RESONATE Horizon Europe was represented in the forestry world very recently and captured a lot of attention. On Jun 25, 2024, the TESAF Department of the University of Padova (WP7) organized a session during The XXVI IUFRO World Congress*, the biggest conference in the field of forest research attended by 4 300 delegates all around the world. In the session titled “T4.11 Forest-based care as an innovative pathway to shifting values, uses and governance of forests”, nature and forest-based health and well-being were the main topics. It was moderated by Prof. Laura Secco (UNIPD, WP7), Dr. Aynur Mammadova (UNIPD, WP7) and Dr. Todora Rogelja (UNIPD, WP7) and consisted of the main and poster sessions.
The session explored forest-based health and well-being from various perspectives
i) theory, practice and trends across the world;
ii) potentials of forest-based care in transforming forest use/management policies and practices;
iii) challenges and potential of new transdisciplinary and cross-sectoral collaborations between e.g. forest owners/managers, healthcare givers, tourism;
iv) policy, governance and innovation implications of the creation, expansion and mainstreaming of forest-based care initiatives;
v) relational values in the governance and management of forests and more. Dr. Mathew White (UNIVIE, WP1) presented the RESONATE Horizon Europe project during the main part of the session and joined the roundtable to respond to questions from the audience. Dr. Ilaria Doimo (Etifor, WP6) presented the economic opportunities and challenges of the initiatives focusing on forest-based care.
The session presenters Prof. Liisa Tyrväinen (Natural Resources Institute Finland) was awarded with one of the IUFRO World Congress Host Awards and Emerson Soldado (University of São Paulo, Brazil) with a Best Poster Award (BPA). This demonstrates the much-needed interest and attention to the topic of nature and forest-based care. As partners of the RESONATE Horizon Europe, we consider it important to disseminate information about the project and the science behind it to diverse audiences to foster awareness and cross-sectorial collaborations.
*IUFRO is a non-profit, non-governmental international network of forest scientists which promotes global cooperation in forest-related research and enhances the understanding of the ecological, economic and social aspects of forests and trees. IUFRO is “the” global network for forest science cooperation. It unites more than 15 000 scientists in almost 700 Member Organizations in over 110 countries, and is a member of ICSU. Scientists cooperate in IUFRO on a voluntary basis.
