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Evergreen: Restoring Europe’s Forests
11 December 2020 - 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Context:
Destruction of primary and old growth forests is an issue not just in tropical forests but also on the European continent. The question of how to stop illegal logging and protect the remaining forests on national but also European levels calls for decisive and orchestrated action – as ecosystem loss and the climate crisis are closely interconnected and their worsening impacts are not blocked by any national boarder.
About the Event:
This is the launch of the Green European Foundation’s Deforestation Project, featuring stakeholders from all over Europe with a focus on Romania. We’ll be looking at solutions for saving our European forests, with breakout rooms and group discussions to tackle the issue together. Our goal is to use our collective knowledge and problem solving to face down the challenges.
Upcoming opinion pieces to feed into the conversation:
- The natural forests of Europe are vanishing: focal point Romania
- The EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030: Ecological change in the forest sector?
- Solutions for – forest protection and restoration
Speakers:
- Thomas Waitz, MEP, European Parliament
- Matthias Schickhofer, Conservationist, book author, photographer
- Ioana Banach, Managing Director, Green European Foundation
- Alexander von Bismarck, Executive Director, Environmental Investigation Agency
- Catalina Radulescu, lawyer
- Ewelina Tylec-Bakalarz, Client Earth
- Luke Chamberlain, EuroNatur, Agent Green & EU Policy Director PFPI
- Gabriel Paun, President of Agent Green
- Susanne Winter, WWF Germany
Programme:
16:30 – 17:00 Arrivals and technical check-in
17:00 – 17:15 Event Opening
Moderator: Ioana Banach (Managing Director, Green European Foundation)
Dagmar Tutschek (FREDA)
17:15 – 18:00 Part I: Losing paradise – destroying Europe’s Forests
- What is the state of today’s forests in Europe?
Speaker: Matthias Schickhofer, Conservationist, book author, photographer
2. Where is the problem?
- Who is driving illegal logging in old growth/ primary forests? Who are the beneficiaries?
Speaker: Alexander von Bismarck, Executive Director, Environmental Investigation Agency
2. What legal options are there and where are the difficulties to enforce / strengthen legal protection of old growth forests?
Speaker: Catalina Radulescu, lawyer
3. What is the role of forest management in the current “forest crisis”? How can ecologically destructive forest management and forest protection be improved?
Speaker: Gabriel Paun, President of Agent Green
3. What is already being done to save the forests and where are the shortcomings?
- EU Legislations
Speaker: Thomas Waitz, MEP, European Parliament
18:00 – 18:10 Break
18:10 – 18:45 Part II: Restoring Europe’s Forests
Breakout sessions split into 3 working groups – In this session we will deep-dive into solutions-oriented discussions.
Our three speakers will give a short intro to each parallel session, focusing on:
- What can be done on a European and local level?
Speaker: Ewelina Tylec-Bakalarz, Client Earth & Matthias Schickhofer,
Visual Facilitator: Alejandro Gil
2. Best-practice of forest management and restoration
Speaker: Susanne Winter, WWF Germany
Visual Facilitator: Anita Berner
3. The role of civil society in tackling the issue.
Speaker: Luke Chamberlain, EuroNatur, Agent Green & EU Policy Director PFPI
Visual Facilitator: Coline Robin
- Each parallel session will include a Visual Facilitator
18:45 – 19:00 Plenary reporting – Session host and Visual recorders
19:00 – 19:05 Next steps and closing
Practicalities:
Registrations are now closed.
We will use the Zoom video conferencing platform. It is recommended to join the webinar via a PC. You do not need to install additional software. However, for the best user experience and full participation features, you can install the free Zoom Desktop App.
Language: the main language is English with simultaneous translation to German
This event is organised by the Green European Foundation with the support of FREDA – Die Grüne Zukunftsakademie and with the financial support of the European Parliament to the Green European Foundation.
Spatial statistics of European harvested forest area
Source: Ceccherini, G., Duveiller, G., Grassi, G. et al. Abrupt increase in harvested forest area over Europe after 2015. Nature 583, 72–77 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2438-y
