Deforestation and international agreements, nature restoration and poplar cultivation, ecosystem services and carbon farming: let's give value to forest resources and woody crops

The sustainable management of forest resources is crucial for biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation. Forests and timber arboriculture play a fundamental environmental role, protecting soil, regulating the water cycle and sequestering carbon. Forest owners, custodians of forests and woodlands, are key players in maintaining these often complex balances between the European regulatory framework, such as the Nature Restoration Regulation (EU Reg. 2019/2115) and the Deforestation and Forest Degradation Regulation (EU Reg. 2023/1115), and the specificities of the national context. Nature restoration tools and sustainable management practices enhance woodland resources and help provide essential ecosystem services. International trade agreements, such as the one with Mercosur, require the alignment of local supply chains with global environmental standards, without penalising national forest management. Finally, carbon farming in the forestry sector makes it possible to quantify and incentivise carbon sequestration derived from poplar cultivation and reforestation.
The integration of European policies, local practices and the commitment of forest owners constitutes an effective model for combining sustainability, productivity and environmental conservation, and in this direction, with this in-depth session, we also intend to focus on the state of health of the forestry sector.

Session Chairs

Marco Marchetti, Fondazione AlberItalia
Silvia Piconcelli, Confagricoltura

Program

Welcome and moderation
Enrico Allasia, President FNP Risorse boschive Confagricoltura
Marco Marchetti, President Fondazione Alberitalia

Outlook on world forests
Maurizio Martina, Deputy Director-General FAO

EU observatory of deforestation and forest degradation
Frederic Achard, JRC-D

Climate change and carbon farming
Riccardo Valentini, University of Tuscia

Nature Restoration
Piero Genovesi, ISPRA

Round Table
Introduction and moderation:
Alessandra Stefani, President Cluster Italia Foresta Legno

Speakers:
Emilio Gatto, Director Difor
Claudio Feltrin, President Federlegno
Fabio Boccalari, President Associazione Pioppicoltori
Mario Fontana, Coordinator CTS Unione Italiana Olio di Palma Sostenibile
Raoul Romano, Director Centro Foreste e Legno (CREA)
Environmental associations TBD

Case studies and Call for papers

Assessment of environmental impacts related to land use change in the central Italian Apennines
Barbara Marchetti, DISTA, Università degli Studi eCampus
Guido Castelli, Extraordinary Commissioner, Struttura Commissariale Sisma 2016
Francesco Corvaro, Special Envoy on Climate Change, Università Politecnica delle Marche

Deforestation made in Italy: the responsibilities of Italian businesses and consumers in global deforestation
Mauro Masiero, Dept. TESAF/UNIPD and Etifor
Giovanni Bausano, Dept. TESAF/UNIPD
Nicola Andrighetto, Etifor
Davide Pettenella, Dept. TESAF/UNIPD and Etifor

From forest fragmentation to active and multifunctional forest management: innovative models for the enhancement of ecosystem services, carbon farming and climate resilience
Maria Giulia Pelosi and Giulia Cecchinato, Etifor|Valuing Nature
Saverio Maluccio, CREA PB
Ugo Chiavetta, CREA FL
Nicola Andrighetto, University of Padua

Conclusions
Davide Pettenella, University of Padua