Webinar

This webinar took place on Zoom, on September 11th, from 15:30 to 18:00.

Forests are at a turning point. As climate risks escalate, Europe’s woodlands face growing threats—from increasingly intense wildfires to the slow erosion of resilience. How can we better understand, anticipate, and protect these vital ecosystems?

Join us for an event, organised under the PIISA and SWIFTT projects, bringing together foresters, scientists, tech experts, and policy voices.

Here is a brief recap of the perspectives brought by our panelists:

• In Italy and Portugal, many private forest owners are unknown and unorganized, making collective management difficult and increasing wildfire risk.
• Adapting forests means using thinning, prescribed burning, and planting diverse species as part of long-term sustainable management plans, that are also beneficial for biodiversity.
• Portugal has shifted its investment from mainly firefighting to more prevention since 2017 with a creation of a national agency for integrated fire management, while France is now requiring fire risk to be integrated into forest management plans.
• Finance and insurance can accelerate adaptation: California launched the first wildfire insurance directly linked to sustainable forest management, proving that proactive practices can reduce premiums and risk.
• European projects are building concrete solutions with cooperation between research institutions, forest managers and private actors to strengthen resilience across different regions.

You can continue the conversation by connecting with the experts who shared their perspectives:

• Dave Jones, Director, Climate Risk Initiative, Center for Law, Energy & the Environment (CLEE), University of California, Berkeley
• Sylvestre Coudert, President and Director General, Forestry France
• Alessandra Stefani, President of the National Italian Cluster for Forestry and Wood
• Mario Monteiro, Governing Board Member, Agency for Integrated Member, Agency for Integrated Rural Fire (AGIF), Portugal
• Ariane Kaploun, Head of Nature-Based Solutions, AXA Climate

Webinar Agenda:

Adaptive Forest Management and Policy to Tackle Climate Risks

• 15:30 - 15:35
• Introductions and Scene Setting, AXA Climate

• 15:35 - 16:35
• Round Table Session
  Topic : How can policy and regulations help promote adaptation strategies for the forest sector?
  Panellists :
  • Dave Jones, Climate Risk Initiative, UC Berkeley Law School, in charge of the TNC Wildfire Resilience Insurance in California
  • Sylvestre Coudert, President and Director General at Forestry France
  • Alessandra Stefani, President of the National Italian Cluster for Forestry and Wood, and representative of the Italian Ministry of food, agriculture and forestry
  • Mario Monteiro, Member of the governing board of the Agency for Integrated Rural Fire (AGIF), Portugal

• 16.45 - 17.45

• There will be 2 "30 minute breakout sessions", with 2 interactive discussions to choose among several EU projects, among which:

  • Piloting Innovative Insurance Solutions for Adaptation (PIISA)
  • Satellites for Wilderness Inspection and Forest Threat Tracking (SWIFTT)
  • DesirMED
  • ARCADIA
  • Precision Solutions for Climate Resilience (Precilience)

• 17.45 - 18.00
• Conclusion and closure of online event.