Insights from Our Living Lab Workshop in Zagreb
Last week’s Living Lab Workshop in Zagreb brought together passionate voices and sharp minds to delve into the multifaceted challenges our Living Labs (LLs) face in implementing Integrative Forest Management (IFM). With diverse regional contexts and priorities, one thing became clear in the 3-day workshop with representatives from all seven TRANSFORMIT LLs: while our challenges vary, the core issues unite us.
Together, we explored the pressing dilemmas at the heart of sustainable forest stewardship:
🔹 Timber Production vs. Biodiversity – Striking a delicate balance between economic viability and both biodiversity conservation and long-term ecosystem functioning.
🔹 Climate Change & Natural Disturbances – Addressing the growing threats from wildfires, windstorms, and pest outbreaks that challenge forest resilience.
🔹 Stakeholder Engagement – Harmonizing the interests of forestry enterprises, public authorities, NGOs, and local communities in a shared vision.
🔹 Economic Pressures – Managing the costs of IFM amid limited financial incentives or support mechanisms.
🔹 Regulatory Barriers – Navigating complex land-use rights and diverging approaches to forest elements like deadwood and post-disturbance management.
So how can we tackle these challenges—together?
💡 We identified several cross-cutting solutions that can help pave the way forward:
✔ Knowledge Exchange – Sharing best practices, innovative techniques, and adaptable financial models across Living Labs.
✔ Stronger Stakeholder Engagement – Creating inclusive, participatory planning processes to align diverse perspectives and foster ownership.
✔ Effective Communication – Enhancing public outreach, media engagement, and trust-building to amplify awareness and support.
✔ Climate Adaptation Strategies – Collaborating on research into resilient tree species and proactive disturbance prevention methods.
✔ Sustained Commitment – Building long-term partnerships that carry IFM goals beyond the life of the TRANSFORMIT project.
Our forests are vital for the health of our planet and communities. From biodiversity to climate regulation, their value is immeasurable—and so is our collective responsibility to steward them wisely.
Stay tuned for a more extensive blogpost covering more insights from our field excursion to the Living Lab in Zagreb, our exchange on communication and stakeholder engagement, and our discussions on IFM indicators.