LIFE Platform Meeting on Forest Restoration in Europe

The event brought together practitioners, policymakers, and stakeholders to address the urgent challenges facing European forests, including biodiversity loss, climate change impacts, and socio-economic pressures. With decades of success in funding impactful conservation and restoration projects, the LIFE Programme had become a cornerstone for advancing forest protection, sustainable management, and restoration efforts. Attendees explored innovative solutions and shared best practices to enhance the capacity of forests to provide critical ecosystem services such as climate regulation, biodiversity conservation, and community resilience.

The meeting highlighted key themes such as ecological restoration, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and the integration of agro-silvopastoral systems into modern conservation strategies. It also examined socio-economic opportunities linked to sustainable forest management, including bioeconomy models, carbon certification, and payments for ecosystem services. Through a mix of plenary sessions, breakout discussions, and field visits, participants developed actionable recommendations to guide EU and national policies.

Hosted by the FOUNDATION CONSERVATION CARPATHIA and its LIFE CARPATHIA project, the European Commission DG Environment, and CINEA, this event demonstrated how LIFE-funded projects were delivering tangible results and shaping the future of forest restoration in Europe.