Climate-Smart Forest Management for Central and Eastern Europe (CLIMAFORCEELIFE)

Forests of Central and Eastern Europe represent an important natural resource. Their importance will likely increase in the near future. This is not just because of increasing demand for wood (for energy production, construction, bioplastics, etc.), but also due to increasing societal awareness about the ecosystem services provided by forests. However, ecosystem services are now threatened by climate change. Current forest management will need to be adapted to climate change, to reduce its negative impacts, such as drought, increased water run-off causing flooding and soil erosion, and also to increase the resilience of forests to climate change in the long term.

The overall goal of the CLIMAFORCEELIFE project is to improve management of forests in Central and Eastern Europe by fostering the transition to climate-smart forestry for the benefit of people and nature.

Project specific objectives include:

• Review (proofing) of selected forest management models currently applied in the Central and Eastern European region from the viewpoint of climate change.
• Demonstrate application of the climate-smart forestry measures in project demonstration sites in 3 countries of the Central and Eastern European region (Bulgaria, Hungary and Slovakia).
• Foster inclusion of climate-smart forestry measures into relevant planning documents related to forest management and / or nature conservation on local and national level (such as forest management plans, nature management plans) as well as into programming documents for EU Regional Funds.
• Increase awareness on climate-smart forestry methods among professional foresters and other relevant professional groups (researchers, conservationists) in the Central and Eastern European region.
• Transfer experience from project demonstration sites and replicate climate-smart forestry methods in other areas in the Central and Eastern Europe region, e.g. in Ukraine).
• Gain support of the public for climate-smart forestry by increasing awareness on forests and climate change.