The workshop entitled “The challenges and needs of forest stakeholders in Portugal” took place on the 13th of October, bringing together a group of experts and professionals to discuss crucial issues involving the forestry sector in Portuguese territory. This event was organised by a team composed of Bruna Oliveira, Assistant Researcher at CESAM/DAO and Coordinator of the ModelEco project, Helena Vieira, Coordinating Researcher at CESAM/DAO and ERA Chair Holder of the BESIDE project, and Sofia Corticeiro, Junior Researcher at CESAM/ DAO and Coordinator of the FireProd project.
The workshop was organised in a practical working session format and focused on two main objectives: to identify the challenges, information and data needs of the forestry sector in Portugal, and to bring academia closer to stakeholders in the sector.
During the event, through interactive and group exercises, representatives from different entities in the forest sector identified more than 110 challenges and needs for information and scientific data. CESAM teams will now analyse this information and prepare proposals for solutions/projects to address them, culminating in the production of a report and executive summary to be presented to participants in a second session on 22 February 2024.
With this initiative, a rapprochement was also established between academics from the University of Aveiro who work on topics as diverse as Socio-Economic Sciences and Environmental Sciences, and who can support challenges and support decision-making, and invited entities representing the entire chain of value and the different types of stakeholders involved in the value chain of managing and exploiting our forest.
In addition to the work sessions, the workshop provided a moment of networking and spontaneous and informal sharing during lunch, held at the University of Aveiro Restaurant, where participants had the opportunity to share ideas and strengthen professional connections.
This event demonstrated the commitment of our researchers to address the challenges of forest management in Portugal and to promote effective collaboration between academics and stakeholders in the sector. It is expected that the results of this workshop will help guide future actions in the country’s forestry sector and strengthen the link between CESAM and the University to the forest in Portugal.
