GFZ German research centre for geo sciences
GFZ
Home
go to search page

FORWARDS

Logo
(Logo)

Funding by: European Commission

Funding ID: 101084481

Project coordinator: Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet (SLU)

Project period: 01.10.2022 - 30.09.2027

Project partners: European Forest Institute (EFI) | Universita Degli Studi Di Firenze (UNIFI) | Universita Degli Studi Del Molise (UNIMOL) | Thuenen-Institut, Bundesforschungsinstitut Für Ländliche Raeume, Wald Und Fischerei (THUE) | Wageningen University (WU) | Stichting Wageningen Research (WR) | Latvijas Valsts Mezzinatnes Instituts Silava (SILAVA) | Fondazione Icons (ICONS) | Luonnonvarakeskus (LUKE) | Universitaet Für Bodenkultur Wien (BOKU) | ESSRG Nonprofit KFT (ESSRG) | Lunds Universitet (LUND) | PROSPEX Institute (PI) | Eigen Vermogen Van Het Instituut Voor Natuur- En Bosonderzoek (EVINBO)

The ForestWard Observatory (WP5) is sustained by three Roots: (I) Forest Status (WP2); (II) CSF & Restoration Management (WP3); and (III) Societal Perspectives (WP4). All these feed from the grants-to-third-parties scheme (WP1). The ForestWard Observatory products will be promoted through Impact Assurance & Outreach (WP6). Yellow circles denote potential collaboration with the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the Joint Resarch Centre (JRC), which would ensure a long-term impact.
The ForestWard Observatory (WP5) is sustained by three Roots: (I) Forest Status (WP2); (II) CSF & Restoration Management (WP3); and (III) Societal Perspectives (WP4). All these feed from the grants-to-third-parties scheme (WP1). The ForestWard Observatory products will be promoted through Impact Assurance & Outreach (WP6). Yellow circles denote potential collaboration with the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the Joint Resarch Centre (JRC), which would ensure a long-term impact. (FORWARDS)

FORWARDS will prototype The ForestWard Observatory to provide (a) timely and detailed information on European forests’ vulnerability to climate change impacts, (b) science-based knowledge to guide management using the principles of climate-smart forestry, ecosystem restoration, and biodiversity preservation (CSF & Restoration), and (c) stakeholder engagement and public participation in decision-making processes. We capitalize on data from existing networks (e.g. ICP Forests) and expand this with a Network of Pilot sites through 5 FORWARDS Demo cases plus ~50 trials established via grants to third parties. We will reconcile the current divide between forest information obtained from the ground and remote sensing by incorporating the concept of Monitoring Supersites and novel approaches to more comprehensively characterize cause-effect relationships of forest disturbances. Tools for European-wide forward- looking and spatially explicit projections on forests as well as regionalized CSF & Restoration trajectories will be developed jointly with stakeholders to evaluate synergies and trade-offs of conversion and restoration activities. These will be used to provide good practice guidance on effective CSF & Restoration management practices. The ForestWard Observatory will be constructed under the principle of co-design to address the information needs by users and stakeholders.

FORWARDS interacts with several established networks on CSF & Restoration and effectively utilizes five dedicated grant calls to implement forest observations and test CSF & restoration measures. The ambition is for The ForestWard Observatory to become a long-lasting legacy of FORWARDS, which supports decision making across scales to boost the uptake of good CSF & Restoration management practice throughout Europe (local scale for management practice), while efficiently informing about climate change and disturbance impacts and resilience of European forests (regional to EU scale for policy making).

Project website: https://forwards-project.eu/

back to top of main content