The latest edition of the Helsinki Forest Talks began on 3 April 2025 and featured speakers from the ForestPaths project. For a second year, this format is a meeting place for diplomats and scientists who want to discuss European forestry, the critical problems that it faces and its future as a whole. 

In line with that aim, the first session of the event was titled “Forests in Europe: What are the hot issues?” Opening remarks were given in a keynote speech by Dr. Mart-Jan Schelhaas, a member of both the Wageningen University & Research and the ForestPaths consortium. He spoke of forests in Europe from a comprehensive historical standpoint. He also outlined the trends and challenges that forest professionals and experts must account for in their activities. His speech acknowledged the critical work undertaken in research projects such as ForestPaths, HoliSoils, SUPERB and TRANSFORMIT, among others. 

This introduction preceded a lively panel discussion moderated by Dr. Helga Pülzl (European Forest Institute) and involving her colleague and ForestPaths’ coordinator Dr. Hans Verkerk, Tuomas Hallenberg (Stora-Enso) and Dr. Schelhaas. The conversation touched on the following topics: 

• future prospects for the existence of forests in general 

• the particularities and outcomes of forest monitoring 

• the growing demand for wood and its impact on forests 

• sustainability in the forestry industry 

In the context of these topics, you can explore ForestPaths’ research into forest observation, wood use assessment and Climate and Biodiversity-Smart forest management via our website.