Who

we are

The ForestNavigator consortium consists of 24 partners from the EU, Switzerland, and China and brings together key expertise in socioeconomic and environmental modelling and policy making.

The consortium is led by IIASA, an international research organisation devoted to interdisciplinary, policy‐oriented research in the context of global climate change. The consortium is bundling expertise in modelling of forests, biophysics, earth systems, biodiversity, ecosystems, social sciences, and land management. 

Navigating European Forests and forest bioeconomy sustainably to EU climate neutrality
ForestNavigator

ForestNavigator Partners

IIASA

IIASA

Germany

Universität Für Bodenkultur Wien (BOKU)

Universität Für Bodenkultur Wien (BOKU)

Helmholtz Zentrum Potsdam Deutschesgeoforschungszentrum GFZ

Helmholtz Zentrum Potsdam Deutschesgeoforschungszentrum GFZ

Germany

 
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU)

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU)

Germany

 
Helsingin Yliopisto (UHE)

Helsingin Yliopisto (UHE)

 
E3-Modelling AE (E3M)

E3-Modelling AE (E3M)

 
Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP)

Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP)

 
Climate Analytics Gmbh (CA)

Climate Analytics Gmbh (CA)

 
ARTTIC Innovation GmbH

ARTTIC Innovation GmbH

 
Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institute

Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institute

 
Agenzia Nazionale per le Nuove Tecnologie-ENEA

Agenzia Nazionale per le Nuove Tecnologie-ENEA

 
Forest, Environmental Research & Services (FERS) Limited

Forest, Environmental Research & Services (FERS) Limited

 
University College Dublin, National University of Ireland

University College Dublin, National University of Ireland

 
Yucatrote LDA (YUCA)

Yucatrote LDA (YUCA)

 
Sveriges Lantbruksuniversitet (SLU)

Sveriges Lantbruksuniversitet (SLU)

 
Pilli Roberto (RP)

Pilli Roberto (RP)

 
Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR)

Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR)

 
Ifer Ustav Pro Vyzkum Lesnich Ekosystemu Sro (IFER) 

Ifer Ustav Pro Vyzkum Lesnich Ekosystemu Sro (IFER) 

 
Stichting Wageningen Research (WR)

Stichting Wageningen Research (WR)

 
Institut Technologique FCBA (Foretcellulose Bois-Construction Ameublement) (FCBA)

Institut Technologique FCBA (Foretcellulose Bois-Construction Ameublement) (FCBA)

 
Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETH)

Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETH)

 
JRC -Joint Research Centre- European Commission (JRC)

JRC -Joint Research Centre- European Commission (JRC)

 
Peking University (PKU)

Peking University (PKU)

 
Zhejiang University (ZJU)

Zhejiang University (ZJU)

 
IIASA - International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis

International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis

Laxenburg, Austria 

The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) is an international research institute that advances systems analysis and applies its research methods to identify policy solutions to reduce human footprints, enhance the resilience of natural and socioeconomic systems, and help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

Through its research programs and initiatives, the institute conducts policy-oriented research into issues that are too large or complex to be solved by a single country or academic discipline. This includes pressing concerns that affect the future of all of humanity, such as climate change, energy security, population aging, and sustainable development.

The results of IIASA research and the expertise are made available to policymakers in countries around the world to help them produce effective, science-based policies for facing planetary challenges.

ROLE IN ForestNavigator

IIASA, as the Coordinator of the ForestNavigator Consortium, oversees the effective achievement of the ForestNavigator project goals. The Biosphere Futures (IBF) research group at IIASA is providing the scientific coordination, based on extensive expertise in integrated modelling of natural resources and ecosystems management using IIASA models, such as the Global Biosphere Management Model (GLOBIOM).

Two other IIASA research groups, the Agriculture, Forestry, and Ecosystem Services (AFE) and the Biodiversity, Ecology, and Conservation (BEC) contribute to ForestNavigator research.

Altogether, the IIASA teams perform forest policy analyses, process-based biophysical forest modelling, biodiversity modelling, and integrated economic modelling of policy pathways.

The institute will also host the ForestNavigator Portal, which will provide access to EU-wide forest data and policy models.

