Press "Enter" to skip to content

Month: June 2020

Ecosystems are a lot more resilient than they have given them credit for in the past”

Published June 29, 2020 by Lyla O' Brien

An Interview with Klaus J. Puettmann, Professor, Forests Ecosystems & Society, Oregon State University

Forests are among our planet’s most important human life-supporting ecosystems, and we have many expectations with regards to the ecosystem services they provide. But: How do major global challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss affect forests globally, and what can forest governance and management do? How can we deal with rising and changing demands for forest products and ecosystem services due to global population and economic growth, and urbanization?   

In order to discuss these questions, the conference “Governing and managing forests for multiple ecosystem services” brought together policymakers, practitioners and academic researchers from different fields on 26-28 February in Bonn. During this event, EFI in collaboration with the documentary filmmaker Patrick Augenstein, interviewed Klaus J. Puettmann, Professor, Forests Ecosystems & Society, Oregon State University.

Continue readingEcosystems are a lot more resilient than they have given them credit for in the past”
Leave a Comment

“We need segregation with integration, and integration with segregation”

Published June 26, 2020 by Lyla O' Brien

An Interview with Natalia Lukina, Forest Ecology and Productivity Centre, Russian Academy of Science

Forests are among our planet’s most important human life-supporting ecosystems, and we have many expectations with regards to the ecosystem services they provide. But: How do major global challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss affect forests globally, and what can forest governance and management do? How can we deal with rising and changing demands for forest products and ecosystem services due to global population and economic growth, and urbanization?   

In order to discuss these questions, the conference “Governing and managing forests for multiple ecosystem services” brought together policymakers, practitioners and academic researchers from different fields on 26-28 February in Bonn. During this event, EFI in collaboration with the documentary filmmaker Patrick Augenstein, interviewed, Natalia Lukina, Forest Ecology and Productivity Centre, Russian Academy of Science.

Continue reading“We need segregation with integration, and integration with segregation”
Leave a Comment
Waldwissenschaftler fordern: Waldumbau durch effiziente Bejagung unterstützen

Waldwissenschaftler fordern: Waldumbau durch effiziente Bejagung unterstützen

Published June 22, 2020 by Gesche Schifferdecker

Warum wir eine Neufassung des Bundesjagdgesetzes brauchen

Ein Gastbeitrag von Christian Ammer, Thomas Knoke und Michael Müller

Vor dem Hintergrund der Herausforderungen durch den Klimawandel müssen wir vielgestaltige und anpassungsfähige Wälder aufbauen. Wildeinflüsse können dieses Ziel gefährden. Deswegen hat der wissenschaftliche Beirat für Waldpolitik des Bundesministeriums für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft (BMEL) im Februar 2020 ein Eckpunktepapier zur Waldstrategie 2050 veröffentlicht. In diesem wird benannt, welche Regelungen bei der Reform des Bundesjagdgesetzes geändert werden müssten, um den drängenden Aufgaben nachkommen zu können. Wir stimmen der Analyse und den Empfehlungen des wissenschaftlichen Beirats aus waldwissenschaftlicher Sicht im Wesentlichen zu und fordern die Politik auf, die Empfehlungen ihres Beirats zu berücksichtigen.

Continue readingWaldwissenschaftler fordern: Waldumbau durch effiziente Bejagung unterstützen
1 Comment
Downloading Europe: A Regional Comparison in the Uptake of the EU Forest Action Plan

Downloading Europe: A Regional Comparison in the Uptake of the EU Forest Action Plan

Published June 18, 2020 by Filip Aggestam

The first EU Forest Strategy was adopted in 1998 to provide general guidelines for an EU forest policy designed to coordinate other EU forest-relevant policies. The implementation of the first strategy was done under the auspices of the EU Forest Action Plan, covering the period from 2007 to 2011. The Forest Action Plan was a tool that facilitated voluntary cooperation between EU Member States (no enforcement capabilities), with some coordinating actions being implemented by the European Commission.

The paper “Downloading Europe: A Regional Comparison in the Uptake of the EU Forest Action Plan”, published in the journal Sustainability, returns to the EU Forest Action Plan to provide further insight into how it translated into an EU Member State context. Most articles concerned with the analysis of forest-relevant policies in the EU focus on analyzing EU decision-making impacts on a national level, or vice versa, but not how Member States embrace EU strategies from a comparative perspective. This paper addresses this empirical gap and provides insight into whether Europeanization effects are comparable, irrespective of whether EU Member States are deciding upon and implementing a legally binding or non-legally binding EU policy instrument.

Continue readingDownloading Europe: A Regional Comparison in the Uptake of the EU Forest Action Plan
Leave a Comment
Assessing the potential of climate-based forestry services – Your opinion counts!

Assessing the potential of climate-based forestry services – Your opinion counts!

Published June 16, 2020 by Valentino Govigli

Decades of study have shown and quantified the impact of climate change on forests around the world. Changes in growth patterns, drought induced mortality, and species distribution shift have been observed in many forest ecosystems as well as the additional effects on water availability, increase numbers of pest and diseases, and the rise of detrimental effects of natural disasters (e.g. mega-fires). On the other hand, forests have also been acknowledged as “stabilizing forces for the climate”[1]. Thanks to their ecosystem services provision, shelters of flora and fauna biodiversity, and key role in the carbon cycle. Additionally, forests play a key role in sustaining sustainable livelihoods of many communities around the globe.

