"By the 1980s, countries began to recognize that forests have a Global role in the stability of the biosphere, in the maintenance of biodiversity, in the protection of threatened indigenous and traditional cultures, as well provide unique ecosystem services. Proper management of forest resources is only possible based on accurate and reliable information. There is increased international tendency towards the use of powerful and flexible geospatial technologies such as GIS (geographic information systems) and remote sensing (satellite imagery) (GIS&RS) in various applications. SUFOGIS proposes a “knowledge-competence-skills based” innovative approach that will be developed in close collaboration with the project EU partners. The main outputs of the project will be: Report on the situational analyses in RU and CH in the field of GIS&RS, workshops for 200 participants, 56 persons from Partner countries will get training in EU, two summer schools in EU for 36 students from Partner countries, one platform to promote the ""University-enterprise"" collaboration in the field of GIS&RS, Guidelines ""How to promote the knowledge transfer in GIS&RS”, 25 Case-studies, GIS&RS centers established and equipped in RU and CH HEIs, Quality assurance plan, 200 evaluation reports of staffs, trainees and students, 2 reports of external experts, the project’s web portal, 8 Info-days in EU, RU and CH, two dissemination conferences in CH and RU, 6 E-bulletins for the wider community. More specific impacts of the project include creation of: a wide professional network of the organizations in Partner countries that will be interested in the project outputs and findings, new jobs and new opportunities for business initiatives by young scientists."

Forestry is a potential pathway to strengthening European competitiveness, reducing dependence on non-renewable, unsustainable resources, enhancing the circular bioeconomy, and understanding the bioeconomy’s ecological boundaries. Europe’s forests and their value chains, however, face diverse challenges, including increasing global wood demand, biodiversity loss, and increasing biotic and abiotic threats to forest health and economic revenue caused by climate change. OptiForValue’s ultimate goal is to foster transition to more sustainable and resilient forest-based value chains, by using a unique, interconnected modelling framework involving strong participative engagement and novel scientific approaches, including early warning indicators of biotic and abiotic risks, adaptive forest management strategies, remote sensing and artificial intelligence for agile forest operations, and integrated value-chain optimisation and life cycle assessments. The expected outcomes include increased value addition, competitiveness, sustainability, and resilience of European forest-based value chains, particularly in regions already or forecast to be impacted by climate change over the coming decades. OptiForValue will accelerate this transition by enhancing the sustainability, resilience, and profitability of regional value chains in Central European, Mediterranean and boreal, via case studies in Austria, Spain, Sweden, Finland. Significant long-term impacts are expected to be achieved, including a 10% reduction in wood damage, with a subsequent increase in wood harvesting (€240 M annually), 3% value addition from better quality control (€350 M annually), 5% increase in the forestry workforce in areas affected by climate change, and 5–10% reduction in fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The consortium’s research institutes, universities and companies are well equipped to advance the state of the art, validate solutions through case studies, and upscale results.

FIREURISK will develop, evaluate and disseminate a science-based integrated strategy to: 1) expand current wildland fire risk assessment systems, including critical factors of risk previously not covered; 2) produce effective measures to reduce current fire risk conditions, and 3) adapt management strategies to expected future climate and socio-economic changes. This will be achieved in close collaboration between researchers, stakeholders and citizens, integrating novel technologies, guidelines and policy recommendations to improve current systems and practices from regional to EU scales. The project will address all wildfire types, with particular focus on mega-fires, the Wildland Urban Interface and fire challenges in the Northern EU. A risk-centred management strategy will integrate wildfire prevention, suppression and restoration practices and policies in a holistic conceptual framework, and implement an operational platform that supports joint coordination, professional training and operational exercises, involving multiple stakeholders and addressing all relevant wildfire management tasks, to improve protection of citizens exposed to wildfires. FIREURISK will (a) model socio-economic issues and human activity influencing fire ignition, vulnerability and exposure, (b) evaluate the impact of National and EU policies on land use change, rural economy and development, in context of expected future fire regime changes, and (c) consider potential cascading effects linked to wildfire situations. This will allow FIREURISK to deliver innovative risk-informed regional planning approaches that are effective in increasing the resilience of local communities, ensuring safety and enhancing protection of assets and economic activity. The resulting advances in fire risk reduction will be linked to innovative organisational and efficient business models that promote cost-effective bio-economy and nature-based solutions.