Adapting Forest Management to Maintain the Environmental Services: Carbon Sequestration, Biodiversity and Water • 1st Call

Koli National Park, Finland, 22.9.-24.9.2009

Conference background The environmental research within forest ecosystems has mainly focused on the negative impacts of pressures, such as air pollution or large scale clear-cuts. The Helsinki process and the concept of sustainable forest management (SFM) have turned the focus towards research on the environmental benefits of forests, which society now recognises and demands from the forest sector.

Forest ecosystems provide many deliverables or benefits to society eg. wood, berries and mush-rooms, hunting and other recreational activities. More recent recognised benefits of forests include various environmental services, such as carbon sequestration, water protection and biodiversity. As the recognized benefits of forests are diversifying, forest managers are facing more complex and difficult decisions when making forest management plans. There is an urgent need to increase the knowledge on how forest management can be used to maintain and enhance different environmental services. Such knowledge will enable a change in traditional management in order to continue to provide valuable wood products and at the same time sustain or restore environmental services at reduced external pressures.

At the conference, approximately 60–80 experts and scientists are expected to participate. Further-more, active input from stakeholders is intended.

Aim of the conferenceThe overall aim of this international conference is to focus on the impacts of forest management on environmental services – carbon sequestration, biodiversity and water protection. Specific aims are:

a) to present an overview of current research on environmental services in sustainable forest managementb) to quantify the environmental impact of different management strategies and practices in order to support decision-making c) to improve the awareness of the environmental services provided by forests.

The conference is arranged by the Nordic Centre of Advanced Research on Environmental Services (CAR-ES) funded by SNS during 2004–2009 www.nordicforestry-cares.org. This international confer-ence will be the finalization of CAR-ES.

OrganizersThe Finnish Forest Research Institute (Metla), the Nordic Forestry CAR-ES, Agricultural University of Iceland, Forest & Landscape Denmark, Icelandic Forest Research, the Latvia State Forest Research Institute “Silava”, Skogsforsk Sweden and the Norwegian Forest and Landscape Institute.

Photos: Metla/Erkki Oksanen. Layout: Metla/Markus Lier

Koli National Park, Finland, 22.9.-24.9.2009

Agenda

Monday 21 September 2009 Arrival to Joensuu airport or train station, bus connection to Koli National Park

Tuesday 22 September 2009Session 1: Ecosystem services provided by forestsKeynotesWhat do we mean by environmental services?Why are environmental services important?What ecosystem services can forests provide, with special attention to the three topics carbon sequestration, biodiversity and water? What do politicians need to know about environmental services for policy making on ecosystem services?Session 2: Forest management tools to sequestrate carbon

Wednesday 23 September 2009Session 3: Forest management tools to maintain biodiversitySession 4: Combining the management of forests and watersSession 5: Final session to conclude and give direction for the future

Thursday 24 September 2009Field tripHow forest management in Finland provides ecosystem services in practice.

Meeting venueKoli National Park, Heritage Centre UkkoYlä-Kolintie 39FIN-83960 KoliFinland

For more informationwww.metla.fi/tapahtumat/2009/koli/index.htm JOENSUU

HELSINKI

Russia

Norway

Sweden

Polar circle

Koli

Adapting Forest Management to Maintain the Environmental Services: Carbon Sequestration, Biodiversity and Water • 1st Call