| Project name |
Climate-Smart Forest Management for Central and Eastern Europe LIFE |
| Acronym | CLIMAFORCEELIFE |
| Project coordinator | WWF Slovakia |
| Project partner | Czech University of Life Science, Prague – Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences |
| Investigator | doc. Ing. Lukáš Bílek, Ph.D. |
| Total budget | 5 587 063 ,00 EUR |
| EU financial contribution | 2 969 208,00 EUR |
| Budget of FLD | 231 914 EUR |
| EU financial contribution to FLD | 123 249 EUR |
| Implementation period | 1. 9. 2020 – 31. 12. 2027 |
| Name of programme | LIFE |
| More information: | Project website |
Forests of the Central and Eastern Europe Region represent an important natural resource. Their importance will likely to increase in the near future. It is not just because of increasing demand for wood (for energy production, bioplastics, etc.), but also due to increasing awareness of the society about ecosystem services provided by forests. Although the economic and social demands are sometimes in conflict, the ability of the forests to provide these services is nowadays threatened by climate change. The current forest management will need to adapt to climate change to mitigate its negative effects (such as drought, increased water run-off, soil erosion, etc.), and increase the resilience of forests instead.
The overall goal of the project is to improve the management of forests in Central and Eastern Europe by fostering 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 forresters 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 the climate change.
EXPECTED RESULTS
- The project plans to apply and demonstrate climate-smart forestry measures in Slovakia and Bulgaria on 1,793 ha.
- Handbook on climate-smart forestry measures relevant for the region of the Central and Eastern Europe will be elaborated.
- Management plans and programming documents will be revised in demonstration sites resp. project countries to include climate-smart forestry measures.
- 3 replication cases on at least 200 ha will be assisted in a project region till the end of the project.
- Remote sensing system for the observation of forest health will be established on the area managed by SWSFE partner.
- Water retention measures to improve forest resilience will be applied on 140 ha in the forests of Šaštín forest enteprise (part of FSR partner).
- 7 study tours, 3 technical workshops, 2 conferences and about 20 events for private owners in Hungary will be organized for forestry professional from CEE region.
- 10 trips for public and 10 media events will be organized, 50 press releases will be published and 2 project videos will be elaborated.
