European forests are central to climate mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity conservation and sustainable bioeconomy objectives. OptFor-EU and CLIMB-FOREST provide complementary Horizon Europe evidence for moving from research outputs to operational decisions and resilient forest pathways. The proposed joint event will maximise EU-level visibility, showcase final and near-final outputs, and create a structured policy dialogue on uptake and implementation. The event positions Horizon Europe forest research outputs as practical support for European decision-makers, forest managers and stakeholders working on climate resilience, mitigation, biodiversity and sustainable forest management.
What will the event aim to?
- Present and position the main results of OptFor-EU, including the Forest Decision Support System and policy recommendations.
- Showcase CLIMB-FOREST insights on climate-resilient forest futures, long-term modelling and practical management pathways.
- Facilitate a policy dialogue with European Commission services, Member States, forest authorities and practitioners.
- Identify implementation pathways, knowledge gaps and future research needs for resilient European forests.
Draft Agenda
08:30 | Registration and Welcome Coffee
09:00 | Institutional Welcome, Sorin Cheval (OptFor-EU Coordinator); Adam Kristensson (CLIMB-FOREST Coordinator)
09:10 | Opening Keynote: European forests at the crossroads of climate resilience, biodiversity and competitiveness – Laura Liepina, DG AGRI (TBC) or Markus Lier, DG AGRI (TBC)
09:25 | Opening Keynote: Science, tools and policy support for climate-smart forest management in Europe –: Viorel Blujdea, Joint Research Centre (TBC)
09:40 | OptFor-EU Results Presentation: Main achievements and contribution to climate-smart forest management, Sorin Cheval, with input from OptFor-EU partners
10:05 | Coffee Break
10:20 | CLIMB-FOREST Results Presentation: Maintaining mitigation capacity and resilience under climate change – Adam Kristensson, LUND University and Paul Miller, LUND University
10:40 | Live Demonstration: Forest Decision Support System functionality, use cases and stakeholder value, Razvan Purcarea, Simavi (tbc), with support from Antonia Lindau, BOKU (TBC)
11:10 | Live Demonstration: Toolbox presentation and site-level run, old-growth forest results Svein Solberg, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO)
11:20 | Round Table I: Using decision-support tools in forest policy and practice moderated by Antonia Lindau (BOKU / OptFor-EU policy lead)
- Alice Ludvig (OptFor-EU – BOKU),
- Nicu Tudose (OptFor-EU – INCDS),
- Lasse Berntzen (OptFor-EU – USN),
- Svein Solberg (CLIMB-FOREST – NIBIO)
12:05 | Science-to-Practice Session: Adam Kristensson, LUND University; Paul Miller, LUND University; Kato Van Ruymbeke, KU Leuven
12:30 | Round Table II: Climate adaptation pathways for forests – what should managers and policymakers prioritise? moderated by Paul Miller (CLIMB-FOREST)
13:15 | Networking Lunch
14:15 | Parallel Breakout Sessions & Reporting Back
- Breakout A (Decision Support in Practice): Facilitated by Lasse Berntzen (USN) & Nicu Tudose (INCDS)
- Breakout B (Resilient Forest Pathways): Facilitated by Adam Kristensson, LUND University & Kato Van Ruymbeke, KU Leuven
- Breakout C (EU Policy Uptake): Facilitated by Alice Ludvig (BOKU)
15:20 | Coffee Break
15:35 | Flagship Policy Panel: From science to policy – what needs to happen next for resilient European forests? moderated byOrieta Hulea (OptFor-EU – WWF RO)
16:25 | Joint Closing Session: Shared policy message, next steps and collaboration outlook, Sorin Cheval (OptFor-EU), Adam Kristensson (CLIMB-FOREST)