Adriatic model forest
Today forest areas and people concerned are dealing with a range of challenges such as: improve biodiversity, improve living conditions, make increment in growth and forest yield, develop environmentally friendly transport, promote job creation, minimize anthropogenic risks, host influx of green tourists, integrate awareness campaigns into the education systems, promote use of renewable energies, increase use of environmentally friendly building material, mitigate climate change etc. Satisfying these challenges requires an integrated sustainable development approach covering different policies – economic development, employment, energy, environment and infrastructures, social – demanding participation at all levels of governance from citizens to political stakeholders. Partners working on this theme will aim to share experience and benefit from the application of integrated sustainable forest development approach. The Model Forest approach combines inclusive reflection and dialogue with concerted and concrete action. It provides a two-way line of linkage between policy-making and field operations, where international-interregional agreements are brought to practice and day-to-day activities are used to inform and enhance policy-making. This way, the quality of both is enhanced. A fundamental approach in this Adriatic Model Forest project is to encompass the forest sector as a whole. We expect that building clusters and networks across the forest sector transnational provides the essentials for promoting sustainability and regional development. All of the recognized activities are shared to some degree between thematic to strengthen project integrity and to secure cross-sector and cross-border approaches. The Croatian Forest Research Institute (Center for forest ecosystem goods and services), with a scientific and research background is a public body involved in capacity building and cooperation projects such as an EU “Espace MED Program” project called “Model forest-new governance tool” implemented by Istria region. The Croatian Forest Research Institute worked on communication, international cooperation and project management tasks for the creation of the first Model Forest in Istria. The process was initiated in 2009, through the cooperation with the Mediterranean Model Forest Network –MMFN- (www.mmfn.info). The Mediterranean Model Forest Network Secretariat (the Spanish CESEFOR Foundation) will provide an external technical assistance to all project partners during the process of creation of each Model Forest. This AMF project will be leaded by Croatian Forest Research Institute who is the pioneer of the Model Forest approach in the Adriatic region. With a very good project management and coordination (WP1) and a solid communication plan (WP2), our common goal is to share experience, identify good practices and transfer some of them among the partnership (WP3). Our approach concerning the best practice transfer will be illustrated by a Pilot Action (WP4) when beneficiaries will gain experience on the creation of a Model Forest at one chosen territory and than transferring it to their own conditions. We have built a partnership putting together an experienced Lead Partner (Croatian Forest Research Institute - Istria Region – with a first Model Forest: the Mirna River Basin) and partners without experience but with a common goal: create a mid-term Model Forest in its own territory. The Model Forest as a new tool of governance is recognized among partnership as one of the answer to put in place a sustainable forest management in Southeast Europe.