ForestNavigator Team

Petr Havlík, PhD

Research Group Leader

CoPrincipal Investigator

Fulvio Di Fulvio, PhD

Research Scholar

Co-Principal Investigator

Andrey Lessa, PhD

Research Scholar

Lead WP7

Ellen Tan, PhD

Project Officer

Project Manager

Martin Jung, PhD

Research Scholar

Maximillian Hesselbarth, PhD

Research Scholar

Stefan Frank, PhD

Senior Research Scholar

Nicklas Forsell, PhD

Senior Research Scholar

Lauri Pekka, PhD

Research scholar

Gusti Mykola, PhD

Research Scholar

Florian Kraxner, PhD

Research Group Leader

Andrey Krasovskiy, PhD

Research scholar

Piero Visconti, PhD

Research Group Leader

Andre Nakhavali, PhD

Research Scholar

Andre Deppermann, PhD

Research scholar

Shelby Corning

Researcher

Universität Für Bodenkultur Wien (BOKU)

University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences

Vienna, Austria 

The University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences is a life-science oriented university. BOKU research focuses on (i) preservations of habitats and quality of life, (ii) management of natural resources and the environment and (iii) securing food and health.

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The Institute of Forest, Environmental and Natural Resource Policy (InFER), together with the EFI Forest Policy Research Network at BOKU, leads WP1, the stakeholder dialogue which ensures a close connection of different WPs to stakeholder needs.

The Institute of Silviculture (SILV) from BOKU leads the work package on Forest Management, climate change and disturbances (WP3), which focuses on developing a biophysical modelling component to capture forest dynamics. In addition, SILV contributes to modelling climate regulation feedback in WP4.

The Institute of Social Ecology (SEC) from BOKU contributes to data collection for a multi-layered geodatabase for the assessment of carbon stocks and dynamics in European forests in WP2.  In WP7, SEC traces international wood supply chains and assesses the option spaces for wood extraction that safeguard a continuous C sink.

ForestNavigator Team

Alice Ludvig, PhD

Project Coordinator

Lead WP1

Manfred Lexer, Professor

Institute Director

Lead WP3

Karlheinz Erb, Professor

Head of Institute

Simone Gingrich, PhD

Assistant Professor

Gerhard Weiss, PhD

Senior Scientist

Barbara Öllerer, Dipl.-Ing

University Assistant

Sarah Matej, Mag.

Researcher

Matthias Neumann, PhD

Associate Professor

Blasius Schmid, Dipl.-Ing

University Assistant

Claudine-Caroline Egger, PhD

Researcher

Florian Weidinger, B.Sc

Researcher

Helmholtz Zentrum Potsdam Deutschesgeoforschungszentrum GFZ

German Research Centre for Geosciences

Potsdam, Germany 

The German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) in Potsdam is Germany’s national research centre for the Earth Sciences with around 1400 employees. GFZ’s section for Remote Sensing and Geoinformation (head: M. Herold) comprises 90 people that specialise in the domain of quantitative, physical and statistical retrieval of land surface parameters relevant for earth system science and land monitoring as well as the transfer of select applications to large area monitoring and services. The section operates infrastructure to investigate the connection between bio- and geophysical processes and Earth sensing observations by combining measurements in the laboratory (i.e., soil carbon/spectroscopy lab), in the field (e.g., TERENO, MOSES, StrucNet, DEMMIN), and from air and spaceborne systems with the physical and chemical properties of real surfaces. Related research involves the use and adaptation of big data analytics and data science approaches for the generation of large area datasets and validation with respect to land change/dynamics, biomass and soil carbon. The GFZ remote sensing section is the scientific principal investigator for the German hyperspectral satellite mission EnMAP and develops and partially operates hyperspectral data analysis; also as preparatory activities towards CHIME.

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GFZ provides remote sensing data and leading expertise in combining remote sensing observations, ground data and other data sources for monitoring of forest resources. GFZ leads WP 2 (Data fusion for monitoring and modelling of forest carbon and biodiversity) with the aim to generates state-of-the-art and up-to-date, consistently integrated data streams used across data-driven analysis, GHGI, and for forward-looking models, and for a transparent monitoring. Research will develop an EU wide forest database consistent with reporting, monitoring and modelling needs, reconciled database with NFI other data sources for monitoring status of forest carbon stock, look into near real time geodatabase updates of forest cover and disturbances, and enhancing quality and frequency of reporting in GHG inventories. Together with different project partners, GFZ explores and sets up procedures for near real-time update of modelling and pathways and proofing towards reporting.

ForestNavigator Team

Martin Herold, Professor

Section Head Remote Sensing

Lead WP2

Simon Besnard, PhD

Senior Data Scientist

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU)

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität

München, Germany 

LMU is one of the highest-ranked teaching and research university in Germany and a distinguished beneficiary of the German excellence initiative. The mission of LMU’s Department of Geography is to explore, understand and frame changes in the interrelation of humans and nature globally, regionally and locally. The Munich Geography has made and will continue to make strong contributions to develop joint, interdisciplinary and integrative approaches of natural science and humanities, to study the interrelationship of humans and nature and to identify possible pathways of change in the future.

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LMU provides its Earth system and vegetation modelling capacity for addressing complex interactions between forest vegetation and climate. LMU leads the multidimensional biodiversity and ecosystem services (WP4). LMU provides GHG emissions estimate to WP2 and link its vegetation model JSBACH to the forest models in WP3, WP4, and WP7 to assess feedbacks between forest growth and climate. In particular, LMU simulates climate effects of land use and forest management scenarios, which are further used by a climate emulator. With this, LMU’s models contribute to WP6’s policy modeling toolbox.

ForestNavigator Team

Julia Pongratz, Professor

Director

WP4 Lead

Wolfgang Obermeier, PhD

Scientist

Helsingin Yliopisto (UHE)

University of Helsinki

Helsinki, Finland 

The University of Helsinki is Finland’s largest and oldest academic institution and an innovative centre of science and thinking. Since 1640, our academic community has grown into 40 000 people scattered into 11 faculties on four campuses.

Our northern qualities are combined in a blend of expertise and attitude that just happens to be what the world aspires to. Today, we are one of the world’s leading multidisciplinary universities, featuring in the top 50–100 in most university rankings, which means we are among the top 0.5%.

The Department of Forest Sciences represents one of the top research fields of the University of Helsinki globally. The aim of the multidisciplinary activities is to promote the ecologically, economically and socially sustainable use of forests and peatlands, and to produce globally relevant new perspectives by means of research.

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UHE leads WP5, which focuses on future demands for forest-based products and their contribution to carbon storage, avoided fossil emissions and green growth and jobs creation.

Our research role is mostly related to

1) co-creating with market experts plausible and desired changes in wood uses, and

2) quantifying and exploring the substitution impacts of changes in wood uses.

ForestNavigator Team

Elias Hurmekoski, PhD

Academy Research Fellow

Lead WP5

Janni Kunttu, PhD

Postdoc

Jing Yang, PhD

Postdoc

E3-Modelling AE (E3M)

E3-Modelling AE

Athens, Greece 

E3-Modelling is a knowledge-intensive company that provides consulting services based on large-scale empirical modelling of the economy-energy-environment nexus. The company owns and operates PRIMES and GEM-E3, two renowned modelling tools used extensively in the preparation of major impact assessment studies and scenario building of the European Commission. For the past 30 years, E3-Modelling has been delivering cutting-edge research and hands-on consulting services to governments, the private sector and international organisations on the design and impact analysis of transition pathways towards low- and net-zero emissions in the fields of energy, climate, and transport. Furthermore, the company is at the forefront of macro-economic research, modelling economic growth, sectorial growth, and employment at European and global levels.

ROLE IN ForestNavigator

E3M provides state-of-the-art energy system modelling incl. bioenergy supply modelling tools which will be used to model the future demand for bioenergy from forest biomass  related with the evolution of the energy markets. E3M leads WP6 where together with IIASA and other partners we will develop the structure of the policy assessment tool.

ForestNavigator Team

Alessia De Vita

Director & Manager

Lead WP6

Ioannis Tsiropoulos, PhD

Transport Director

Alkisti Florou

Policy and Communications Manager

Nikolaos Tasios, PhD

Senior Researcher

Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP)

Institute for European Environmental Policy

Brussels, Belgium 

The Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) is a sustainability think tank. Working with stakeholders across EU institutions, international bodies, academia, civil society and industry, our team of economists, scientists and lawyers produce evidence-based research and policy insight.

Our work spans nine research areas and covers both short-term policy issues and long-term strategic studies. As a not-for-profit organisation with over 40 years of experience, we are committed to advancing impact-driven sustainability policy across the EU and the world.

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IEEP is be the lead coordinator of work package 8 (policy pathways and their implementation) which aims to reconcile climate mitigation pathways according to policy targets. IEEP reviews existing policy goals and broader sustainability objectives, assessing conflicts, trade-offs and other relevant policy questions for the development of policy pathways. IEEP contributes to the stakeholder dialogue on needs and key challenges, by assembling preferences related to policies and pathways.

ForestNavigator Team

Julia Bognar, PhD

Senior Policy Analyst

Lead WP8

Krystyna Springer

Policy Analyst

Laure-Lou Tremblay

Policy Analyst

Climate Analytics Gmbh (CA)

Climate Analytics

Berlin, Germany 

Climate Analytics is a non-profit organization based in Berlin, Germany with offices in New York, USA, Lomé, Togo, Trinidad, Tobago, Katmandu and Perth, Australia which brings together interdisciplinary expertise in the scientific and policy aspects of climate change. Our activities include: synthesizing and advancing scientific knowledge in the area of climate change science, policy, and impacts, providing science and policy support to the Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States in international climate negotiations, and tracking and analyzing national climate policies in the global context with the Climate Action Tracker.

ROLE IN ForestNavigator

Climate Analytics´ responsibility is to lead the development of the ForestNavigator Portal (WP9): a web-based, user-friendly portal supporting decision-making related to forest management by providing the appropriate tools, models, databases, and country- and region-specific adaptation and mitigation options.

Furthermore, Climate Analytics facilitates stakeholder dialogue and manages the outreach of project activities and results, in collaboration with BOKU (WP1). Through stakeholder workshops and consistent iterative engagement activities, stakeholders will have a central role in guiding research questions by providing input on their preferences for forest management options, forest-based markets, and policy goals.

ForestNavigator Team

Quentin Lejeune, PhD

Principal Investigator

Lead WP9

Burcu Yesil

Research Associate

Inga Menke

Deputy Head of Science Team

Andyara Callegare

Climate Data Analyst

Zeinab Nabelssi

Student Assistant

ARTTIC Innovation GmbH

ARTTIC Innovation GmbH

Munich, Germany 

ARTTIC Innovation GmbH, a company of the PNO Consultants Group, the European leader in collaboration engineering, consultancy and management services for international research and technology related partnerships. The team at AI has been built since 2006 and has set up and managed numerous projects in EU funding programmes. ARTTIC Innovation GmbH builds and assists collaborative undertakings and in particular European research consortia and networks from all businesses and research sectors, small and large, private and public, to ensure their collaborative innovation ventures are as successful as possible. The service offer of ARTTIC Innovation GmbH comprises provision of hands-on support, strategic consulting, and added value services all along the innovation life cycle: from the definition of a project idea and concept, the identification of a suitable funding scheme and the proposal development, to the management of the project and the dissemination and exploitation of the project results.

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ARTTIC supports the consortium in the daily management and administrative tasks (WP11) to ensure the collaboration is working efficiently, the project is properly monitored, and decisions and actions are prepared and taken according to the project progress. ARTTIC provides methods, tools and operational support for the collaboration within the consortium and simplifies the work of the Research, Development and Innovation staff as much as possible. In addition, ARTTIC leads WP10 (Outreach and dissemination) with planning and facilitating of a dissemination, communication and exploitation strategy and developing the adequate tools to support these activities.

ForestNavigator Team

Sophie Rau

Consultant

Lead WP10

Andreas Schweinberger

Senior Consultant

Marijn van Jaarsveld, PhD

Consultant

Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institute

Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institute
Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries

Braunschweig, Germany 

The Thünen Institute is a scientifically independent research institution that focuses on sustainable use of natural resources and the vital development of rural areas. TI consists of 15 specialised institutes which bring scientific, technological and socio-economic expertise to conduct extensive monitoring activities, develop options for action to better manage our livelihoods, and assess the likely consequences.

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TI brings its recognised expertise in harvested wood products and carbon accounting to provide state-of-the-art methodologies for accounting wood products in the forest sector mitigation. TI leads the determination of HWP contributions to carbon emissions and removals (part of WP5). In addition, TI contributes to the conceptualisation of a Policy Modelling Toolbox and upgrade of national-EU models (part of WP6). Furthermore, TI contributes to the analysis of forests, bioenergy and biomaterials (part of WP7).

ForestNavigator Team

Sebastian Rueter, PhD

Researcher

Agenzia Nazionale per le Nuove Tecnologie-ENEA

Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development

Rome, Italy 

ENEA is the Italian Government Agency aimed at research, technological innovation and the provision of advanced services to enterprises, public administration and citizens in the sectors of energy, new technology, and the environment, and in the area of sustainable economic development.

With around 3000 staff employees throughout Italy, operating in nine major Research Centers and in several smaller facilities, ENEA has highly qualified personnel, advanced laboratories, and experimental facilities for the realisation of projects, studies and tests to contribute to the development and competitiveness of the national economic system.

ENEA’s activities in the Environmental sector involve: Environmental surveying and monitoring; Climate modelling and analysis on global and regional scales; Global change assessment; Evaluation of the impact of climatic changes on human and natural systems.

