Climate-smart forestry in Slovakia and Bulgaria

Key Learnings

• Early engagement of stakeholders: Involving key stakeholders from the very beginning, including local foresters who know their sites best, ensures smoother planning and implementation. It ensures the contribution of valuable knowledge about local conditions and significantly increases acceptance and ownership of the adaptation outcomes.
• Climate-smart forestry strengthens forest resilience, maintains productivity, and supports carbon storage. It combines climate adaptation with mitigation.
• Monitoring of biodiversity and forestry parameters: Assessing the effectiveness of implemented measures requires monitoring forestry-related parameters, such as tree vitality and timber quality, and biodiversity indicators. This dual focus supports the resilience of forests against climate change, providing a more comprehensive view of ecosystem health. Demonstrating the effectiveness at pilot sites can strengthen the motivation of other foresters to replicate similar measures elsewhere.
• Awareness raising: Making information about climate change, its effects on forests and appropriate forest management, available for everyone builds broader support and understanding of the necessary changes in forest management.

Summary

Managed forests in Western Slovakia and South-western Bulgaria are a vital natural resource. Their importance is expected to grow in the future not only due to the rising demand for wood, but also because of their crucial role in providing other ecosystem services, an aspect increasingly recognised by the public. Although economic and social demands can sometimes lead to conflicts, climate change is threatening the overall ability of forests to deliver desired services. Adapting forest management practices reduces negative climate-related impacts such as drought, increased water runoff, and soil erosion and enhances forest resilience. A key step in integrating resilient, climate-smart forest management into daily forestry practice is to foster strong cooperation among foresters, scientists and the general public. This collaborative effort is essential for driving change and ensuring scientifically sound and socially supported forest management strategies.

Contact

Katarína Balíková/ kbalikovawwfsk [dot] org (kbalikova[at]wwfsk[dot]org)
Milan Janák/ mjanakwwfsk [dot] org (mjanak[at]wwfsk[dot]org)
Michal Némethy/ mnemethywwfsk [dot] org (mnemethy[at]wwfsk[dot]org)