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Natural forest expansion (NFE), that is, the establishment of secondary forest on non-forested land through natural succession, has substantially contributed to the widespread expansion of forests in Europe over the last few decades. So far, EU policies have largely neglected the potential of NFE for meeting policy objectives on restoration. Synthesising recent interdisciplinary research, this paper assesses the challenges and opportunities of NFE in view of contributing to European forest and ecosystem restoration. Specifically, we discuss the potential for supporting climate change mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity conservation, and forestry and economic use, summarize the current knowledge about societal perceptions and the policymaking on NFE, and make policy recommendations to better use the potential of NFE. We conclude that NFE has the potential to contribute to the European restoration policy agenda if local contexts and possible trade-offs are properly considered.

Urban forests play a crucial role for the wellbeing of city dwellers, and their importance for people has been emphasised during the COVID-19 pandemic. This exploratory study analyses the visit patterns and visitor attitudes and perceptions in a peri-urban forest nearby Bonn, Germany, as well as the impact of the lockdown. Methodically, we combined automated visitor counting with a total of 345 on-site interviews. Respondents were asked a variety of open-ended and closed questions on various aspects of forest management and recreation. The results show that shortly after the inception of the lockdown the number of forest visitors doubled and the visit pattern changed markedly. In contrast, people’s associations with the forest remained rather stable. The forest visitors interviewed primarily associated the forest with tranquillity, recreation and fresh air, and they were generally positive about forest management. However, these expectations conflicted with the sense of crowdedness experienced during the lockdown, when novel forest uses and new motivations for visiting the forest arose, with an important focus on the forest as a place for social interaction. These were mainly a result of the lockdown restrictions, rather than COVID-19 itself, which left people with more time and flexibility, and less alternative activities. The results highlight the importance of forest management in catering to people’s expectations and ultimately for the role that forests play for people’s wellbeing. This was the case before the lockdown but arguably even more so during, in response to a variety of needs resulting from unprecedented circumstances.

Despite the relevance of forests to biodiversity and climate change, education and careers related to them are still unattractive to young people. This paper presents findings from a study whose goal is to investigate the motivation and career aspirations of students in forest-related programmes at the university/tertiary level around the globe. The analysis is based on data gathered through a survey of 787 bachelor's, master's, and PhD students from 82 countries. The findings reveal that the choice of forest-related programmes by students is guided by (i) the desire to do beneficial work, specifically to make a positive difference for the environment/communities, (ii) job satisfaction, e. g., enjoyable work, and (iii) working outdoors. With regard to career pathways, students were most interested in working in forest-related nature and biodiversity conservation and least interested in forest-related industry and non-forest-related fields. The study found significant differences across continents regarding student preferences but only a few across study levels and gender. This paper provides useful insights that can help in tailoring forest-related programmes to meet the expectations of the students and universities.

The tension between biodiversity conservation and multipurpose forest management may lead to conflicts. An internationally prominent example is the Bialowieza Forest Massif (BFM), an extensive forest complex with high levels of naturalness. We apply a systematic, multidisciplinary assessment process to review empirical evidence on different dimensions of the BFM conflict. While there is broad consensus that this forest massif is an exceptional place worth conserving and that a way forward is a zonation system combining conservation with management, exactly how this should be done has yet to be agreed upon. Our assessment shows that the key reasons for the BFM controversy go beyond the availability of knowledge on the ecological status of the BFM and include: 1) evidence stemming from different sources, which is often contradictory and prone to different interpretations; 2) knowledge gaps, particularly with regard to socio-economic drivers and beneficiaries as well as uncertainties about future trends; 3) fundamentally different values and priorities among stakeholder groups, resulting in power struggles, and an overall lack of trust. We conclude that evidence-based knowledge alone is insufficient to cope with complex conservation conflicts. While more evidence may help assess the consequences of decisions, the actual management decisions depend on different actors' worldviews, which are rooted in their professional identities and power, and their political and legal realities. This calls for conflict management through a well-organized participatory process organized and supervised by a body deemed legitimate by the groups involved.

Education has been characterised as ‘the golden thread that runs through all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)’. SDG4 (Quality Education) broadens the depth and breadth of ‘education’ to people of all ages, and expands its scope to a lifelong process spanning formal, non-formal and informal settings. SDG4 emphasises quality of educational access, particularly for girls and women and marginalised groups. Literature exploring ‘pro-environment’ behaviour informs our consideration of how progress towards SDG4 might impact on forests, forest ecosystem services and forest-related livelihoods. The concept of ‘pro-forest’ behaviour describes those elements of pro-environment behaviour related to forests; encouraging and enabling pro-forest behaviour is the basis of building a positive relationship between SDG4 and forests. Inclusive education that builds and reinforces positive attitudes to forests, relevant knowledge and competencies, and that helps individuals and communities feel or stay connected to forests will foster and sustain pro-forest behaviours. Progress towards SDG4 will benefit forests if education informs, encourages and enables pro-forest behaviour. This requires that education systems respect, nurture and enable Indigenous and traditional knowledge; promote forest-related Environment and Sustainability Education; strengthen forest-related professional, technical and vocational education and capacity development; and capitalise on the power of both established and new media.