It becomes thus paramount to develop integrated tools, which can support the forestry sector in halting the loss and degradation of forests, as well as to reach a sustainable development for the sector. To this end, The European Forest Institute, El Cubo Verde, Vizzuality and Tecnalia are working together in a market study to assess the potential of forestry services based on Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) data available through its Climate Data Store (CDS). This initiative is organized within the framework of a Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) contract; C3S is one of the six services of the EU’s Copernicus Programme and is implemented by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecast (ECMWF), on behalf of the European Union.

Continue readingAssessing the potential of climate-based forestry services – Your opinion counts!
Leave a Comment
Always Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth: The Case of the European Green Deal

Always Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth: The Case of the European Green Deal

Published June 15, 2020 by Lyla O' Brien

On May 20th 2020, EFI held its first ThinkForest webinar: Science Insights to the European Green Deal and Forests. During this interactive event speakers and panelists took an in-depth look into the Green Deal, using a focus on the forest-based sector to discuss a range of topics including its objectives, weaknesses, and potential for further development. During the discussions, a key critique emerged from speakers and panelists: The Green Deal lacks clear consideration of a forest bioeconomy, which is crucial for addressing the climate, economy, and biodiversity simultaneously. The critique was met with an almost unanimous agreement by audience members, with a final poll revealing that 88% of participants thought the Green Deal should be updated to include this missing link.

Continue readingAlways Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth: The Case of the European Green Deal
Leave a Comment
Wildlebensraum Wald in Gefahr

Wildlebensraum Wald in Gefahr

Published June 10, 2020 by Gesche Schifferdecker

ein Beitrag von Hans von der Goltz

Die neuerliche Trockenheit im dritten Jahr in Folge lässt die Borkenkäfer zu Milliarden erfolgreich ihre nächsten Opfer finden. Sie und andere Schadinsekten haben leichtes Spiel mit den durch den Wassermangel schon ums Überleben kämpfenden Bäumen. Es müssen alle vom Menschen beeinflussbaren Maßnahmen konsequent ergriffen werden, um die nächste Waldgeneration stabiler zu machen gegen die Herausforderungen des Klimawandels. Der Wald muss gemischter und strukturreicher werden.
Das verhindern auf der überwiegenden Waldfläche Deutschlands zu viele Rehe, Hirsche oder anderes Schalenwild. Das Bundesjagdgesetz muss rechtlich dafür sorgen, dass der erforderliche Waldumbau gelingt. Ziel muss es sein, dass Wald und Wild in einer Balance miteinander leben und überhöhte Schalenwildbestände nicht weiter ihre eigene Lebensgrundlage zerstören. In dem aktuellen Entwurf des Bundesjagdgesetzes kann man diese Absicht zwar ansatzweise erkennen, die klare Konsequenz fehlt jedoch vollständig. In Anbetracht der besorgniserregenden deutschlandweiten Waldsituation ist die Zeit der Freiwilligkeit, der hoffnungsvollen Unverbindlichkeit, des Kniefalls vor der Jägerlobby vorbei. Das Bundesjagdgesetz (BJagdG) muss aus gesamtgesellschaftlicher Verantwortung nun wirklich klare zielorientierte Regelungen zur Waldrettung treffen.

Continue readingWildlebensraum Wald in Gefahr
Leave a Comment
What do current students expect from their future career in the forest-related sector?

What do current students expect from their future career in the forest-related sector?

Published June 9, 2020 by Lisa C. Prior

This is one of the questions the “Global Students Networking and Green Jobs in the forest sector” project is trying to investigate with their recently launched global survey among…

Continue readingWhat do current students expect from their future career in the forest-related sector?
Leave a Comment
2020 World Environment Day – why biodiversity matters to all of us

2020 World Environment Day – why biodiversity matters to all of us

Published June 5, 2020 by Lyla O' Brien

Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic we have begun to reshape the way we think about many things including our work lives, social lives, and health. But what about biodiversity? After weeks of facing the same view from our home office, some of us have started to notice the biodiversity of our gardens and become avid new birdwatchers, running to grab our binoculars whenever we see a new species. Others have started visiting the forest more often and have found peace and comfort in the biodiversity it offers. However, the link between biodiversity and the COVID-19 crisis is much larger than what goes on in our backyards. With the theme of biodiversity, this World Environment Day urges us to address this link and take urgent action in order to safeguard the diversity of life on the planet, and ultimately our own.

Continue reading2020 World Environment Day – why biodiversity matters to all of us
Leave a Comment
Can nature conservation and wood production be reconciled in managed forests?

Can nature conservation and wood production be reconciled in managed forests?

Published June 3, 2020 by Filip Aggestam

Integrated forest management (IFM) can help reconcile critical trade-offs between goals in forest management, such as nature conservation and biomass production. The challenge of IFM is dealing with these trade-offs at the level of practical forest management, such as striving for compromises between biomass extraction and habitat retention. With this background in mind, the paper “Can nature conservation and wood production be reconciled in managed forests? A review of driving factors for integrated forest management in Europe”, which is published in the Journal of Environmental Management, reviews some of the driving factors that influence the integration of nature conservation into forest management.

Continue readingCan nature conservation and wood production be reconciled in managed forests?
Leave a Comment