From Indicators to Action – Bridging Science, Policy and Practice in Forest Restoration and Integrative Forest Management

The Integrate Network, in collaboration with the EU HE TRANSFORMIT project, is organizing a 1.5-hour interactive webinar aimed at bridging science, policy, and practice in forest restoration and Integrative Forest Management (IFM).

The session will focus on how ambitious restoration and forest biodiversity-related policies, particularly the EU Nature Restoration Regulation (NRR) including its restoration indicators, can be effectively translated into action on the ground.

Building on important lessons learned from the TRANSFORMIT’s development of 17 key indicators for IFM, the webinar will explore how indicators shape “real-world” decision-making, highlight implementation challenges, and stimulate knowledge exchange across country borders and disciplines. Together we will discuss the science behind indicators shaping forest management, policies impacting member countries’ decision-making, and practical insights from national cases and forest landscapes.

Objectives

– Strengthen science-policy interface in forest restoration and IFM

– Discuss practical approaches for monitoring and reporting on the NRR restoration indicators, (including the six optional indicators alongside the mandatory forest bird indicator)

– Facilitate exchange of experiences, challenges, and best practices among policymakers, practitioners, and scientists.

Guiding questions

– How do national and local actors decide what measures to prioritize?

– How are ecological goals balanced with social, economic, and governance realities?

– What practical constrains (data, capacity, funding, governance) influence indicator implementation?

– How can monitoring be designed to be both credible and feasible?

– What gaps exist between policy ambition and on-the-ground reality, and how can they be addressed?

– What can we learn from each other’s approaches?

Expected outcome
Participants will gain insight into system-oriented approaches to forest restoration planning, implementation, and evaluation; how practical experience can support decision-making; cross-country perspectives and lessons learned that can enhance forest restoration strategies in Europe.

A central objective of the webinar is to strengthen the science-policy-practice interface, exploring how high-level policy frameworks can be translated into practical action, and how practitioners’ experiences can, in turn, inform policy design and implementation.