European Forest Policy and beyond – a discussion about the issues ahead

The European Green Deal placed these challenges to the fore in its initiatives and triggers the forest sector to respond. In particular, the EU has put a strong focus on biodiversity conservation and the carbon storage functions of forests in its latest policy initiatives and is currently in the transition to a carbon neutral society addressing again a circular bioeconomy where sustainable use of forest products is key. This implies that potentially conflicting policy goals must be tackled, which has led to different interest coalitions among the EU member states regarding EU forest policy development.

In this lunch talk, two of KSLAs most recently elected international fellows will present their research relating to the forest and wood policy developments in the European Union.

Georg Winkel, professor and chair of the Forest and Nature Conservation Policy Group at Wageningen University will speak about the larger strategic setting of EU forest policy making, identifying key drivers, trends and conflict lines. His key argument is that European forest policy needs to become more inclusive, ensuring that its future forests meet the diversity of demands Europe’s citizens do have.

Helga Pülzl, Assistant Director for the Policy Support at the European Forest Institute will present an upcoming study on EUs wood policy governance. She will map the regulatory landscape in the EU and address gaps in policy coherence by highlighting key challenges with regards to policy fragmentation and the trade-offs between sectoral impact of policy instruments. Her key argument is that EU wood governance operates around a large diversity of wood value chains and that albeit policy instruments have different impacts depending on where companies operate within the supply and value chains, an integrative approach is needed that prioritizes sustainable practices and is aligned with broader EU objectives.

The discussion will be led by KSLA fellow Katarina Eckerberg.

Link to the Zoom Link
Meeting-ID: 865 1669 1705 and Pass code: 167667

Welcome!