These five initiatives fall under Theme 4: Citizen and stakeholder engagement in Climate Smart Forestry and forest restoration, dedicated to projects that promote innovative social engagement and participatory approaches.The projects primarily focus on Southern European contexts and challenges, addressing issues related to forest governance, restoration, and community engagement.The meeting opened with an overview of the FORWARDS initiative by project coordinator Rubén Valbuena, followed by a presentation from Gerhard Weiss of BOKU University, who introduced the objectives and scope of Theme 4 within the broader FORWARDS framework. The newly funded projects then presented their aims, planned activities, and methodologies, followed by a discussion among participants.

• The first presentation was by FAB (Forest for All Beings), a project coordinated by Cirka cph ApS and the University of Copenhagen at Skovskolen. The project seeks to promote a holistic approach to forest and human well-being by creating a space where both people and nature can thrive in synergy. FAB pursues this objective by designing a framework that brings together citizens, decision-makers, and all those interested in Climate Smart Forestry and Forest Restoration in an inclusive and experimental setting. Activities ranging from interviews to prototyping will contribute to the development of this shared framework, which will be further refined through iterative feedback cycles and will ultimately result in a toolkit containing guides and case studies.

• The second presentation was by FoResil, a project coordinated by Fundación Ecología y Desarrollo (ECODES) and based in Spain. FoResil emerged from the need to address the issue of abandoned pastures, which contribute to increased forest fuel, uncontrolled shrub growth, and the disappearance of traditional mosaic landscapes. This issue is not confined to the Aragonese Pyrenees but represents a common challenge across alpine ecosystems in Southern Europe. In response, FoResil works to empower municipalities as co-managers alongside regional forest administrations, recognising local knowledge and rural cultural heritage within sustainable forest management principles. In addition to initiatives targeting municipalities and stakeholders involved in forest governance, FoResil also promotes community empowerment by raising awareness among young people and the elderly through Forest Schools, podcasts, and cultural activities.

• The third project presented at the meeting was Gigantes Verdes, based in Portugal and coordinated by VERDE – Associação para a Conservação Integrada da Natureza. Gigantes Verdes is a citizen science programme that trains Ambassadors to identify, map, and monitor large native trees, while also testing the project in highly remote areas. Specifically, Ambassadors collect tree data in real time, which is subsequently validated by the VERDE technical team. The data is then published on an open platform accessible to citizens, municipalities, and researchers, and is used to estimate carbon storage, water retention, and pollutant absorption for each tree. Beyond generating tangible ecosystem service data, the project contributes to the protection and valorisation of mature native trees by empowering citizens and local associations through participatory, science-based methods, while relying on strategic partners such as Rewilding Portugal.

• Following Gigantes Verdes, the project LIVING FORESTS, coordinated by the Fundación Centro de Estudios Eurorregionales Galicia Norte de Portugal together with Fundación Montescola, presented its mission. In Galicia, forest fires have become one of the main environmental and socioeconomic threats, affecting biodiversity, rural economies, and long-term land sustainability. Furthermore, many community forests lack access to structured knowledge exchange, innovation tools, and coordinated strategies to address climate-related risks. To tackle these challenges, LIVING FORESTS plans to establish a network of 100 community forests managing more than 50,000 hectares in Galicia, fostering collaboration to share solutions, improve forest resilience, and strengthen local governance systems. To support this effort, the project will organise field visits, develop and disseminate an Atlas of Good Practices, deliver workshops, and engage and train students.

• The meeting concluded with Root Connection, based in Czechia and coordinated by Hnutí DUHA. The project addresses challenges such as spruce and pine monoculture die-offs, which create severe carbon leakage risks, government subsidies that overlook climate-adaptive practices, and the lack of networks among forest owners. To respond to these issues, the project will launch a policy-oriented Climate Smart Forestry platform while promoting restoration through networking and advocacy. It will involve small forest owners (under 50 hectares), estimated at approximately 300,000 in Czechia alone and therefore representing significant potential, as well as engaged foresters and policymakers, through incentives for adaptive management, carbon measurement, and biodiversity enhancement. The initiative is structured around three Work Packages: the first focused on establishing the platform, the second on policy advocacy, and the third on internal development, including the creation of targeted guidelines and the organisation of events and symposia.

Featured image by Aine Parlade