EFI Young Leadership Programme – Mediterranean 2025
Building forest resilience through climate and biodiversity-smart management and restoration
The forests of South-Eastern Europe are home to a wide range of species and ecosystems. They play an important role in regional biodiversity and in responding to climate change. However, they are increasingly affected by rising temperatures, extreme weather events, pest outbreaks and changing rainfall patterns. Improving forest management and restoration is necessary to support their long-term health.
The EFI Young Leadership Programme – Mediterranean 2025 (YLPMED 2025) brought together 17 early-career professionals from across South-Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean. Held in Croatia, the programme focused on forest reproductive material (FRM), covering its selection, conservation and use in relation to climate and biodiversity goals. Scientific sessions were led by researchers and practitioners with backgrounds in forest genetics, tree breeding and climate adaptation.
Alongside the scientific programme, participants took part in workshops on blog writing, photography and video production. These sessions supported the development of communication skills and encouraged participants to explore how forestry-related science can be shared with different audiences, including the public, policymakers and young people. Through small group projects, the participants also worked on creative content aimed at challenging stereotypes and presenting forestry in new ways.
Field visits to Croatian forests, including Risnjak National Park and the Delnice forest facility, gave participants the opportunity to see forest management in practice and meet professionals working in the sector. These visits helped link the scientific and communication aspects of the course.
The EFI Young Leadership Programme was launched in 2014, with a Mediterranean edition running since 2018. Since 2023, it has been held every two years in partnership with the Union for the Mediterranean. The 2025 edition focused on South-Eastern Europe and was developed with support from regional partners, including the Croatian Forest Research Institute, the University of Zagreb, BOKU, and forestry faculties in Sarajevo and Banja Luka.
You can explore the participants’ blog articles, photography and short films in the YLP-MED 2025 Blogs section!
