Conference on Nordic Forest Policies

Date:1-2 October 2025 
Venue: AF-borgen in Lund

An important aspect of the conference is the added value for the Nordic countries, such as what types forest governance have been successful in a specific country.

The conference is targeting a wide range of participants with an interest in forest policy, e.g., scientists and policymakers as well as forest owners, the forestry sector, users of forest products and non-governmental organisations. Welcome!

Registration is now closed.

Program

Wednesday, 1st of Oct

Focus: The future of Nordic forest policy – actors' perspectives
Moderator: Lisa Kirsebom
9.30 Registration & Coffee
10.00 Welcome and opening
10.15 Keynote: Paula Horne, Pellervo economic research PTT, applied economics research institute 
11.00 World café: Current themes of forest policy in the Nordic countries
12.00 Lunch
13.15 Panel discussion on experience with Nordic forest policies
          moderat: Lisa Kirsebom
          Stefan Karlsson, Swedish Forest Agency 
          Marit Widman, Swedish Society for Nature Conservation
          Kristian Ersbøll, the Nordic Council
          Terhi Koskela, LUKE, Finnish Natural Resource Institute
14.45 Coffee
15.00 Keynote: Helga Pülzl, European Forest Institute 
15.45-16.45 Networking mingel

18.00 Dinner

Thursday, 2nd of Oct

Focus: Scientific perspectives

9.00 Parallel Sessions 1
Policy & Governance - Reviews
room: Gustafscenen
Ayonghe Nebasifu:  Informant assessments of Nordic forest governance 1970-2023
Robin Mang: What is alternative forest management? – A systematic literature review of a scientific concept and its motivation and usages
Jimmy Jönsson: Historical approaches to the Swedish policy on mixed forests

Policy & Governance - Political context
room: Kerstins rum
Göran Bostedt: Biodiversity conservation tenders in forests: Moving from theory to reality
Alessandra Giolo: Forest resources in a new geopolitical context: The impact of EU policy changes on roundwood markets in the Baltic and Nordic region
Benjamin Robert Haitsma: A review of Ukrainian forest governance during the Russo-Ukrainian war

People & Communities 
room: Ombudsmannarummet
Fariborz Zelli: Let’s talk about Swedish forests: From polarisation to sustainable transition
Chaitanya Suarez-Rojas: Is Swedish society willing to support peatland rewetting policies economically? A Discrete Choice Experiment to elicit social preferences
Maria Nijnik: Social innovation to promote Green Recovery of forest-dependent communities in North-East Scotland

10.30  Fika

11:00 Parallel Session 2
Policy & Governance - Forest owners (I)
room: Gustavscenen
Elias Andersson: How does gender matter in Nordic Forest ownership? A systemic review of present knowledge and paths for the future
Lucas Dawson: Unlocking transitions: Interdependent constraints and opportunities for alternative forest management in Sweden
Panu Runko: Sentimental value and social pressure: Forest ownership among young translocal forest owners in Finland
Hanna Ekström: Private lands for public good: Forest owners and biodiversity conservation in Finland’s METSO program

Policy & Governance - Societal challenges
room: Kerstins rum
Derek Garfield: Identifying key dynamics and leverage points within the energy forests configuration using Causal Loop Diagramming
Marie Appelstrand: Pathways to forest multifunctionality – Policy challenges and societal regulation of forest ecosystem services
Sarah Aspenström: Legitimacy of the process of developing Målbilder for consideration to reindeer husbandry

Carbon & Climate
room: Ombudsmannarummet
Guiliana Zanchi: Development needs in forest climate policy
Kristina Blennow: Climate change as risk or opportunity? Decision-making dynamics in Swedish forest management
Erika Olofsson: Climate adaptation measures implemented by private forest owners in southern Sweden
Fredrico Linguea:  Forest pathways for achieving maximum climate change mitigation under multiple ecosystem service and policy constraints
Bogomil Iliev: Carbon budgets and climate footprints: the case of the Swedish forest-based economy

12.30 Lunch

13:30 Parallel Session 3
Policy & Governance - Forest owners (II)
room: Gustavscenen
Brian Danley: Swedish family forest owners’ changing attitudes toward sustainability and biodiversity policy over a decade
Jenny Friman: Unlocking multi-use and alternative forest management in Sweden: Constraints and opportunities from the perspective of family forest owners
Anna Karlsson: Co-creating forest management plans for better implementation of landscape perspective on private estates
Vera Janlert: Diversifying Swedish forestry through advice: a study on how forest advisors perceive and work for variation in Southern Sweden

Policy & Governance - Management planning
room: Kerstins rum
Eskil Mattsson: Methodologies for impact assessment of sustainability indicators in Swedish forestry
Ida Wallin: Forest Planning for the Polycrisis – how can forest planning practices support resilient and multifunctional forest landscapes?
Luis Andrés Guillén: Towards more diversified forestry? The role of service offering in Sweden’s dominant forest management model
Derek Garfield: A leafy-green future: Co-constructing transition pathways towards broadleaf forestry

Biodiversity & Conservation
room: Ombudsmannarummet
Els Ribbers: Efficacy of the Canadian Fire Weather Index: Predicting forest fire intensity in boreal Scandinavia
Tord Snäll: Forest pathways achieving biodiversity & climate mitigation targets on different time horizons
AmirAli Faridi: Enhancing biodiversity conservation through Precision Forestry: Insights from Finnish forest owners

15:00-15:30 Plenary discussion & wrap up

This conference is organized by the NordForsk & SNS project GreenPole with the support of the Swedish Governmental Strategic Reserach Area BECC.

Read more about GreenPole on the project website 

GreenPole.se