A warm welcome to Luxembourg Despite a chilly autumn at our doorstep, on the 4th of October, we were warmly welcomed by the chair of the Integrate Network, Michel Leytem (ANF), as he opened the 9th Annual Meeting of the Integrate Network held in Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg. There were about 94 participants across 3 days from...
Recently there has been broad political interest in alternative forest management systems, in response factors that call for a rethinking of production-oriented forestry, including biodiversity concerns, resilience issues and socio-economic changes. The EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030 for example calls for the development of nature-oriented forestry practices to safeguard biodiversity and rural livelihoods. Moreover, it sets...
Do climate adaptation, mitigation and biodiversity conservation goals walk hand in hand when it comes to the management of Europe’s forests? Or are they closely related, but essentially different pursuits? To unravel the complexities of the topic, EFI and IUCN invited representatives from the EU Commission, academia, and the advocacy and policy arenas to debate...
Since the First National Meeting of the Integrate Network in Spain (more details here), Spanish partners of the Network have been working in the development of the booklet of the “Monte de Valsaín” Marteloscope (to be published soon). This process has led to engaging discussions about many topics, from the main challenges related to forest...
It sounds like a paradise: Being the largest protected river basin in Europe, the transboundary Mura-Drava-Danube is about to become the first five-country (Austria, Slovenia, Hungary, Croatia and Serbia) biosphere reserve in the world under the auspices of UNESCO. The reserve covers an area of about 8,300 km2, which is comparable to more than one million soccer fields. Being extremely rich in biodiversity, it harbours high ecological and...
Recently over two hundred forest technicians, professionals, naturalists, biologists, public administration officials, entrepreneurs, forest workers, students and operators of protected areas met in Lazio region, within Sala State Forest (Rieti), for two days of field experience. The activities took place in the Rieti-Lazio marteloscope belonging to the European Integrate Marteloscope Network. Part of the exercises...
Researchers at the European Forest Institute have been investigating the Kottenforst in Bonn, an urban forest, for some time. This allowed them to compare how visitor numbers have changed in the Corona lockdown compared to before. Result: There are definitely more people on the road. Why is that? And what does this mean for the...
Before the Amendments to the “Nature Protection Act” were adopted in the Republic of Croatia in 2018, the Ministry responsible for nature protection required that nature protection conditions were fully incorporated into forest management plans. If the conditions were met and approved by the Ministry responsible for nature protection, the plan could then be sent for approval by the Ministry responsible for forestry. However, the Amendments of the Nature Protection Act, and the adoption of the new “Forest Act and Ordinance...
Almost half (47.9 %) of Austria is covered by forests, which have been used by humans for thousands of years. For nearly half a century, the multifunctionality of forests is legally anchored in the Federal Forestry Act (1975) – reflecting both forests’ great value for human health, animals, and plants, and their important contribution to...
Ireland has achieved a lot over the last 100 years in reversing the trend of low forest cover. Forests and trees are slowly returning with current levels reaching just over 11% today. Although the national forest area is low by European standards it is still higher than it has ever been for over 350 years. Since...
