabinet. Since 2007 to 2011, he was a secretary of the Deputy Minister responsible for the area of forestry. Since 2011 to 2014, he was the Managing Director of the Association of Forestry and Wood Processing Companies of the Czech Republic, and at the same time acted as the Director of Secretariat of the Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry. In 2014, he came back at the Ministry of Agriculture as he was appointed the Deputy Minister responsible for the Forestry Section. The section covers also other more or less associated agendas such as game management, fishery, or bee keeping. He is a member of the Supervisory Board of the state enterprise Forests of the Czech Republic.

 

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Emerging issue
Oskar Magnusson, State Secretary to the Ministry for Rural Affairs

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.

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Emerging issue
Liubov Poliakova

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.
She is PhD in Forestry since 1996. The study was focused on forest management planning. In general, she has more than 70 scientific and informative articles on forests and forestry in national and international scientific journals.

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Emerging issue
Sergiy Vlasenko

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.

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Emerging issue - Moderator
Matthias Schwoerer

Matthias Schwoerer is the head of the European and International Department Forest policy in the current BMEL (Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture) in Germany. He studied forestry in Freiburg and Vancouver, Canada. After a legal clerkship, since 1988, he is an employee of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry Department, with the focus on forest policy, national forest program, tropical forest policy, combating illegal logging, international treaties, and international cooperation in the area of sustainable forest management. He is the German representative in numerous European and international forestry committees.

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Second Panel
Bart Muys

Bart MuysBart 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.

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Second panel
Fanny-Pomme Langue
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Second panel
Kelsey Perlman

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.

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Second panel
Erno Järvinen
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Conclusion and take-home messages
Thomas Haußmann
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