Resilience

In a highly urbanised Europe where cities are responsible for 80% of the population and energy use, urban forestry and forest-based solutions like wood construction are key to developing climate-smart cities.The role of forests and trees in enhancing essential resources like water, soil and biodiversity is increasingly important in the context of sustainable rural areas and agricultural systems.

EFI's Resilience Programme addresses  the need for new interdisciplinary research to understand the impacts of climate change and the role of forest management on biodiversity conservation, as well as the need to connect forest science to other land-use disciplines and urban studies to create a basis for effective, integrated policies and forest and land-use management strategies.  

Topics

• the impacts of global change and related risks on forest socio-ecological systems, and the strategies to enhance and restore their capacity to adapt and provide forest ecosystem services and products.
• policies, strategies and management practices to enhance biodiversity in a rapidly changing environment, considering different regional and socio-economic settings.
• strategies and management practices to enhance the role of forests and trees in increasing the resilience of rural areas to climate change, including a better understanding of agroforestry.
• the role of urban forestry, nature based solutions and wood construction in developing climate smart cities, better rural-urban interfaces and enhancing health and wellbeing in urban areas.

Head of Programme: Georg Winkel