Symposium for policymakers

On 5 March 2024, the partners behind LIFE Climate Forest organised their first symposium. This 'climate smart forest management' symposium was specifically aimed at policymakers and policy influencers.

The reason for this symposium is the urgency of climate adaptation of our forests and the very positively received course series for forest managers, of which we would like to present an adapted and tailor-made version to then exchange views with each other on this.

We have four speakers during the symposium at Hotel Mastbos (Breda) who will share new insights on climate forest management:

1. We started with Jan den Ouden (Wageningen University) who introduces us to what climate-smart forest management actually is and interprets important principles such as adaptation and mitigation for us.
2. With Ellen Desie (University of Leuven) and Leon van den Berg (Bosgroep Zuid Nederland), we then dive into the issues surrounding forest growth and the importance of healthy soil for resilient forests.
3. Thereafter, Bart Muys (University of Leuven) took us through the results and insights gained in a recent project called climate trees, in which advice was drawn up for Flanders on how to deal with tree species in the face of climate change.
4. Jan den Ouden concludes the lectures with the importance of ongoing forest rejuvenation for forest adaptability and the role of wildlife.

Harrie Hekhuis (Staatsbosbeheer) will lead the day and guide the discussion throughout the day. We will conclude with a short excursion (by Etiënne Thomassen and Sander Wijdeven) in the Mastbos where we will see and jointly discuss principles and challenges of climate forest management.