Last year, ForestPaths partners from the European Forest Institute (EFI) and the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) collaborated with the Finnish Forest Centre on a group interview with forest owners from the Nordic country. Held in conjunction with field visits in the Punkaharju region, the piece explored attitudes to forest management at a time when climate change challenges are making their presence increasingly felt.

Forest owners Aulis, Pentti. Yrjö and Jorma were interviewed on whether and to what degree they have faced these new realities. Storm bursts, droughts and pest proliferation were all singled out as the direct consequence of the Finnish climate experiencing an unprecedented transformation. Following up on this, solutions were discussed, with all four participants stressing the importance of comprehensive monitoring and cooperation among forest owners. Joint action, it was concluded, is essential to ensuring that sustainable management approaches endure over time and space in the country’s forests. It was made clear that this also extends to work with professional researchers due to the critical information they can provide to practitioners on the ground.

This dialogue is another testament to ForestPaths’s continuous commitment to engaging stakeholders of various backgrounds as new forest policy pathways are being developed. Other examples include the Policy Engagement Forum format and the demo cases held across Europe. 

You can watch the full video below: