Call for Proposals: Forestry research with a focus on mitigating climate change, fostering biodiversity and sustainable forest management

Nearly one third of the planet’s land surface is covered with forests, and these need to fulfil many purposes: They provide society with goods such as timber, food and medicine. Forests play a crucial role in mitigating climate change and can protect biodiversity, soil and water quality as well as serve as places where people can enjoy nature. Wood has a lower environmental impact than many alternative materials and the increasing use of forest products can reduce the carbon footprint.

With the funding program in forestry, the Velux Foundation wants to contribute to this challenge by supporting solution-oriented research based on an interaction between science and practitioners.

Goals:

• Fostering a change of perspective in the use and value of forests and sustainable forest management addressing the pressing issues of climate change and biodiversity loss as well as society’s need for timber. The change of perspective shall be solution-oriented and based on interaction between science and practitioners.
• Developing financial innovation and improved framework conditions shall offer leverage to implement sustainable forest management providing forests which can maintain biodiversity, act as a carbon sink and supply forest products.