Innovation is a key priority for the private forestry(F) and agroforestry (AF) sector, and nationally/locally funded EIP-AGRI Operational Groups (OGs) can play a key role in driving innovation at the EU level. However, the results of the OGs in F and AF have not been disseminated to all EU countries because the various local/national OGs have not been linked to the experiences of other countries and the knowledge generated has only been shared locally. In order to disseminate the knowledge generated by the OGs in F and AF to all EU regions, FOREST4EU will set up multi-actor innovation interregional transversal Hubs dealing with 5 innovation topics ('Wood mobilisation', 'Forest adaptation to climate change', 'Improving approaches, models and tools for sustainable forest management and ecosystem service provision to improve economic, environmental and social benefits for rural areas', 'non-wood forest products', 'Agroforestry') to facilitate interregional transfer of knowledge generated by the OGs. FOREST4EU will collect, share and disseminate knowledge related to innovations from F and AF OGs. This will be done by providing tailored and understandable dissemination materials accessible through existing platforms, as well as capacity building materials developed according to identified regional needs and transferred to where the innovation can be applied. FOREST4EU will also discuss and present the benefits of OGs relevant to the Green Deal to EU policy makers. In addition, FOREST4EU will establish connections with policy makers working with CAP and innovation at the local level, particularly in countries where OGs dealing with F and AF are not funded, to promote new initiatives and a greater geographic balance between different EU regions.

ROSEWOOD4.0 builds on the well-established ROSEWOOD network of Regional Hubs connecting multiple actors along the forest value chain to reinforce the sustainability of wood mobilisation in Europe. The new action will especially reinforce and enlarge the links with Eastern Europe by creating a new Eastern Hub including new countries (Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine). Secondly, the action puts special emphasis on digitalisation (forestry industry 4.0) and digital tools (social media, platforms, e-learning) for training and coaching, enabling practitioners to share know-how with much wider impact. The focus on ICT addresses the two main challenges in wood mobilisation: 1) better access to resources through defragmentation of forest owners and 2) increased volume to the market and higher transparency. The project’s extensive dissemination of best practices, technological and non-technological innovations and research results feeds directly into national and regional Agriculture Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS) in forestry and builds an efficient interface with the EIP-AGRI and the EIP Raw Materials, supported by the European networks EFI and InnovaWood. The multi-actor action closes knowledge gaps, connects and transfers tangible knowledge and best practice between forestry practitioners across the whole Europe. In an open innovation environment, the coordination of Regional Hubs facilitates also new opportunities for exploitation of near to market innovations and fosters business partnerships between stakeholders, aligned with local and regional development plans, to complement existing or initiate new Operational Groups within the EIP-AGRI. ROSEWOOD4.0 will contribute to enhanced competitiveness of the forest industry and to vital development in rural areas within the European Bioeconomy by responding to the imminent need for broader sharing of ICT-driven solutions in forestry.

SWIM project aligns with the EU Mission “Restore our Ocean and Waters,” aiming to restore, protect, and enhance habitats of migratory fish species in the Danube River Basin and the Northwestern Black Sea region. By developing and implementing innovative, sustainable, and scalable solutions through 13 activities foreseen at 7 pilot sites, SWIM seeks to improve habitat connectivity, quality and conservation, and overall, the aquatic ecosystems health . The project will set new benchmarks in habitat restoration and actively contribute to the implementation of EU environmental policies through a holistic, multi-disciplinary approach. Building upon extensive past work in relevant projects such as MEASURES, WE PASS 1 and 2, SIMONA and the Danube Lighthouse projects DALIA, DaWetRest and Restore4Life, the SWIM consortium goes a step further in implementing actual complementary technologies (ex-situ restocking actions, hatchery recovery, fish passages, lateral reconnections, digital platform in articulation with MEASURES Info System and DTO, distributed Info centres, etc) in a wide range of freshwater streams (Danube and Tributaries). A key element of SWIM’s strategy is fostering transnational cooperation among diverse stakeholders and across different societal levels, co-designing joint solutions with governmental bodies, NGOs, researchers, and local communities, working through SWIM Alliance. This broad involvement aims to raise public support and ensure the long-term sustainability of the habitat restoration and protection measures , fostering biodiversity conservation, enhancing ecological resilience and the provision of ecosystem services, and thus promoting the socio-economic well-being of the local communities . SWIM’s comprehensive approach to ecological restoration and management has the potential to serve as a model for similar efforts across Europe and beyond, making a significant impact on the health and sustainability of aquatic ecosystems.

FORADVISE will develop a European network of forest advisory organisations, actors, and networks, to support the modernisation of the forestry sector, and advance towards EU and national policy targets. It will speed up knowledge flows, increase the competences of forest advisors beyond traditional areas of advice, and develop pathways towards a future Forest Knowledge and Innovation System (FOKIS) in Europe. Its ultimate goal is to advance towards more resilient, multifunctional, and productive forests in Europe. To achieve this, FORADVISE, creates a EU forest advisory network on forestry, and animates an iterative knowledge sharing process, combining national and international action, and implements knowledge transfer pilots to adapt advisory practices to new contexts. It develops training modules, contextualising well proven approaches and materials, delivering them through a MOOC. It develops a Cost Benefit Analysis toolkit to increase advisors’ capacities to assess social and economic implications. Lessons learned are the basis for a systematic engagement of policy makers, to create feasible and desirable pathways for the development of forest advisory systems in Europe, and to integrate forest advisors into the Member States’ AKIS. All these activities are supported by an analysis of the Forest Knowledge and Innovation Systems, and the needs and preferences of its different actors. Project activities are supported with dedicated communication and dissemination activities, and exploited through tailored impact pathways, including a digital knowledge platform. As the project advances, a smooth transition towards a self-sustained network is embedded into project activities. A dedicate task identifies working modalities and business models for the long-term continuation of the network, building upon the experience of the FOREXT initiative. FORADVISE consortium gathers Europe’s main actors in forestry advice.

DAnube WETlands REStoration (DaWetRest) Lighthouse is designed to develop and demonstrate (pilot) concrete solutions applied on the Danube basin to address the challenges faced by its inland and coastal wetlands ecosystems’, namely on (i) biodiversity, (ii) water quality and availability, (iii) climate resilience and/or neutrality and (iv) socio-economic benefits for the local communities. These transformative and innovative solutions will be validated by local communities and main Regional and European-wide stakeholders. DaWetRest has the role to prepare and plan the replication, deployment and scaling up of the validated innovative solutions for the next mission’s phase. For this important scope, DaWetRest project proposes several strong ideas, such as (i) building and selecting interventions based on extensive and prior know-how (sibling sites and non-EU experiences), (ii) local, regional and basin scale integrated interdependent analysis of results from the planned interventions, (iii) merge DaWetRest own data, models and digital tools with existing and future ones, towards a centralized knowledge centre in the future and (iv) involve the managing authorities and a number of local actors in the entire process, from the very beginning. Thus, DaWetRest results will accelerate and generalize the deployment of innovative solutions in the second phase of the Mission. The demonstration of innovative and result-oriented solutions is organized in 3 DEMOs - DEMO Middle Danube (MD), DEMO Lower Danube (LD) and DEMO Danube Delta (DD). Each DEMO offers main intervention sites, pilots, sibling locations, replications, platforms/services, local stakeholders engagement and methodologies to strengthen the innovation, knowledge and cooperation in and beyond DaWetRest in Danube basin and across Europe. Via a widely representative consortium as well as active cooperation (e.g. Community of Practices), DaWetRest will provide tools for a significant transformation in the Danube.