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11
Dec
2020
 
5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

If forest losses continue to increase due to intensified felling and the climate crisis, many ecosystem services in forests threaten to falter. Join us as we tackle the question of illegal logging and its place in our ecological and climate crisis.

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:

  1. The natural forests of Europe are vanishing: focal point Romania
  2. The EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030: Ecological change in the forest sector?
  3. 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

  1. What is the state of today’s forests in Europe?

Speaker: Matthias Schickhofer, Conservationist, book author, photographer

 

2.  Where is the problem?

    1. 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:

  1. 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 

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