• Understanding the impacts of SDG 16 on forests and people requires attention to the power dynamics that shape how all 17 SDGs are interpreted and implemented across the Global North and South. • As SDGs were agreed upon by nation states, SDG 16 places a strong emphasis on state power and the rule of law. • Yet inclusive governance requires the involvement of diverse actors, and consideration for customary laws and other non-state forms of rulemaking at global to local scales. • Many national laws governing forests and land use favour political elite, large-scale industry actors and international trade. • The development and strengthening of legal frameworks that support all of the SDGs – including those relevant to human rights, income inequalities, land tenure, gender and environmental protection – requires equal or greater priority than law enforcement. Otherwise, law enforcement will reinforce inequities and unsustainable practices. • SDG 16 provides an opportunity to overcome the stereotypes of the Global North as the referential role model for peace and democracy, by highlighting the role of the North in fostering market inequalities and global conflicts, and drawing attention to barriers to democratic and inclusive participation within the Global North. • How transparency, accountability and justice are conceived and prioritised shapes their impact on forests, as well as the degree to which their achievement either empowers forest-dependent peoples or excludes them from meaningful and informed engagement.

In the last decade illegal logging has triggered the attention of policy makers and scholars of international forest governance. The issue is multifaceted, involving aspects of social and environmental sustainability, development, trade, access to markets and competitiveness. A vivid academic debate has resulted, exploring the nexus between markets and trade on one hand, and environmental and social sustainability on the other. The purpose of this paper is systematically assess the international policy discourse on illegal logging and legality verification policies in different regions of the world, drawing on the concept of policy narratives. Specifically, we analyse and compare policy narratives in Australia, Cambodia, China, the EU, Indonesia, Peru and the US. Our analysis is grounded on a rich empirical basis consisting of 260 interviews conducted by various researchers, numerous conversations with practitioners, policy documents and a media analysis. We find striking differences across the globe in narratives about illegal logging and legality verification and conclude that these need to be considered when assessing the support for, and the current and potential effects of, the emerging legality verification regime., In the last decade illegal logging has triggered the attention of policy makers and scholars of international forest governance. The issue is multifaceted, involving aspects of social and environmental sustainability, development, trade, access to markets and competitiveness. A vivid academic debate has resulted, exploring the nexus between markets and trade on one hand, and environmental and social sustainability on the other. The purpose of this paper is systematically assess the international policy discourse on illegal logging and legality verification policies in different regions of the world, drawing on the concept of policy narratives. Specifically, we analyse and compare policy narratives in Australia, Cambodia, China, the EU, Indonesia, Peru and the US. Our analysis is grounded on a rich empirical basis consisting of 260 interviews conducted by various researchers, numerous conversations with practitioners, policy documents and a media analysis. We find striking differences across the globe in narratives about illegal logging and legality verification and conclude that these need to be considered when assessing the support for, and the current and potential effects of, the emerging legality verification regime.

Rotor blades for 10-20MW wind turbines may exceed 120m. To meet the demanding requirements of the blade design, structural analysis tools have been developed individually and combined with commercial available ones by blade designers. Due to the various available codes, understanding and estimating the uncertainty introduced in the design calculations by using these tools is needed to allow assessment of the effectiveness of any future design modification. For quantifying the introduced uncertainty a reference base was established within INNWIND.EU in which the several structural analysis concepts are evaluated. This paper shows the major findings of the comparative work performed by six organizations (universities and research institutes) participating in the benchmark exercise. The case concerns a 90m Glass/Epoxy blade of a horizontal axis 10MW wind turbine. The detailed blade geometry, the material properties of the constitutive layers and the aero-elastic loads formed the base by which global and local blade stiffness and strength are evaluated and compared. Static, modal, buckling and fatigue analysis of the blade were performed by each partner using their own tools; fully in-house developed or combined with commercially available ones, with its specific structural analysis approach (thin wall theory and finite element models using beam, shell or solid elements) and their preferable analysis type (linear or geometrical non-linear). Along with sectional mass and stiffness properties, the outcome is compared in terms of displacements, stresses, strains and failure indices at the ply level of the blade structure, eigen-frequencies and eigen-modes, critical buckling loads and Palmgren-Miner damage indices due to cycle loading. Results indicate that differences between estimations range from 0.5% to even 40%, depending on the property compared. Modelling details, e.g. load application on the numerical models and assumptions, e.g. type of analysis, lead to these diff