FOREST EUROPE Newsletter 1-2023

Communication workshop and policy brief of FoRISK pilot phase #1

Have you recently visited our website? There you will find our latest blog post reporting on our workshop "Communicating the important role of Sustainable Forest Management to prevent wildfires," which took place from February 7-9 in Barcelona, Spain. The event aimed to engage in a cross-stakeholder dialogue to explore professional communication tools and methods to manage wildfires. As an example of a good practice communication tool to inform policymakers, the policy brief “Reducing wildfire risk in Europe through Sustainable Forest Management” was presented during the workshop. The event was organized in cooperation with the European Forest Institute, the Pau Costa Foundation, and the Forest Science and Technology Center of Catalonia. Further, we prepared some relevant lessons learned as take-home messages for you.

Final report on Youth Forest Policy Days

In case you missed it: check out our final report of our three-day workshop on the Youth Forest Policy Days (YFDP): discussing the inclusion of youth in forest policymaking: YFPD was an event covering the forest sector's multidisciplinary and gave the speakers and attendees a platform to share their knowledge and experience. The event was a joint project of the Green Jobs workstream and the Rapid response mechanism. Further information can be found in our blog post.

Celebrating the International Education Day 2023

On 24 January, FOREST EUROPE hosted students and lecturers from the Tropical Forestry Programme at the Technische Universit?t Dresden as a way of marking the International Day of Education. The students learned about our activities and policies on forests. We highlighted how we promote forest education and engage with the youth, as the theme of this year’s day was “to invest in people, prioritize education.” We are happy that the youth recognize and appreciate our work.?

Webinar on the International Day of Forests

The 2nd episode of the International Day of Forests webinar series by FOREST EUROPE and IFSA was a success! Speakers from Asia Pacific, Europe, and Latin America reiterated the need to understand the importance of local contexts when it comes to the issue of carbon policies and forests.

Successful workshop on forest fires prevention in Ukraine in times of war?

Over 100 participants joined the online capacity-building workshop “Ukraine forest fire prevention in times of war” on 1 March, which was held within the framework of the Ukraine initiative of the Rapid response mechanism. International renowned fire experts presented their experiences in fire management in contaminated areas, and Ukrainian colleagues highlighted the current situation, main challenges, and needs. A fruitful exchange took place, leading to concrete outputs and follow-up activities. In addition, the Ukraine expert network met for a second workshop on 23 March to discuss the progress of FOREST EUROPE’s Ukraine initiative in recent months, war-related impacts on conservation in Ukrainian forests, and upcoming activities of international and national partners.

Social media campaign showing the current situation of Ukrainians in the forest sector?

To further increase awareness around our Ukraine initiative, FOREST EUROPE launched a video campaign on 24 February, the day of the first anniversary of the war in Ukraine. The?campaign aims to show real-life examples of Ukrainian people working in the forest sector and how their lives and relations with forests have been affected within the year of the war. They talk about their direct experiences and what they need and hope for in the future. To find out more, follow us on social media.

Upcoming events

As an institutional partner of the 8th International Wildland Fire Conference, FOREST EUROPE is invited to give a presentation during this high-level policy conference from 16-19 May in Porto, Portugal. The output of the conference will be a framework document to stimulate discussions on the topic of wildfires at an international level. Find out more in the preliminary program.

Workshop "Managing Biotic Threats in Forests - Lessons Learned from Bark Beetle Calamities" and spread the word. The event takes place from 30 May to 1 June, in Breznice, Czech Republic, and is jointly organized by FOREST EUROPE and the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic. The workshop will present and discuss lessons learned from managing bark beetle calamities from the perspective of practitioners and researchers. In addition, experiences in communicating with the public and stakeholders on forest threats and forest management will be shared, and tools for communication at the science-policy interface will be developed. For more information, click here, where you can also apply as a participant or speaker until 7 April 2023.