The first webinar of Biokarelia project success - materials available

Submitted by KA5051 on
Screenshot of the beginning of the webinar

Biokarelia CBC project webinar titled “Connectivity of high conservation value forests along Finnish- Russian borders” took place yesterday on 28.4.2021.  The event gathered a total of 75 participants from at least 9 different countries.

The project partners from both Finland and Russia presented the findings of Biokarelia project on border area forest fire mapping, risks and biodiversity networking opportunities. The invited Keynote speaker, Henrik Lindberg also gave an overall and interesting perspective about the history of forest fire, why these differ in different areas, and their connection to high conservation value forests. A biodiversity network of actors was also presented, and participants asked to join if interested. The webinar presentations and videos are now available as follows:

The event was a great start to conversations about biodiversity issues, borders and forest fire trends and their impacts, as well as areas of future collaboration and ways to continue these important actions. The discussions and comments such as need for recent data from old growth forests patches, the concern for pressures on the last remnants of near-natural forest, disturbance dynamics/risks and climate change topics being include in the plans of biodiversity network actions, the project acting as an example also to other regions globally, were some examples, and very important issues to consider. We plan on tackling these as best as possible through our still ongoing research and by collaboration actions and hence we will be having webinars throughout the project period. A biodiversity network is also being formed and now is the best time to think about what role you can play, or offer suggestions e.g., about current needs and topics to address.

Links to videos of presentations: On our North Karelia Biosphere Reserve YouTube page

Presentations as documents (pdfs):

Keynote: Forest fires in Finland-trends and impact on biodiversity- Henrik Lindberg, HAMK

Connectivity of high conservation value forests along Finnish-Russian borders- Evgeny Lopatin, LUKE

Monitoring of forest fires within the central zone of Green Belt of Fennoscandia (GBF)-Boris Raevsky, Karelian Research Centre

Online forest fire and biodiversity management tools for handling cross-border fires- Vesa Leppänen, Arbonaut Oy

Border Area Biodiversity Network- Vilma Lehtovaara, Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment

 

Want to join the Biodiversity network? Contact Vilma Lehtovaara (vilma.lehtovaara [at] ely-keskus.fi)