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A more diverse role for forests

Check out the session programme and watch the recording on the screen above. In case your browser doesn’t show the embedded video, you can also watch the session on our Youtube channel.

How can we future-proof our forests to thrive under the higher demands of the future?

Forests are key in providing circular solutions for nature, society and the economy. They already provide many valuable services, but how can this be improved in the future? This session looks at how we can sustainably manage and use our forests and forest-based products and services to ensure biodiversity recovery and multifunctionality even during increased demands from society.

Introduction  

Alina Lehikoinen

Alina Lehikoinen

MSc student
International Forestry Students' Association (IFSA)

Alina Lehikoinen is a former president of IFSA and is currently head of the organising committee for the biggest annual global meeting of forestry students IFSS. She holds a BSc in forest sciences from the University of Helsinki and is currently doing her MSc in international forestry at the University of Freiburg, specialising in forest policy. She works for better youth and stakeholder involvement in various ways, has experience in representing youth in international forums and events, such as FAO and UNFCCC, and she organised the first Youth Forest Policy Days event in 2022.

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Keynote: Potential and roles for multifunctionality of sustainable forests

Diana Tuomasjukka

Diana Tuomasjukka

Head of the Bioeconomy Programme
European Forest Institute (EFI)

Diana Tuomasjukka has strong international networks and rich experience from working in various EU projects, mainly in the context of sustainability impact assessments (SIA) and a circular bioeconomy, as well as through involvement with the Bioregions Facility. Diana’s research interests include topics related to systemic, holistic and cross-sectoral approaches to sustainability, society and innovation. Together with her unit she works towards a forest-based circular bioeconomy within planetary boundaries. Forests will play a major role contributing to societal well-being and healthy and resilient ecosystems and value chains. Forests will be a renewable, sustainable contributor to the economy – both as a basis for timber and non-timber products and services.

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How can we ensure biodiversity, sustainability and circularity in wood products?

Annette Stube

Annette Stube

Executive Vice President, Sustainability
Stora Enso

Annette Stube has been a member of Stora Enso’s global leadership team since 2020. Prior to joining Stora Enso, she was head of sustainability in A.P. Moller-Maersk 2008–2020 and before that, director of sustainability programmes in Novo Nordisk. Annette served on the board of directors of Fortum 2020–2023. She is adjunct professor at Copenhagen Business School, sits on several advisory boards and has served on the Danish Council for Corporate Responsibility and SDGs advising the Danish government for 10 years. Annette has also co-authored the book “Squaring the Sustainability Circle” (2022).

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Johanna Kohl

Johanna Kohl

Director, Circular Bioeconomy Research Programme
Natural Resources Institute Finland (LUKE)

Kohl has over 20 years of experience in foresight and system level change. Her work at LUKE includes research strategy and research co-ordination. She is also a member of the EU Standing Committee on Agricultural Research (SCAR) foresight expert panel, where she helps research, development and innovation on future-safe and just food systems. Previously, Kohl worked at Finland’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, where she specialised in climate-smart land use and established the “Catch the Carbon” research programme. She was also a principal scientist at VTT where she led teams working in a variety of sectors such as mining, the circular economy, bioeconomy, healthcare, renewable energy and the built environment. She has studied at the University of Munich and received her PhD from the University of Helsinki.

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Looking beyond wood and biodiversity: What other roles do forests play?

Paula Costa

Paula Costa

Founder and CTO
Pretaterra Consultoria Agroflorestal e Regenerativa

Paula is a forest engineer, specialist in environmental management and biologist, and was awarded in 2016 by the Brazilian Society of Silviculture. Passionate about forests and regenerative agriculture, Paula is an expert in agroforestry design and silviculture. She acted as team coordinator and in developing research and innovation in various large agroforestry systems. Paula has developed projects for forest restoration, sustainability, horticulture and fruit production in agroforestry systems. She participated in extension and technical assistance projects with rural communities and has extensive experience in facilitating training courses and practical workshops on regenerative agroforestry. Fascinated by forest management and biodiverse production systems, Paula is a farmer and founder of PRETATERRA. She lived in the Brazilian Amazon and learned from native peoples how to manage the largest forest on the planet, becoming one of Brazil's leading experts in agroforestry systems, biodiverse silviculture and land restoration.