ROLE IN ForestNavigator

ENEA contributes to the project activities in many ways, but mainly in:

  • Engaging, managing and communicating with stakeholders, also taking advantage of planned project workshops;
  • Collecting and analysing needs and preferences of various stakeholders’ groups, under different forest managements to consider synergies and trade-offs;
  • Evaluating recreational and cultural ecosystem services for specific European member states and Europe overall, under alternative forest managements;
  • Enhancing the forest cost module in G4M-X, a spatialized bottom-up (economic-engineering) model -part of the modeling suite employed in the project – to derive management costs and a metric of employment in forestry.

ForestNavigator Team

Melania Michetti, PhD

Research Scientist

Gianmaria Sannino, PhD

Research Scientist & Head Office

Fabio Eboli, PhD

Research Scientist

Forest, Environmental Research & Services (FERS) Limited

Forest and Environmental Research and Services

Meath, Ireland 

Forest, Environmental Research and Services (FERS) Ltd developed the first National carbon reporting system for forestry in Ireland and has been compiling the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory reports for the Irish forestry sector and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). We have in excess of 20 years of experience in carrying out greenhouse gas inventories, climate change policy support to the Irish goverment, EU and the land use sectors. We are registered greenhouse gas inventory reviewers with the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and have authored International Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) guidance on reporting of greenhouse gases for forestry and land use change sectors. Our research includes forest forest ecology, growth modelling, forest ecosystem carbon sequestration, silviculture, harvested wood products, GHG projections, continuous cover forestry and biodiversity. We also offer serivices in relation to the EU habitats directive, biodiversity surveys, forest management, climate chnage mitigation and adaptation for the land use sector, carbon trading and carbon tax schemes.

ROLE IN ForestNavigator

  • Development of climate change mitigation pathways using the national CBM and Woodstock modelling framework.
  • Identification of alternative management measures to optimise carbon capture in Irish forests.
  • Provision of forest inventory data and GHG models as part of the national case study areas to cross validate and calibrate the G4M models, which will develop regional and EU wide GHG projection pathways.

ForestNavigator Team

Kevin Black, PhD

Director

University College Dublin, National University of Ireland

University College Dublin

Dublin, Ireland 

UCD is one of Europe’s leading research-intensive universities; an environment where undergraduate education, masters and PhD training, research, innovation and community engagement form a dynamic spectrum of activity. Since its foundation, the University has made a unique contribution to the creation of modern Ireland, based on successful engagement with Irish society. The international standing of UCD has grown in recent years; it is currently ranked within the top 1% of higher education institutions world-wide. UCD is also Ireland’s most globally engaged university with over 37,000 students drawn from 152 countries. The University’s main Dublin campus occupies an extensive parkland estate of 133 hectares and offers world-leading facilities including the UCD O’Brien Centre for Science, UCD Sutherland School of Law, UCD Lochlan Quinn School of Business, UCD Moore Centre for Business, and the UCD Student Centre. UCD Forestry is the research team that will participate in the project. This group is part of the School of Agriculture and Food Science.

ROLE IN ForestNavigator

UCD provides data and contributes to the selection and definition of alternative forest management systems, policy pathways and the ForestNavigator Portal in WP3, WP6, WP8 and WP9.

ForestNavigator Team

Maarten Nieuwenhuis, PhD

Professor

Amanda Sosa, PhD

Assistant Professor

Charles Harper

Research Manager

Yucatrote LDA (YUCA)

Yucatrote

Lagos, Portugal 

Yucatrote is a Portuguese SME consulting company. The expertise of the company is on data analysis and modelling in the environmental sector, with special focus on forest ecosystems. Yucatrote is specialized in forest model calibrations, model data fusion and data assimilations. Using modern computational techniques, such us Bayesian analyses, global sensitivity and multivariate analysis, Yucatrote integrate multiple sources of data in forest modelling frameworks. Large scale simulations of forest management scenarios, climate change scenarios, uncertainty quantifications and forest monitoring using high resolution satellite measurements are some of the services that Yucatrote provides.

ROLE IN ForestNavigator

Yucatrote is responsible of the detailed model (PREBAS) simulations in the Boreal areas. PREBAS is a simple process-based model that require limited input variables and can be used for large scale simulations. The model consists of three sub-models: a light use efficiency model that estimates the photosynthesis (PRELES), a carbon allocation model that simulate forest growth (CROBAS) and a soil C model (YASSO).

ForestNavigator Team

Francesco Minunno, PhD

Founder

Samuel Carter, Bs

Computer Scientist

Sveriges Lantbruksuniversitet (SLU)

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Uppsala, Sweden 

The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) is a world-class international university with research, education and environmental assessment within the sciences for sustainable life. Its principal sites are in Alnarp, Umeå and Uppsala, but activities are also conducted at research stations, experimental parks and educational establishments throughout Sweden. We bring together people who have different perspectives, but they all have one and the same goal: to create the best conditions for a sustainable, thriving and better world.

