Work Packages

WP1 – Information and knowledge transfer

Lead partner: EFI

WP1 designs and implements stakeholder interaction, knowledge transfer and training. It ensures that relevant key actors are involved in shaping potential sustainable pathways to support forests’ capacities to mitigate climate change. The WP takes into consideration implications on environmental integrity, social acceptability and economic feasibility, thus contributing to a multi-actor approach to forest management.

Objectives

Engage key actor networks within the case studies and beyond (national/transnational)
Identify key actors’ established links for retrieving scientific information
Translate scientific modelling outputs into potential sustainable carbon mitigation pathways for practical application
Test the applicability of carbon certification schemes and their monitoring
Adapt knowledge-transfer approaches in accordance with those established in the project’s case studies
Design a training format that facilitates two-way learning at the science-practice interface and organise training for management pathways and carbon certification schemes

WP2 – Ecosystem functions of managed versus unmanaged forests

Lead partner: KU Leuven

The overall objective of WP2 is to quantify differences in major ecosystem functions between managed and unmanaged forests across Europe by applying state-of-the-art spatial data approaches to available geodata.

Objectives

Compile literature on ecosystem function comparisons between managed and unmanaged forests
Create a network of managed and unmanaged forest patches for ecosystem function assessment
Compare biodiversity & ecosystem functions between managed and unmanaged forests
Compare the stability of ecosystem functions between managed and unmanaged forests
Exchange research results about the effects of no management on biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and stability with stakeholder experiences from WP1

WP3 – Socio-institutional patterns of innovative forest-based mitigation and adaptation strategies

Lead partner: USV

WP3 will develop a comprehensive vision of forest dynamics and of adaptive management by considering interactions between societal actors, their perceptions of reality and of social-ecological systems. The WP will use two different approaches, one of sociological nature, and one based on economic analysis.

Objectives

Provide a meta-analysis of environmental, technical and institutional barriers and opportunities for forest-based climate mitigation and adaptation strategies at the regional scale, as identified in past projects, available macro-economic data and sociological analysis
Undertake a quantitative analysis to identify forest owners’ and managers’ expectations, needs and expertise on climate change effects and to assess potential barriers and opportunities for uptaking innovations into practice
Linking stakeholders’ preferences and options on forestry and forestry schemes with the harvesting and wood industry patterns
Draw an innovation roadmap considering sociological, institutional and economic drivers of mitigation and adaptation strategies and provide policy recommendations on actions needed for forest management mitigation and adaptation strategies

WP4 – Development and impact of sustainable forest management alternatives

Lead partner: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

The overall aim of WP4 is to apply existing forest simulation models (i.e., PICUS, GOTILWA+, SIMA, and LMDzOR) to new management scenarios based on stakeholders’ expertise (WP1), observational data (WP2), and stakeholder preferences (WP3) in order to: (a) look for sustainable management alternatives and (b) quantify their impacts, trade-offs, and synergies on Europe’s wood production, GHG balance, water budget, structural diversity, disturbance regimes as well as their feedbacks. The expected biogeochemical and biophysical impacts of forest management alternatives will be used as part of the WP1 training program for stakeholders.

Objectives

Harmonize output variables across models and the way forest management is implemented in the models
Simulate a wide variety of forest management alternatives while accounting for genetic diversity at the stand level within the study cases FMUs (WP1) and quantify their performance
Screen developed forest management alternatives for their acceptance by accounting for stakeholder preferences (WP3), and interaction with study cases (WP1)
Compile spatially-explicit forest management portfolios for Europe
Quantify the climate impact of the EU-scale management portfolios and discuss the results with WP1 stakeholders

WP5 – Carbon certification improvements: contribution from research and practitioners

Lead partner: I4CE

The overall aim of WP5 is to contribute to the improvement of forest carbon certification in Europe by exploring technical options for robust forest monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) as well as creating the market conditions for a wider acceptance and use of such instruments by private project developers, public institutions, and potential buyers.

Objectives

Identify improvements needed in forest carbon certifications
Assess the economic consequences of the different solutions with a focus on the balance between costs and accuracy
Assess the attractiveness of carbon certification frameworks for project developers and buyers, and explore synergies and complementarities with the broad portfolio of resources and instruments supporting climate-smart forest practices
Provide comprehensive recommendations on forest carbon certification including technical, economic and practical implications, and share them with project developers and funders, regulators in charge of carbon certification schemes, and the European Commission

WP6 – Communication, Dissemination and Exploitation

Lead partner: UPV

This WP aims to maximize INFORMA’s impacts through targeted communication and dissemination activities and effective exploitation of project outcomes that contribute to enhancing multipurpose SFM practices in a climate change context at different levels.

Objectives

Develop a strong project dissemination and communication strategy based on the preferences of different target groups including selected Social Media tools and channels to promote the project’s outcomes in a user-targeted way
Adapt project results and guidance for stakeholders from forest policy, management, and industry by providing findings and products in different formats, via different communication products and events, thereby increasing exploitation potential
Raise awareness about the benefits and challenges of multipurpose SFM and its potential contribution to the goal of climate neutrality through media, events, and social media
Develop an exploitation strategy for INFORMA project results, including a plan to guarantee proper management of intellectual property and knowledge management

WP7 – Project Management

Lead partner: UPV

The aim of WP7 is to ensure an efficient project execution leading to the achievement of all proposed project objectives and outputs.

Objectives

Regular, efficient and open dialogue among project partners concerning key scientific and technical issues.
Rapid and effective decision-making on technical and organizational issues.
Compliance with EC administrative and reporting requirements.
Effective risk management and high-quality outputs.
Managing data used and generated within INFORMA to comply with Open Access principles