The European partnership FOREST was officially launched on October 13, 2026, in Helsinki for a 10-year period. It unites over 100 organizations from 28 European countries for an ambitious research program. This program covers diverse topics, from management strategies to enhance forest resilience against climate change and meet societal expectations, to exploring new uses for wood.
INRAE actively participates in developing FOREST's scientific program. The French institute notably leads activities aimed at facilitating access to forest research infrastructure among European countries, a crucial mission for cross-border scientific collaboration.
The stakes for FOREST are significant. Climate change and evolving societal expectations present unprecedented challenges for forest management. The European scale is deemed the most appropriate for addressing these complex issues, involving all stakeholders. Topics include the adaptation of trees and forests to climate, biodiversity preservation, monitoring damage from extreme events (storms, droughts, fires), as well as pests and diseases.
Coordinated by the Finnish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, this partnership aims to bridge research efforts across member states and foster collaboration. FOREST will fund joint projects, enabling European teams to compare their observations, pool their measurement and work methods, as well as their preservation and management practices. A first call for projects is open until December 2, 2026.
France is represented in this partnership by several key entities, including the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, the Ministry of Ecological Transition, and the National Research Agency (ANR). Other major French organizations such as INRAE, CNRS, Cirad, University of Lorraine, AgroParisTech, IGN, ONF, CNPF, and GIP Ecofor are also involved.
FOREST's scientific program is part of the European project EUFORE. It was developed from over 2,000 contributions from researchers, foresters, industrialists, and decision-makers, defining research priorities on forest ecosystem functioning, their adaptation to climate change, forest management, and wood utilization, while integrating societal expectations.
Oliver Brendel, an ecophysiologist at the Silva unit in Nancy and coordinator of the forest ecology group within EUFORE, highlights the broad European relevance of the themes addressed. As major forest ecosystems transcend national borders, issues of climate change adaptation and resource management are common to many European countries.
Resource pooling is a cornerstone of FOREST. Studying a forest requires long-term measurements and specialized infrastructure, often beyond the reach of a single team. Catherine Bastien, an INRAE research director and forest tree genetics specialist, leads the work to inventory and facilitate access to these European research facilities. INRAE already participates in major infrastructures like IN-SYLVA, ICOS, and AnaEE.
Starting in 2027, pilot projects within FOREST will harmonize measurement protocols and data sharing across Europe, for instance, to monitor biodiversity along vast forest gradients. The partnership also aims to harmonize national forest inventories, informing the decisions of public and private managers.
These European collaborations, supported by international co-publications, will enable French teams to work on common priorities and prepare more ambitious projects for the upcoming European Framework Programme for Research (FP10).
INRAE teams, active in forest ecology, risk economics, modeling, forest health, and wood processing, can contribute to FOREST through calls for projects funded by ANR and by participating in joint partnership activities, such as the European network of Living labs. These spaces will allow for experimenting with new practices in real-world conditions, with several sites managed by INRAE.
The FOREST partnership complements the French national program PEPR FORESTT, led by INRAE. While PEPR FORESTT funds French teams working on temperate and tropical forests, FOREST supports transnational European projects, thus offering an essential complementary dimension for addressing forest challenges at the continental level.
