„OPTimising FORest management decisions for a low-carbon, climate resilient future in EUrope (OptFor-EU)“, Nr. 101060554

Project No. 101060554
Project title: „OPTimising FORest management decisions for a low-carbon, climate resilient future in EUrope (OptFor-EU)“
Project duration: from 2023-01-01 to 2026-12-31
Project coordinator: Meteo Romania (Romania)
Project manager in MRU: prof.dr. Paulo Alexandre da Silva Pereira, paulo@mruni.eu
Other partners: UNIVERSITAET FUER BODENKULTUR WIEN (Austria); HELMHOLTZ-ZENTRUM HEREON GMBH (Germany); CONSIGLIO NAZIONALE DELLE RICERCHE (Italy); BLUEBILOBA STARTUP INNOVATIVA SRL (Italy); INSTITUTE FOR EUROPEAN ENERGY AND CLIMATE POLICY STICHTING (Netherlands); UNIVERSITETET I SOROST-NORGE (Norway); INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE DEZVOLTARE IN SILVICULTURA MARIN DRACEA (Romania); SOFTWARE IMAGINATION & VISION SRL (Romania); ASOCIATIA WWF ROMANIA (Romania); AMBIENTA INGENIERIA Y SERVICIOS AGRARIOS Y FORESTALES SL (Spain); SERVEIS DE SUPORT A LA GESTIO SL (Spain).

Summary: Significant reductions in anthropogenic emissions and maximisation of CO2 sinks are needed to meet the 1.5 degrees global warming threshold set by the Paris Agreement and to meet the European Green Deal’s climate neutrality target by 2050. Forests and mangroves as CO2 sinks partly offset the increase in anthropogenic CO2 emissions and provide an important buffer against climate change. Depending on the characteristics of forests, their management and the ecosystem services they provide, forests themselves can be net sinks of CO2 as well as sources of CO2. The OptFor-EU project will develop a Decision Support System (DSS) for forest managers and other stakeholders with options and ways to optimise decarbonisation and other Forest Ecosystem Services (FES) across Europe. Based on existing data sources, the latest forest valuation indicators and the links between climate drivers, forest responses and ecosystem services, OptFor-EU will work towards five key objectives: (1) Provide an updated inventory of the Forest-Climate Nexus (FCN) and Forest Ecosystem Services (FES); (2) Eliminate end-user-centric process modelling; (3) Empower end-users of forests to make informed decisions that enhance forest resilience and decarbonisation; (4) Develop an innovative Decision Support System (DSS); and (5) Bridge the gap between different EU strategic priorities, basic science and stakeholders in the forest and forest-related sectors. Based on a supply-and-demand approach, the project implementation methodology combines continuous data consolidation, modelling and a joint decision-making process with forest managers and other stakeholder practitioners in all European forest types. The DSS system will be developed and tested in eight case study areas. The aim will be to make the service ready for use and compliant with TRL7 at European level, and a roadmap for the transfer of the system to the user will be developed to maximise the impact on society and business.

The project is funded by the European Union HORIZON-RIA programme.