FOREST EUROPE
High-Level Talks

30 August 2022

Sustainable Forest Management:
Unlocking forest biodiversity’s potential

Thanks for joining!

Video section

Learn more about FOREST EUROPE’s mission.

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

13:00 – 13:10

Welcome speech

by the German State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Silvia Bender.

arrow agenda
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.

arrow agenda
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

arrow agenda
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.

arrow agenda
Speakers
Bart Muys
Bart Muys
Fanny-Pomme Langue
Fanny-Pomme Langue
Kelsey Perlman
María Jesús Rodríguez
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

arrow agenda
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

In cooperation with

To receive more information suscribe here to the FOREST EUROPE newsletter

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.

Powered by
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.
Powered by
First panel
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.

Powered by
First panel
Eckart Senitza
Powered by
First panel
Erica Di Girolami
Powered by
First panel
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.

Powered by
First panel - Moderator
Jo O’Hara
Powered by
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.

 

Powered by
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.

 

Powered by
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.

Powered by
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.

Powered by
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.

Powered by
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.

Powered by
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.

Powered by
Second panel
Fanny-Pomme Langue
Powered by
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.

Powered by
Second 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 Impac Assesment 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).

Powered by
Second panel
Erno Järvinen
Powered by
Second panel - Moderator
Jo O’Hara
Powered by
Conclusion and take-home messages
Thomas Haußmann
Powered by
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.

Powered by