ForestPaths has released the second publication from its ForestPaths Features series – an information note tackling the question of How can models help achieve climate and biodiversity targets in the forest and forest-based sectors. The note introduces ForestPaths' next generation assessment framework, detailing its key methodological features, concepts, definitions, variables, and expected simulation results.

Through collaboration with stakeholders, ForestPaths is crafting policy narratives, addressing stakeholders’ perspectives on European forests and the forest-based sector, as well as the essential policies and actions required for a transition to a climate-neutral and resilient society and economy. These policy narratives and targets will serve as the foundation for policy pathway scenarios, which will be modelled to assess their potential effectiveness and interactions across sectors and spatial scales.

To that end, ForestPaths is developing an integrated assessment framework that brings together the strengths of various existing models, tools, and methods. This framework takes into account crucial aspects such as forest growth, climate change risks, and interactions with the forest-based sector and the overall economic system. By utilising these advanced models, ForestPaths ensures the capacity to consider diverse forest management practices, climate conditions, biodiversity considerations, and the decision-making processes involved in forest management.

Read the full information note to discover the modelling types available to ForestPaths, as well as their use, scale and outputs. 

The ForestPaths Features series is published by the ForestPaths project putting the spotlight on its insights and results in easy-to-understand and concise formats. The first issue of the series was a policy brief, outlining evidence-based suggestions to bolster the role of forests and wood products in achieving climate neutrality.