On 1 September 2025, ForestPaths marked three years of supporting Europe’s climate and biodiversity goals by developing holistic policy pathways for forests that account for climate action, biodiversity conservation and critical ecosystem services. The time since our last anniversary has seen an array of important project highlights, which you can read about below. 

We begin with the central achievements of the project in its third year: 

• ForestPaths’ update of the European Forest Disturbance Atlas has proven itself a valuable resource to the research community with over 11,000 downloads. 

• We hosted our first Policy Engagement Forum (PEF) event in November 2024 on the topic of Climate and Biodiversity-Smart (CBS) forest management across Europe. 

• A second Policy Lab was also organised, facilitating discussions on key visions for the future of forests and the forest-based sector in the run-up to 2050. 

• The aiphoria wood material flow assessment tool developed as part of ForestPaths received an update.

• Our very own ForestChats podcast was launched on Spotify, SoundCloud, Deezer and YouTube with its first two episodes.

• The third edition of the ForestPaths Features series laid out the effects of EU legislation on forests and wood use. 

• We released interviews with project partners Cleo Orfanidou, Alba Viana-Soto, Hanneke van ‘t Veen and Carlijn Bos on key results from the project, including forest management modelling, disturbance mapping and wood use assessment. 

The months since September 2024 were also marked by greater visibility for ForestPaths’ activities through a continuation of productive partnerships and public recognition across notable platforms and networks. Developments in this context include: 

• Our collaboration with Horizon Europe sister projects ForestNavigator and PathFinder on the second edition of the Forest Talks webinar series and a joint infographic;

• The publication of our next-generation forest disturbance maps by the Forest Information System for Europe (FISE); 

• Our inclusion in the 2024 Annual Report of the European Network of Forest Extension Organisations (FOREXT); 

• The uploading of all ForestPaths Features on the Horizon Results Platform. 

In the twelve months that have just gone by, ForestPaths consortium members also lent their expertise in the publication of notable scientific papers on the following topics: 

• Forest management’s effects on flora and fauna; 

• The importance of young trees for the future of European forests; 

• Forest harvesting regimes in Europe; 

• Unmixing-based forest recovery indicators for predicting long-term recovery success. 

Last but not least, we were active participants at a number of international events related to forestry around the world: 

• The ForestSAT conference in Rotorua, New Zealand; 

• The annual Brightcon event in Hamburg, Germany; 

• A workshop by the World Climate Research Programme in Geneva, Switzerland; 

• INTERCEDE’s first stakeholder forum in Brussels, Belgium; 

• UNCCD’s COP16 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 

• The Swiss Discussion Forum on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in Zurich, Switzerland; 

• The second edition of the Helsinki Forest Talks; 

• The 2025 LULUCF workshop in Ispra, Italy; 

• The 2025 Living Planet Symposium in Vienna, Austria; 

• A FLUXCOM workshop in Ziegenrück, Germany. 

More exciting developments remain on the road ahead - stay tuned for updates on our project website and via LinkedIn and Bluesky.