SLU has just over 3,000 employees, 5,000 students and a turnover of SEK 3 billion. The university has invested heavily in a modern, attractive environment on its campuses.

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SLU (i) develops models for biodiversity dynamics, (ii) simulate/project dynamics of biodiversity and ecosystem services in the context of forest and climate change and (iii) simulate forest management and dynamics.

ForestNavigator Team

Tord Snäll, Professor

Professor

Laura Chevaux, PhD

Postdoc

Johanna Lundström, PhD

Researcher

Ola Eriksson, Professor

Senior Adviser

Pilli Roberto (RP)

Roberto Pilli

Padova, Italy 

Roberto Pilli is a freelancer collaborating, as scientific consultant, with various European research institutes and universities. He is specialized on integrated forest modelling and carbon accounting systems, applied at regional, national and EU level. He is co-author of various scientific papers and technical reports, ranging from the tree level allometric models to the inventory-based model analysis, including the role of harvested wood products and other forest ecosystem services.

ROLE IN ForestNavigator

Roberto PIlli contributes to the data fusion for monitoring and modelling of forest carbon and biodiversity (WP2), by integrating NFI and satellite data streams and by assessing carbon stock/changes and harvesting. Furthermore, Roberto Pilli contributes to the selection of alternative forest management systems (WP3). Together with other project partners, Roberto Pilli calibrates and models, at national level, various management, and mitigation scenarios as part of WP6, as defined by the over-national modelling framework, scaled at EU level. Finally, Roberto Pilli collaborates to define and reconcile the stakeholders driven sustainable policy pathways (WP7).

ForestNavigator Team

Roberto Pilli, PhD

Freelancer

Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR)

National Research Council of Italy

Rome, Italy 

The National Research Council (CNR) is the largest public research institution in Italy with over 8000 employees in 88 research institutes and 7 macro-Departments over the Italian territory. With its multidisciplinary research, its mission is to promote innovation and competitiveness of the national industrial system, to promote the internationalization of the national research system, to provide technologies and solutions to emerging public and private needs, to advice Government and other public bodies, and to contribute to the qualification of human resources. CNR participates in the project with two distinct institutes, which are: 1) the Institute for Agricultural and Forestry Systems in the Mediterranean (CNR-ISAFOM) and 2) the Institute of BioEconomy (CNR-IBE).

ROLE IN ForestNavigator

Within the multi-scale forest modelling task, the Forest Modelling Laboratory of the CNR is responsible for simulating the dynamical growth of Mediterranean forests, under environmental changes and management scenarios by mean of the process-based forest model 3D-CMCC-FEM.

ForestNavigator Team

Alessio Collalti, PhD

Senior Researcher, Forest Modelling Lab Head

Giorgio Matteucci, PhD

Research Director

Elia Vangi, PhD

Research Fellow

Paulina Fernanda Puchi Gonzalez, PhD

Research Fellow

Daniela Dalmonech, PhD

Researcher

Ifer Ustav Pro Vyzkum Lesnich Ekosystemu Sro (IFER)

Institute of Forest Ecosystem Research, Ltd.

Jílové u Prahy, Czech Republic

IFER s an independent, private, research organization. Core activities of the company are focused primarily on forest production ecology, monitoring of forest health condition, methods of statistical forest inventory, forest management planning, ecosystem carbon and GHG emission balance in ecosystems. IFER is capable of independent work on research tasks in these fields for the local (Czech) and international  customers including forest owners and managers, ministries, state administration, national science foundations, European Union and other institutions. IFER operates with no external core funding or institutional contribution; its existence depends exclusively on project funding. IFER was established in 1994. Since then IFER elaborated close to three hundred research projects carried out either on its own or in collaboration with a wide range of local and foreign research partners and clients.

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IFER is one of the national partners that together with IIASA spearheads the development of new approaches and datasets within ForestNavigator towards the higher standard GHG inventories. IFER, as a member of the national GHG inventory system, contributes to the data assimilation, uses model-assisted GHG emission estimates for forestry sector and proposes the advancements of the nationally-calibrated CBM-CFS3 model in model-data fusion. IFER contributes to exploring alternative forest management systems for boosting adaptation and mitigation. IFER collaborates on developing Integrated Policy Modelling Toolbox for impact assessment of forest-based climate mitigation pathways in the context of EU mitigation targets. This should aid reconciling the climate mitigation pathways according to the EU policy targets.

