Together for forests in sustainable cities

The majority of Europeans are now living in cities and urban agglomerations, facing several environmental issues – including climate change. However, cities are also major drivers and facilitators in finding solutions for handling these challenges. Urban forests – trees, woodlands and forests in and around cities – can play an important role in the transition towards urban resilience and a green and sustainable economy.

Building on their mutual strengths, the European Forest Institute (EFI) and the European Forum on Urban Forestry (EFUF) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding strategic collaboration on research and policy in the field of urban forestry on Friday, 30th November 2018. This collaboration will further the understanding of the potential of urban forests, forestry, nature-, and bio-based solutions in supporting the development of sustainable cities. Both organisations will jointly develop a strategic approach to facilitate the employment of urban forest-based solutions in European cities, through coordinated communication, research and development efforts. Throughout the collaboration, EFI’s forest-based scientific experience and its European-wide science-policy network and EFUF’s multidisciplinary network with local authorities, practitioners and researchers will be complementary in developing a stronger discourse on urban forest-based solutions.

A first common initiative developed within the MoU framework, is the launch of the Call for Abstract for the 22nd session of the European Forum on Urban Forestry in Cologne (Germany). The EFUF2019 conference has been branded “Urban Forests: Full of Energy” and will focus on the role of urban forests as providers of energy, both through woody biomass and through physical activity, art, learning and collaborative working. EFUF is organised at the “Waldlabor” (Forestlab) in Cologne, which is a magnificent place for exchanging knowledge based on participatory science and experiments.

EFUF2019 – “Urban Forests: Full of Energy” – is financially supported by the Ministry of Environment, Agriculture, Nature Protection and Consumer Protection of the State Nordrhein-Westfalia and organised by EFUF and EFI Bonn Office in cooperation with the German Sport University Cologne, the City of Cologne and the RWTH Aachen University. The conference will take place on 22–24 May 2019 in Cologne (Germany).
 

Contacts:
-    Marc Palahi, Director European Forest Institute, marc.palahi@efi.int
-    Clive Davies, Chair of the International Steering Committee of the European Forum on Urban Forestry, clive.davies@efuf.org
-    Rik De Vreese, Contracted Expert for Urban Forestry at the European Forest Institute, rik.devreese@efi.int