restoration
A scientist’s opinion: interview with Dr Ragni Fjellgaard Mikalsen about solutions against wildfires
From innovative seed balls to virtual reality training for firefighters - the large-scale EU Green Deal TREEADS project she was leading with 47-48 partners from 13 to 14 European countries and Taiwan, resulted in 26 different solutions and technologies for integrated fire management and adaptive forest restoration: Dr Ragni Fjellgaard Mikalsen is Senior Research Scientist ...
Solutions to make Europe more resilient to raging wildfires
Fuelled by climate change and a shift in land-use practices, wildfires are increasing in number and intensity across Europe. In fact, last year was the worst year for wildfires in Europe in 20 years, according to an EUMETSAT report. Its authors contribute the intensity of the fires to factors like increasingly dry vegetation, low soil ...
Primary forests: ‘Allowing biodiversity to spread out again’
“Primary forests can help the EU meet several of its objectives, including its targets under the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030 and the EU Forest Strategy 2030. They would also help with key climate objectives by providing long-term carbon storage”, says expert Bart Nyssen. Nyssen is a forest ecologist at the Department of Earth & Environmental ...
Meeting flood risk with nature-based solutions in EU coastal regions
As the effects of climate change become increasingly apparent, EU citizens are facing growing risks of more severe and frequent flooding. Climate adaptation is being prioritised to meet this risk and protect people, properties and infrastructure, with several EU-funded projects pioneering approaches using nature-based solutions. The impacts of flooding were especially evident in 2024, when ...
A scientist’s opinion: interview with Prof. Silvana Di Sabatino on nature-based solutions for climate adaptation
Silvana Di Sabatino is a Professor in Atmospheric Physics at the University of Bologna, Italy, where she coordinates the atmospheric physics group that works on matters relating to meteorology, dealing with extreme weather events and climate adaptation. Professor Di Sabatino was the coordinator of the Horizon 2020-funded OPERANDUM project which set out to provide science-based evidence ...
Prof. Jerneja Penca: ‘Only recently biodiversity is recognised to play a hugely important role in climate adaptation and mitigation’
Interview with Jerneja Penca, Associate Professor at the Euro-Mediterranean University (EMUNI), Slovenia. She is the Director of the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence on Sustainable Blue Economy awarded to EMUNI. She is Managing Editor of the International Journal of Euro Mediterranean Studies. And she is also a lead author on the IPBES Transformative change assessment. ...
Prof. Thomas Elmqvist: ‘The awareness now of the climate crisis will also increase people’s interest in taking more care of nature’
Interview with Thomas Elmqvist, professor in natural resource management at the Stockholm Resilience Centre. His work is interdisciplinary, exploring the dynamics of social ecological systems where humans are connected to ecosystems and its feedbacks and interactions. He led the UN-initiated global project “Cities and Biodiversity Outlook” and the Future Earth Project Urban Planet. He currently ...
Bringing biodiversity back from the brink: the EU Nature Restoration Law proposal
In June this year the European Commission released a proposal for a milestone: an EU Nature Restoration Law. It comes at a crucial moment in the crisis the natural world is facing. Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans described it as "threatening the very foundation of our life on Earth". Marking 30 years since the EU last ...