The best approach of how to advance forest biodiversity conservation in Europe is currently at the center of the EU forest policy debate, also in relation to the new EU Forest Strategy. This Integrate webinar investigates the role integrated forest management approaches are playing, and can play, in achieving European biodiversity conservation objectives in the interplay with other forest related policy objectives.
The webinar brings together forest policy experts from the French, German, Italian and Swiss government to compare country perspectives and lessons learnt. We will focus on the following questions:
- What are the strongest arguments for an integrated approach towards the conservation of forest biodiversity – and if other approaches are preferred, why?
- What are the main challenges for integrated approaches and how are these addressed in the four countries and beyond, both on policy and management level?
- What do we expect from the EU policy and in particular the EU Forestry Strategy – how could EU policy best serve biodiversity conservation in forest management?
The event is organized by Switzerland as the current Chair of the European Network Integrate and European Forest Institute (EFI) as the Integrate Secretariat. The webinar will be hosted via Zoom, and we will provide inspiring graphic recording of the event by forest scientist and comic author Alex Giurca from Freiburg University.
Agenda:
9.00-9.10: Welcome and Introduction by Dr. Helga Pülzl, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna and EFI's designated Assistant Director for Policy Support and Christoph Dürr, Head Section Forest Ecosystem Services and Silviculture, Swiss Federal Office for the Environment Forest Division, Switzerland
9.10-9.50: Country perspectives on biodiversity conservation in forestry
Dr. Iris le Ronce, Advisor on European and International Forest Affairs, French Ministry of Agriculture and Food, France
Dr. Claudio de Sassi, Scientific Collaborator, Forest Biodiversity, Swiss Federal Office for the Environment, Switzerland
Matthias Schwoerer, European and International Forest Policy, German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Germany
Prof. Dr. Marco Marchetti, Università del Molise Rome, Italy
9.50-10.30: Moderated discussion and Q&A
10.30-10.45: Wrap-up and concluding remarks by Prof. Dr. Georg Winkel, Head of EFI's Governance Programme
