EIP-AGRI Focus Group on Forest practices and climate change: Final report

Climate change poses a major challenge to society in the 21st century. In 2018 we experienced extensive drought especially in Central and Northern Europe, deadly forest fires in Greece, fire damages in untypical regions including the UK, Latvia and Germany, as well as bark beetle damages that seriously threaten sustainable forest management in some central and east European countries. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change alerted the public that we need to step up our ambition to reduce greenhouse gas emissions if we wish to avoid dangerous climate change. This was the backdrop for the Focus Group on ‘New forest practices and tools for adaptation and mitigation of climate change’. 20 experts from different regions in Europe gathered to identify forest practices & tools to tackle climate change and to explore successful experiences and innovation in practice. This report reflects the discussions of the Focus Group, including adaptation strategies, decision support tools and ways of sharing experiences.