Forest: Climate Change Adaptation (LIFE FORECCAsT)

The main objective of the LIFE FORECCAsT project is to provide forest owners and the managers of the Parc Naturel Régional du Haut Languedoc with the means to build their management strategy, taking climate change scenarios into consideration, in order to protect territorial forest ecosystems and ensure a dynamic forestry sector in compliance with environmental, economic and social challenges.

To reach this overall objective, the following specific goals are foreseen:

• To develop methodologies and tools to help decision-making for the forestry-wood sector, in order to better anticipate and integrate risks identified in different climate change scenarios;
• To incorporate field observations in order to improve the usefulness of the decision-making tool developed by the project, FORECCAsT;
• To make a list of bio-indicators that will form the basis of a monitoring system on the effects of climate change on woodland biodiversity;
• To protect vulnerable ecosystems, in particular the natural habitats of community interest in the Parc Naturel Régional du Haut Languedoc;
• To put forward adaptation strategies for forestry and genetic resources in line with levels of risk. Strategies include alternative production systems and a better understanding of biodiversity and the risk of forest fire;
• To suggest procedures of post-event analysis and reaction in order to provide forest managers with an action plan in case of climate-related crises;
• To raise awareness in the whole forestry-wood sector on future risks and the necessity of acting now to protect the industry; and
• To raise awareness among local populations of these issues by explaining the challenges and possible options, as well as future modifications.