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SPP’s participation in the realization of the “Learn for Climate” project

On April 25, 2024, the second edition of the workshop was organized at the headquarters of the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN), within the framework of the implementation of the international project (No. 773324) Learn for Climate, whose topic was: “Forest management in the face of climate change”. The event was financed from the budget of the EU’s Horizon 2020 program, within the framework of the pool of grants supporting scientific research for strengthening innovation, in the area of implementation of EU climate policy goals involving forests.

The project’s activities in our country are coordinated by a team of scientists under the direction of Prof. K. Niedziałkowski (Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Polish Academy of Sciences). At the national level, the partner of the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences is the University of Agriculture in Cracow. The project is implemented by scientific and academic centers from 3 other countries: Germany – Forest and Environmental Policy, University of Freiburg and European Forest Institute in Bonn, Slovenia – Biotechnical Faculty Dept. of Forestry and Renewable Forest Resources, University of Ljubljana, Sweden – University of Agricultural Sciences, in Lulea.

The main objectives of the project launched in 2023 include: identifying the challenges facing Polish forestry in the face of climate disruption; assessing the responses to climate change to date in the process of forest management; identifying the perspectives of various stakeholder groups on forest management in Poland in the context of climate impacts. During the current edition of the workshop, the results of the project to date were presented and discussed, based on the material summarizing the achievements of the first edition (source: Report on facilitators and impediments to forest management and governance in the context of climate stresses and disturbances, conducted under the project “Learn for Climate” – Warsaw, 02.03.2023).

Approximately 20 people representing knowledge and experience from a diverse socio-professional environment participated in the workshop held in the national arena. Present were representatives of the scientific and research sector, employees of the Directorate General/regional units of the State Forests, activists of the NGO sector, representatives of the timber industry, as well as a delegate of the institutional structure of private forest owners.

As part of the work of one of the 4 thematic tables, uninhibited views and assessments were given to representatives of the timber industry: J. Turski (Director General of the Association of Polish Papermakers), R. Gruszczynski (Polish Economic Chamber of Wood Industry). Many interesting comments on the subject under consideration were shared by representatives of the State Forests, implementing for many years a wide spectrum of tasks arising from the prerogatives of the Law on State Forests. An assessment of the current situation in terms of the policy for forestry implemented so far, from the perspective of the interests and expectations of private forest owners, was presented by W. Winiarski (Polish Association of Forestry Associations).

_{Photos: J. Turski, SPP}