The consortium of the OptFor-EU project held its annual project meeting, in Vilnius (Lithuania), from the 27th to 29th January 2026. It brought together partners to review progress, consolidate key results, and align on priorities for the year ahead. ENT, a member of the OptFor-EU consortium, also took part in the meeting, contributing to the discussions and ongoing work. The 4-year project (2023–2027) supports EU forests in their capacity to mitigate and adapt to climate change with a user-centred Decision Support System (DSS) assisting decision-making in 8 case studies.
During the meeting, partners presented the main results achieved so far, highlighting significant advances across several core areas of the project, such as: socio-economic effects of forest management scenarios, providing evidence on impacts across regions and value chains; advances in understanding the human element in climate-smart forestry, including stakeholder behaviour, perceptions, and decision-making; or risks, barriers, and institutional governance affecting the implementation of climate-smart forestry approaches across Europe.
These outcomes reinforce OptFor-EU’s contribution to evidence-based decision-making for climate-smart forestry at both regional and European levels.
Planning for the coming year, the discussion focused on two major milestones: the organisation of an online webinar scheduled for next March, and the final project conference in November. Key topics under preparation include the presentation of the project’s Decision Support System (DSS), policy implications, and the long-term data management plan. Further updates on both the webinar and the final conference will be shared soon.
The meeting also included a field trip to the Lithuanian case study in Dzukija National Park, offering participants direct insight into local forest management practices and challenges. The visit was hosted by Mykolas Romeris University in collaboration with the Ancient Woods Foundation, fostering valuable exchange between researchers and practitioners.
The annual meeting marked an important step in consolidating OptFor-EU’s results and ensuring strong momentum towards the project’s final phase.