FORWARDS at the Forest Dialogue in Basel: connecting forest monitoring, science and practice
The project presents its flagship monitoring and evaluation tool, the ForestWard Observatory, to the forest community and gathers their feedback.
At the Forest Dialogue in Basel on 10 September 2026, FORWARDS presented the ForestWard Observatory, one of its central results: a pan-European tool for monitoring and evaluating forests. Barbara Mihok from ESSRG introduced the Observatory to participants and invited them to try it out, showing how it brings together geospatial data to reveal the impacts of climate change on forests and to support decision-making in forest management — from the local scale of an estate or municipality right up to policy-making at the European level.
Participants were able to test several of the Observatory’s functions and share their feedback directly with the project team. These perspectives will help shape the tool as it develops, ensuring it responds to the real needs of the people working with forests on the ground.
The exchange reflected one of the central messages to emerge from the event: forests may be managed locally, but the challenges they face are European. Climate change, biodiversity loss, drought, disturbances and shifting societal expectations all cross national borders, and addressing them calls for European cooperation, while recognising that solutions must remain adapted to local ecological, economic and social conditions.
This is where knowledge transfer becomes a two-way process. Science needs to inform practice, but research must equally learn from those who manage forests every day.
In the coming months, FORWARDS will also share major project results through the Forest Knowledge Gateway, connecting research, practical experience and decision-support tools in one place.
From European data to local decisions: this is the direction in which FORWARDS is working.
Participants testing the Observatory.
Barbara Mihok at the plenary of the event.
