BECC Annual Meeting 2025 - Restoring Nature under Climate Change

Please register before the 20th June in the link below.

Link to registration

Preliminary programme 

Day 1

9.00-9.30 Coffee and registration

9.30-12.00 Defining Restoration: Baselines, Goals and Trade-offs

Keynotes: Åsa Knaggård, BECC LU, and Torbjörn Ebenhard, SLU 

BECC researcher presentations: TBD

This session explores how we define and approach ecological restoration. What are we trying to restore, and how do we choose our goals and reference points? We’ll look at the role of historical baselines, the uncertainties of future climate impacts, and how these influence restoration decisions.   

We will also highlight current gaps in monitoring biodiversity and ecosystem state, and how this limits our ability to assess restoration outcomes. We’ll discuss how legal frameworks may support or constrain future-oriented restoration, and how we can navigate the trade-offs involved.

12-13 Lunch

13.00-15.00 Policy & Global Perspectives: The Role of Restoration Laws

Keynotes: Annette Löf, SEI, and Rachel Kristensen, University of Copenhagen

BECC researcher presentations: Hanna Ekström, and more (TBD)

In this session, we will explore how restoration laws—especially the EU Restoration Law—are being implemented and interpreted at the national level. We’ll look at how national plans are shaping up, where progress is being made, and where key challenges remain. We’ll also discuss the wider impacts of EU restoration policies. Are efforts to protect and restore nature somewhere unintentionally shifting environmental pressures to other regions?

15.00-16.00 Poster session and fika

16.00-17.00 Panel talk

19.00 Dinner

Day 2

8.00-10.00 PI-meeting

9.00-10.00 Workshop for non-PIs:  Let’s Talk Methods: Challenges, Needs, and Collaboration 

This workshop invites BECC members to share quick elevator pitches about their research and the challenges they face in their work—especially methods. What do you need help with? What can you offer others? The goal is to connect people with different kinds of expertise and encourage collaboration. The session will also highlight the BECC Knowledge Commons as a shared resource to support learning, exchange, and new ideas. Whether you’re looking for advice, tools, or research partners, this is a space to start the conversation. 

10.30-11.30 Restoration in Working Landscapes: Agriculture and Forestry

BECC researcher presentations: TBD

This session looks at how restoration can work in landscapes that are used for agriculture and forestry. Researchers will present their research on what kinds of restoration are possible in these areas, and what challenges and trade-offs may come up. Topics can include how to set realistic goals for restoring agricultural land, how to balance forest restoration with timber production, and how people’s values and needs can affect restoration decisions. 

11.30-12.30 Lessons from the Past: What Works and What Doesn't? 
Keynotes: Karin Olsson and Carina Greiff from County Administrative Boards

What can we learn from restoration projects that are already happening? This session will focus on two large EU-funded projects, LIFE CONNECTS and LIFE RestoRED. Speakers will share what these projects are about, who is involved, and how they work across counties and with different stakeholders and organizations.

The session will also look at how these projects are managed in practice—how they deal with funding, partnerships, and real-life challenges. Have some things worked really well? Have some not gone as planned? What lessons can we take with us for the future? This is a chance to hear honest reflections from the field and to better understand what it takes to make restoration work in the real world. 

12.40-14.40 Lunch and excursion to SANDLife site

We will visit the SANDLife restoration site near Halmstad to explore efforts in restoring coastal sand dune habitats. The SANDLife project, conducted from 2012 to 2018, focused on revitalizing overgrown Natura 2000 areas in southern Sweden, including sites in Skåne, Halland, and Öland, to benefit both biodiversity and public access. During the excursion, attendees will observe various restoration methods and management practices. These actions have led to increased biodiversity, notably benefiting insects, birds, and plants adapted to open sandy environments. Project experts will guide us on-site, offering insights into the restoration processes and outcomes.

15.00 End of Annual Meeting

Please register before the 20th June in the link below.

Link to registration

Organisers: Camille Volle (INES), Carolina Rodriguez (CEC), Amelie Lindgren (Dep of Earth Sciences) and Torsten Krause (LUCSUS)