PowerPointesitys

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European Forest Institute EFI


April 2009
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Our changing world

• Globalisation
• Changing trade relationships
• Demographic changes
• New lifestyles, urbanisation
• Climate change
• Increasing water scarcity
• Poverty and disparity

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Global picture also affects Europes forests

• Europes increasing forest cover
• Changing patterns in use of forest biomass
• Rising demand for forest ecosystem services, e.g.
  
• Regulation of water cycle
• Storage of atmospheric carbon
• Recreation and tourism
• promoting peoples health and wellbeing

• Policy makers need reliable, timely and
  policy-relevant information

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EFI is an international organisation, capable of
providing the information needed by forest policy
makers

• Umbrella of European forest research
  organisations a network of countries,
  organisations and specialists.
• Conducts and advocates forest research
• Provides unbiased, policy-relevant information
  on European forests and forestry.

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Convention on EFI
Convention ratified Signatory
countries
April 2009
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Associate and Affiliate Members of EFI

• EFI has 125 member organisations in
• 36 countries (March 2009)
• Affiliate Members (outside Europe)
• Canada
• Japan
• United States

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Activities
Networking
Advocacy
Information
Research
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Research and expertise

• EFI has four Research Programmes co-ordinated at
  the Headquarters
• Forest Ecology and Management
• Forest Products Markets and Socio-Economics
• Policy and Governance
• Forest Resources and Information
• App. 39 research projects and development
  projects/actions yearly.
• Research is carried out also at EFI Regional
  Offfice EFIMED, and at EFI Project Centres in
  various locations in Europe.

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Information

• EFI is committed to compiling and disseminating
  forestry information at the European level.
• Information services
• 
  
• EUROFOREST portal
• http//forestportal.efi.int
• European Forest map mapping services
• Mediterranean Forest Database

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FOPER Forest Policy and Economics Education and
Research Strenghtening the capacities of forest
education and research in SEE region
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FOPER is a project supporting capacity
development in Western Balkans region

• Funded by the Finnish Government
• Phase 1 2004 2009
• Phase 2 2009 - 2011
• Geographical focus
• Croatia
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Serbia
• Montenegro
• Macedonia (FYROM)
• Albania

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Objective of FOPER

• To strengthen the capacity of modern forest
  policy and economics education, training and
  research in the Western Balkans region

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Why focus only on forest policy and economics?

• Western Balkans has a respectable tradition in
  technical and biological forestry sciences
• However, there is a significant lack of academic
  and professional capacity on modern forest policy
  science and modern forest economics
• previous political regime
• The societies are in transition market economy,
  integration into Europe and EU
• Role of forest sector in the transition?

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FOPER partners

• EFI - coordination
• Faculties of forestry
• University of Belgrade
• Agricultural University of Tirana
• University of Sv. Kiril i Metodij, Skopje
• University of Sarajevo
• University of Banja Luka
• Forest research institutes
• Institute of Forestry, Belgrade, SCG
• Forest Research Institute, Jastrebarsko, HR
• Environment and Forest Agency, Tirana, ALB
• International partners United Nations
  University, University of Joensuu/Silva Network,
  EFI Project Centre INNOFORCE

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FOPER components/outputs

• International Masters Degree Program on forest
  policy and economics
• Professional training courses continuous
  education in forest policy and forest economics
• Strengthening the science-policy -interface in
  the region

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1) International Masters Degree Program in
Forest Policy and Economics

• Bologna compatible
• 120 ECTS, full time studies
• 24 students from 6 WB countries
• Teaching in Sarajevo and Belgrade
• Graduation due in 2009 (About 20)
• Teachers international experts and regional
  counterparts (twin teaching)
• Curriculum based on a training needs assessment
  of 2005. Balancing forest policy and economics.

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Experimentation with online learning in the MSc.
Program

• Online learning material http//foper.unu.edu/
• Student maintained document repository
  http//foper.dvopivar.com/
• Website of the Masters Degree Program
  http//www.fopersee.com/ (Down at this moment...
  ?)

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2) Professional training

• Short courses (3-5 days)
• For professionals working in ministries,
  companies, organisations, associations,
  faculties, institutes in forestry sector
• Practical policy and economics themes, e.g.
• Development of private forestry
• SME development
• National Forest Program creation and
  implementation
• Train the trainers -approach

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3) Science policy interface

• Forest policy makers should promote research
  which is usefull for policy formulation.

Forest policy process
Interface Dialogue, participation, research
results

• Forest research should provide usefull
  information for ongoing forest policy processes.

Forest research
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Strategic approach of FOPER

• Strong role of SEE-region actors in the
  implementation of project activities ? ownership
• Promotion of regional partnership of
  universities and institutes
• Bringing together different nationalities in all
  activities ? international understanding

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Links to sustainable development why do we work
through policies and not planting trees?

• Tree planting is needed too!
• Planted trees (forests) survive only if they are
  taken care of. This requires certain things
• Clear tenure
• Market for the final products (timber, services,
  non-timber products)
• Sometimes incentives are needed.
• These enabling conditions are created by
  decision makers, governments, through good forest
  and environmental policies

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For further information, please
contactilpo.tikkanen_at_efi.inttomi.tuomasjukka_at_e
fi.int Thank you!