Over the past seven years, the European Network of Forest Extension Organisations (FOREXT) has been developing as a capacity-building hub for private forest owners that can offer expert advice and support. In practical terms, the Network’s activities thus revolve around “the exchange of knowledge, experience, expertise, best practices and developing and implementing relevant European projects”. In this context, ForestPaths was singled out as an initiative with ties to FOREXT in the latter’s annual report for 2024.

In a dedicated section on the research-practice interface, this publication zooms in on the EU-level projects whose implementation FOREXT contributed to throughout the preceding calendar year. Along with its partner HoliSoils, ForestPaths is introduced here with its central objective - optimising forests’ climate change mitigation potential by providing forest-based policy pathways that take their biodiversity and ecosystem services into consideration. 

Particular emphasis is placed on the Policy Labs, an initiative of the project aiming to bridge governance and practice via comprehensive dialogues on the trends, perspectives and challenges underpinning the EU’s forestry sector. The report summarises developments from the first two editions of this format, laying out the convergence of diverse interested parties hailing from governmental, economic and civil circles alike. On the part of FOREXT, the second Lab (held in Italy in September 2024) saw the involvement of Mark Prior, a UK Forestry Commission representative and a member of the Network who assisted in engaging stakeholders throughout the event.

The full 2024 FOREXT annual report is accessible here. You can find out more about the Policy Labs’ purpose and outcomes on this page.