FORWARDS - The ForestWard Observatory to Secure Resilience of European Forests

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FORWARDS will prototype The ForestWard Observatory to provide (a) timely and detailed information on European forests’ vulnerability to climate change impacts, (b) science-based knowledge to guide management using the principles of climate-smart forestry (CSF), ecosystem restoration, and biodiversity preservation, and (c) stakeholder engagement and public participation in decision-making processes. The ambition is for The ForestWard Observatory to become a long-lasting legacy of FORWARDS, which supports decision-making across scales to boost the uptake of good CSF & Restoration management practice throughout Europe (local scale for management practice), while efficiently informing about climate change and disturbance impacts and resilience of European forests.

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Prospex Institute's Role

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Within FORWARDS, Prospex Institute provides advisory support on tasks related to stakeholder engagement, such as the establishment of a stakeholder forum for knowledge exchange, co-creation and discovery, and the organization of citizen engagement activities (e.g., participatory workshops and demonstration activities) to involve citizens in land management decision-making. As Prospex Institute works across several forestry-related Horizon projects (SUPERB, RESONATE, and ForestPaths), it is uniquely placed to ensure that synergies across projects can be built upon and to avoid the duplication of efforts in stakeholder engagement activities. For more info, visit the project's website and LinkedIn page.

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FORWARDS project launches two new calls for grants to advance forest monitoring and disturbance characterisation   

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The FORWARDS project, funded under Horizon Europe, announces the launch of two new calls for grants aimed at advancing forest monitoring and disturbance characterization after the first one on Climate-Smart forestry was launched in July. These calls present a unique opportunity for researchers and organisations to contribute to the development of the ForestWard Observatory, a pan-European monitoring tool that addresses the impact of climate change on forests. These third-party grants are coordinated by European Forest Institute, partner in the FORWARDS project. 

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Call for Grants 1: Pilots of long-term climate impact forest monitoring sites 

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FORWARDS is seeking proposals for pilot monitoring plots/sites that will assess the long-term impact of climate change on forest ecosystems. These sites must be linked to existing forest monitoring networks and provide spatial representativeness. The primary goal is to gather data on forest functioning and disturbance impacts to better understand climate change effects over various time scales. 

Data and results from the supported projects will contribute to the ForestWard Observatory. Up to five projects will be awarded a maximum of €145,000 each, with activities set to begin in April 2024 and lasting up to 18 months.  

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Call for Grants 2: Characterisation of European forest disturbances 

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This call aims to support the construction of an exhaustive open-access reference dataset on forest disturbance. It will be used for rigorous disturbance estimation, developing algorithms for near real-time forest disturbance mapping, and analysing the effects of disturbances across European forest types. 

Up to three projects will be awarded a maximum of €150,000 each, with activities set to begin in April 2024 and lasting up to 12 months. 

These calls are highly important in advancing our knowledge of climate change impact on forests and improving monitoring capabilities. They offer a valuable opportunity for collaboration and knowledge-sharing among European researchers and organisations. 

 

For detailed application guidelines and further information, please visit  EFI website and  FORWARDS project website.