The conference “Adaptation of Forests and Forest Management to Changing Climate with Emphasis on Forest Health: A Review of Science, Policies and Practices” was held from 25-28 August 2008, in Umeå, Sweden.

The conference, organized by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, and the International Union of Forest Research Organizations, focused on the current state of knowledge of ongoing changes in climatic conditions in different regions of the world, and the implications of these changes for forest management and conservation. Key messages emerging from the meeting include: reactive forest management must be replaced by planned adaptation based on monitoring and risk assessments; the forest sector has to learn to deal with and communicate uncertainty; and adaptation and mitigation are community-level livelihood issues. The conference report will be made available to an Expert Panel of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests, whose own report will help inform the eighth session of the UN Forum on Forests in its deliberations on issues related to adaptation, in April 2009.
Link to further information
The conference website