ForestNavigator Team

Emil Cienciala, Ass Professor

Head of Science and Research

Mgr. Radka Maskova

Junior Scientist

Jan Melichar, PhD

Senior Scientist

Jana Beranová, PhD

Managing Director

Stichting Wageningen Research (WR)

Stichting Wageningen Research

Wageningen, Netherlands

Wageningen Economic Research is one of the research institutes within WR. It is the Dutch authoritative institute in the field of socio-economic research in the domain of healthy food and living environments. The institute employs economists, econometricians, quantitative modellers, LCA experts, public administration specialists, marketing specialists, sociologists, and ethicists. They have knowledge of agricultural sectors and systems, food, and bio-based non-food products. Wageningen Economic Research’s independent and applied research is highly based on its unique databases, analysis models and expert knowledge that offer insights and integral advice for private and public decision-making.

In the fields of sustainability of innovative systems and foresight studies, Wageningen Economic Research specialises in research on the ex-ante or ex-post micro- and macroeconomic impact of national and international policy changes on new and existing food production systems and the bio-economy.

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The main contribution from WUR is the application of the MAGNET global general equilibrium model in various tasks.

Wageningen Economic Research takes part in  WP5 –Bioeconomy potential, WP6 – National-EU Policy Modelling Toolbox and WP7 – Integrated policy pathways.

Specifically, Wageningen Research leads the Green growth and green jobs task (WP5). This task will focus on the contribution of forestry to green growth as value added, employment, GDP and bilateral trade flows, analysed with the MAGNET model. It will include an assessments and analysis of biomass for bioenergy, and further detailing the role of  the EU “bioeconomy” on welfare and jobs.

Furthermore, Wageningen Research leads the task: EU forest sector in the global context (WP7). For this, global wood trade flows scenarios (GLOBIOM/G4M-X) will be linked to IAMs (MAGNET, E3M) to ensure a global consistency and set the boundaries for EU pathways.

ForestNavigator Team

Hans van Meijl, Professor

Chief Economist

Willem-Jan van Zeist, PhD

Researcher

Heleen Bartelings, PhD

Senior Researcher

Jason Levin-Koopman, MSc

Researcher

Institut Technologique FCBA (Foretcellulose Bois-Construction Ameublement) (FCBA)

French Institute of Technology for Forest-based and Furniture Sectors

Champs sur Marne, France

The mission of the FCBA, an industrial technical center, is to promote technical progress and contribute to improving performance and guaranteeing quality within the industry. Its scope includes all of the industries related to forests, pulp, wood and furniture.

Its activities are based on three major areas:

  • Providing know-how and recognized skills to enterprises: consultancy, technical assistance, tests, training, information, etc.
  • Supporting the professions in becoming leaders on national, European and international markets: standardization, quality and advanced technologies.
  • Acquiring, centralizing, managing and disseminating scientific and technical information: research and development, business intelligence, monitoring technology and regulations, documentation.

ROLE IN ForestNavigator

FCBA is involved in WP5 “Harvested wood products and bioeconomy”. FCBA provides information on current market demand of wood products as well as future trends. It assists the task leader in formulating plausible scenarios. FCBA also helps with the calculation of displacement factors.

ForestNavigator Team

Mouchira Lahiani, PhD

Project Manager

Estelle Vial, Eng.

Project Manager

Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETH)

Swiss Federal Institute of Technology

Zürich, Switzerland

The Land-Climate Dynamics group at ETH Zurich (PI: S.I. Seneviratne) has leading expertise in the areas of land-climate interactions, climate extremes and climate change research. The research group is the main developer of the Modular Earth System Model Emulator with spatially Resolved output (MESMER), an Earth System Model emulator that has been developed for the fast investigation of regional implications of emissions scenarios and their potential feedbacks to emissions pathways. Seneviratne was a Coordinating Lead Author of the IPCC AR6 report (chapter on weather and climate extremes, Seneviratne et al. 2021) and a Lead Author of the IPCC Special Report on 1.5°C of Global Warming. She was the main PI of two ERC research grants (ERC Consolidator Grant “DROUGHT-HEAT”, 2014-2019, and ERC Proof-of-Concept Grant “MESMER-X2, 2021-2023).

ROLE IN ForestNavigator

The role of ETH in the ForestNavigator project is twofold. First, ETH aims at simulating the climatic effects of land use and forest management scenarios provided by economic land-use models. A focus will lie on understanding how temperature will change locally as a result of forest management changes. Second, based on the climate simulations ETH intends to build a climate emulator for land-use and land management effects. A climate emulator mimics parts of more complex climate models. It is computationally fast and can hence be used to explore many different land use and management scenarios. In addition, a fast emulator can be coupled to economic land-use models to simulate feedbacks between climate effects and economic decisions regarding land-use.