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Valter Ziatoni

Valter Ziatoni

Founder and CEO
Pretaterra Consultoria Agroflorestal e Regenerativa

Valter is a forestry engineer with an MSc in agroforestry. He developed his Master's at Lake Tanganyika, Zambia, working with local indigenous knowledge in agroforestry. Valter has more than 18 years’ experience in agroforesttry, including project management and coordination, native inventories and monitoring, classification of wood products and non-timber forest products in the Amazon. He has an extensive experience in the rural economy and sustainable development models, with international management and leadership positions at UNDP and FAO. He developed several volunteer projects, mainly in Africa and Asia, and coordinated research projects that helped to consolidate productive processes for large-scale agroforestry projects. Enthusiastic about transparency, sharing, empowerment and collaboration between people, Valter is also passionate about wildlife and survivalist practices. He is a farmer and founder of PRETATERRA. In the search for resilient systems, he has travelled to more than 100 countries, learning about ancient food production practices and sustainable organisation techniques.

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Miikka Kotilainen

Miikka Kotilainen

Founder
Hiil Ltd.

Miikka Kotilainen is a visionary craftsman, experimenter and wood use developer from Finland. He presents his company Hiil Ltd. who aims to reduce the amount of wood wasted in the world. His company acquires waste wood from sawmill and construction industries and upcycles it into construction materials by charring the wood with bio energy. The result is an industrial scale circular economy construction product. The company is establishing their first facility in Finland and is looking forward to expanding operations worldwide.

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Poll results: What services and goods do forests provide?

Alina Lehikoinen

Alina Lehikoinen

MSc student
International Forestry Students' Association (IFSA)

Alina Lehikoinen is a former president of IFSA and is currently head of the organising committee for the biggest annual global meeting of forestry students IFSS. She holds a BSc in forest sciences from the University of Helsinki and is currently doing her MSc in international forestry at the University of Freiburg, specialising in forest policy. She works for better youth and stakeholder involvement in various ways, has experience in representing youth in international forums and events, such as FAO and UNFCCC, and she organised the first Youth Forest Policy Days event in 2022.

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Fostering the future by asking the next generation: How can we future-proof forests?  

Polina Blinova

Polina Blinova

Head of EFI Sub-Commission
International Forestry Students' Association (IFSA)

Polina is a recent graduate from the University of Copenhagen and has an MSc in environment and development. In addition to her post at IFSA, she is currently youth coordinator at the Global Youth Biodiversity Network Europe. Polina has 10 years of academic and professional experience in various disciplines, from IT consulting at PwC and supply chain management to project coordination at environmental NGOs and youth organisations.

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Ditlev Reventlow

Ditlev Reventlow

Postdoc
University of Copenhagen

Ditlev Reventlow is a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management of the University of Copenhagen. His PhD and current research for the EU LIFE project “Forests fit for future” focus on the conversion of homogeneous unstable conifer plantations into diverse forests resilient to climate change. He is working on how conversion should be conducted and what the implications are for various important variables.

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Gianluca Gygax

Gianluca Gygax

UpLink Impact Lead, Nature & Climate
World Economic Forum

Gianluca is an experienced international affair professional with an environmental science background focusing on tackling the climate and biodiversity crises through partnerships. At the World Economic Forum, his goals include helping impact-driven start-ups to accelerate and building the necessary partnerships across different actors within the innovation ecosystem to enable change at scale. Gianluca has previously worked for the UN Environment Programme, the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and various research projects on environmental governance. He holds an MA in international affairs from the Geneva Graduate Institute and a BSc in geography from the University of Zurich.

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Clara Martinez

Clara Martinez

Relationship Manager
European Circular Bioeconomy Fund (ECBF)

Clara Martinez works for a top investment fund specialised in growth-stage companies in the European bioeconomy. With a background in economics and over a decade of experience in project management and stakeholder engagement across the public and private sectors, Clara now focuses on sustainable finance. She holds an MBA in entrepreneurship promotion and has spent the last three years in the venture capital industry, mobilising capital and innovation.

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Key takeaways

Alina Lehikoinen

Alina Lehikoinen

MSc student
International Forestry Students' Association (IFSA)

Alina Lehikoinen is a former president of IFSA and is currently head of the organising committee for the biggest annual global meeting of forestry students IFSS. She holds a BSc in forest sciences from the University of Helsinki and is currently doing her MSc in international forestry at the University of Freiburg, specialising in forest policy. She works for better youth and stakeholder involvement in various ways, has experience in representing youth in international forums and events, such as FAO and UNFCCC, and she organised the first Youth Forest Policy Days event in 2022.

Read more

Related UN sustainable development goals