Common Cross-Sectoral Narrative Necessary
What do representatives from the Nordic countries, Swedish research, business, authorities, and NGOs say about the role of the forest in societal development, Agenda 2030, and the progress towards 2050? What opportunities, challenges, and regional needs exist in relation to global developments and future needs? These were questions discussed in a panel discussion in Visby this summer.
SLU (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences) together with the IUFRO World Congress organized the discussion, where, among others, Johan Kuylenstierna, Director-General of Formas, Knut Øistad, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy, Karin Fällman Lindqvist, Sustainability Manager at Skogssällskapet, and Peter Roberntz, WWF Sweden, participated. One question discussed was what the major challenges are for the role of forests in society by the year 2050.
“It is important that we can gather around a narrative about how to manage the forest in the best way from all perspectives. And I am optimistic. We have initiated the green transition towards a more sustainable society. The environment is no longer just a climate issue. It is a societal issue that we must discuss and solve together”, said Johan Kuylenstierna, Director-General of Formas, and continued:
“We need to start talking about how we can manage our common natural resources. Today, we talk about important metals like cobalt, but we must also start talking about land, water, and bioresources like the forest. This is equally important in the long run. We need to create a narrative where we shift from conflicts over our natural resources to synergies around them. If we succeed with that, I believe many of today’s challenges will be solved by 2050.”
Johan Kuylenstierna also received support from Karin Fällman Lindqvist, Sustainability Manager at Skogssällskapet:
“I agree, and I believe that we can gain a lot from gathering knowledge for this purpose. We have a lot of research available, but we are not very good at collecting and compiling common knowledge bases for decision-making. We need to get better at this.”
And Peter Roberntz, Senior Advisor at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Sweden, continued:
“I also hope that we can change the narrative, where we shift from viewing the forest as a producer of bulk biomass to seeing the forest as a producer of many values. And then we must stop regard the forest as a simple system but rather as it is, a complex system that requires knowledge to be managed and used correctly. Today, we lack a comprehensive view of how to manage the forest from a sustainable perspective. We must succeed in solving this in the future. One challenge is that the political perspective is often limited to four to five years at most, while forest management requires a perspective of 30 to 40 years. Here, as experts, we must invite to dialogues based on knowledge”, said Peter Roberntz, and Knut Øistad, Senior Advisor at the Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy, agreed:
“We must bring different stakeholders together and find common solutions to the common challenges we have and will face. Here, as bearers and advocates of knowledge, we must demonstrate the forest’s future role in the bioeconomy. We must highlight the services that the forest can produce throughout its life cycle, from planting, growth, and finally, harvesting”.