ForestNavigator Team

Sonia I. Seneviratne, Professor

Full Professor

Jonas Schwaab, PhD

Senior Scientist

Petra Sieber, PhD.

Postdoc

Felix Jäger, MSc

PhD Candidate

JRC -Joint Research Centre- European Commission (JRC)

Joint Research Centre, European Commision

Brussels, Belgium

The Joint Research Centre (JRC) provides independent, evidence-based knowledge and science, supporting European Union (EU) policies to positively impact society. As a department of the European Commission, the JRC plays a key role at multiple stages of the policy cycle. It works closely with research and policy organisations in the Member States, with the European agencies, and with scientific partners in Europe and internationally, including within the United Nations system. It also cooperates with EU institutions, notably the European Parliament.

ROLE IN ForestNavigator

Associate partner, involved in data fusion for monitoring, land use and energy sector modelling and policy pathway development, and outreach to GHG inventory community.

ForestNavigator Team

Giacomo Grassi

Scientific Officer

Anu Korosuo

Scientific Project Officer

Alessandro Cescatti

Scientific Officer

Peter Russ

Scientific Officer

Peking University (PKU)

Peking University

Beijing, China

Peking University is one of the earliest scientific research institutions in China to carry out environmental science teaching and research. Through the construction of innovation base and the development of disciplines, the College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering (CESE) at Peking University has formed a team of young and middle-aged scholars as academic backbone, including academicians, special advisers of the Yangtze River, “thousands of people plan” Outstanding youth science fund winner and Peking University hundred people plan young scholars and so on. Since the late 1980s, Peking University carried out the research direction of environmental economics and policy to establish and carry out the corresponding research and teaching and personnel training work. At the same time, the Research Institute of Environment and Economics introduces the theory and method of environmental economics from the aspects of cost-benefit analysis, environmental resource pricing theory and method, environmental economic policy research, environmental equity theory and system research, pollution control strategy and environmental governance theory and path, global environmental agreement and global shared resource management etc. In addition, Peking University has formed a basic research platform including advanced field measurement, laboratory simulation and numerical model integration, and environmental pollution health effects. Peking University has established the research methods of atmospheric environment simulation and control, regional air quality model, numerical model of air pollution and health research. The research achievement not only achieves the academic impact, but also contributes to provide comprehensive decision-making recommendations for all levels of government.

ROLE IN ForestNavigator

As one of three international partners, PKU is involved in the modelling of the EU forest sector mitigation potentials and pathways in the global context, as trade is expected to strongly affect the EU forest sector in the future.  On one hand, they contribute with their expertise and datasets to improve the representation of these regions in the European models, and on the other hand, implement localized versions of the European model GLOBIOM – GLOBIOM-China and GLOBIOM-US for deep-dives in the context of global mitigation efforts. In addition, PKU uses the IAM model (IDEM) to assess the implications of China climate goals on EU forests.

ForestNavigator Team

Hancheng Dai, PhD

Assistant Professor, Director

Ming Ren, PhD

Postdoc

Zhejiang University (ZJU)

Zhejiang University

Hangzhou, China

Zhejiang University (ZJU) is one of China’s top higher education institutions. The University prides itself on a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship. ZJU researchers are making an impact across many priority areas that address global challenges, including smart city, clean energy, climate change, and global public health initiatives related to the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases. The College of Environmental and Resource Sciences (CERS) has two first-level disciplines, namely Environmental Science and Engineering, Agricultural Resources and Environment. The latter is the first batch of national key disciplines. The missions of this college are: nurture useful citizens with a global vision and social responsibility; conduct interdisciplinary and innovative research that addresses pressing challenges facing the world today; translate knowledge and creativity to benefit the local and global communities.

ROLE IN ForestNavigator

  • ZJU participates in the EU and global Integrated Assessment Modelling. ZJU will expand wood demands to include substitution factors in GLOBIOM/G4M-X, according to energy mixes and demand scenarios and calculate forest biomass and mitigation potentials – marginal abatement cost curves conditional on different biomass demands, and biomass supply curves conditional on different carbon prices.
  • ZJU participates in analysing the EU forest sector in the global context. Specifically, ZJU analyses the global wood trade flows using GLOBIOM/G4M-X, especially bilateral wood trade between EU and China and the linkage to IAMs to ensure a global consistency. This will set the boundaries for EU pathways.

ForestNavigator Team

Jingfeng Chang, PhD

Research Scholar

Hao Zhao, PhD

Postdoc Fellow

Chao Wang

MSc student

ForestNavigator