Regional collaboration around the Baltic Sea and the Atlantic

Support from the Nordic Council of Ministers

The Nordic Council of Ministers (Ministers of Agriculture and Forestry Affairs) welcomes the application to arrange the IUFRO World Congress 2024, coordinated by the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU).

The Nordic countries play an active role in international cooperation on forest issues with great potential in forests, both at home and abroad. The IUFRO World Congress provides an important platform to open a global dialogue about lessons learned from Nordic forestry and also to learn from other parts of the world about local as well as global developments.

Baltic and Nordic representatives met in Stockholm

A strong dialogue takes place with scientists and stakeholders along the process. Universities from the Nordic and Baltic countries met in Stockholm at the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry (KSLA) in February to prepare a collaborative bid for the IUFRO World Congress 2024.

The aim for the representatives from the Baltic and Nordic countries was to present a strategy for the bid and to draw up the themes for the congress and programs for the joint post excursions.

Excursions around the Baltic Sea and the Atlantic

The post excursions to the Nordic and Baltic countries will make an important contribution to the congress program. Of special interest of the meeting is the planning and execution of the post congress excursions in the region together with representatives from governments, NGO’s and industry. The rich and diverse landscapes of the Nordic and Baltic countries offer a variety of forest sites as well as cultures, stakeholders, markets and industries.

The geographical position of Stockholm makes it swiftly to travel to the neighbouring countries in the region around the Baltic Sea and the Atlantic. Each post-congress tour have different themes and will take about four days.

A strong community spirit

The Secretary General at the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry, Carl-Anders Helander, opened the meeting, followed by a presentation of the application process and a presentation of a Baltic Sea collaborative project about Water Management in Baltic Forests made by Linnéa Jägrud, Swedish Forest Agency. The workshop about themes and excursion programs was introduced by a presentation of global trends looking into 2050.

The meeting was truly successful and was characterized by a strong community spirit, a workshop full of energy and future expectation of an upcoming hosting of the IUFRO world congress. The most recent IUFRO World Congresses were held in Brisbane, Australia, Seoul, South Korea and Salt Lake City, U.S.A. In 2019 the congress city will be Curitiba, Brazil. The next host should then be European!

To bring back home

The message to bring back home for each country representative was to spread the word and anchor the excursions and support among the stakeholders. It is clear that experienced and dedicated excursion organizers are willing to open a dialogue about global trends and experiences from Nordic and Baltic forestry.

Participants from the picture at the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry

Prof. Jonas Rönnberg, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Prof. Hans Fredrik Hoen, Norwegian university of life sciences

Prof. Björn Hånell, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Dr. Adalsteinn Sigurgeirsson, Icelandic forest service 

Prof. Dagnis Dubrovskis, Latvia University of Agriculture

Prof. Remigijus Zalkauskas, Aleksandras Stulginskis University

Dr. Fredrik Ingemarson, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Prof. Hardi Tullus, Estonian University of Life Sciences

MSc. Limnology Linnéa Jägrud, Swedish Forest Agency

Dr. Ylva Dandanell, Linnaeus University

Prof. Eeva-Stiina Tuittila, University of Eastern Finland

Other participants of the meeting

Prof. Lauri Valsta, University of Helsinki

Dr. Niclas Scott Bentsen, University of Copenhagen

Secretary General, Carl-Anders Helander, Royal Swedish Academy of Agr. and Forestry

Academy Forester Birgitta Naumburg, Royal Swedish Academy of Agr. and Forestry