{"id":18601,"date":"2025-10-06T11:43:56","date_gmt":"2025-10-06T09:43:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/integratenetwork.org\/?p=18601"},"modified":"2025-12-18T17:33:23","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T16:33:23","slug":"not-just-trees-growing-here-how-the-integrate-network-cultivates-cooperation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/integratenetwork.org\/2025\/10\/06\/not-just-trees-growing-here-how-the-integrate-network-cultivates-cooperation\/","title":{"rendered":"Not just trees growing here: How the Integrate Network cultivates cooperation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the exchange of experience in many different ways \u2013 to learn from each other, and even to build friendships,\u201d<\/em> reflects Johannes Shima, Deputy Director General of the Forest Section at Austria\u2019s Ministry for Agriculture.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

That is the promise of the Integrate Network: a place where forests become the classroom and countries learn together. It\u2019s where policymakers, researchers and practitioners step out from behind desks, walk the same ground, and discover how integrative forest management (IFM) makes biodiversity and production work with each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some members say Integrate first and foremost is a community: a network built on cooperation and dialogue. \u201cSharing the same philosophy<\/em>\u201d is how Tom\u00e1\u0161 Krejzar from the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic<\/a> puts it \u2013 and that spirit of connection is what makes the network endure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Ireland, which currently holds the Chairmanship, the network is a guide in uncharted territory. With relatively young forests and little tradition of weaving biodiversity into forest management, it provides access to other countries\u2019 experiences and the latest research to feed into strategies at home, as Dermot Dunphy from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine<\/a> mentions. Jonathan Spazzi (Teagasc\u2019s Forest Development Department<\/a>) adds that its real potential lies in being a European meeting point where practice, research, and policy come together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
10th Annual Integrate Network Meeting, Austria 2024. Credits: Rahel K\u00f6nen<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Looking ahead, Hungary \u2013 set to take over the Chairmanship in 2026 \u2013 highlights another side of the Network\u2019s hands-on value. As Gergely Zagyvai of Sopron University<\/a> explains, the network brings different interests \u2013 from nature conservation to wildfire management \u2013 to the same table and works them into approaches that can be applied on the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For smaller countries, the network opens a wider horizon. \u201cWe are all facing two major global crises \u2013 climate and biodiversity<\/em>,\u201d says Michel Leytem from the Nature and Forest Administration<\/a> in Luxembourg. And in his view, seeing how others respond is not just inspiring but essential: \u201cThat\u2019s very important, especially for smaller countries where the surface area is very limited<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Switzerland echoes this point. Robert Jenni from the Federal Office for the Environment<\/a> in Bern highlights that \u201cwe all have the same goals, but we work in different contexts\u201d<\/em> \u2013 and it is exactly this diversity that makes exchange so valuable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Looking ahead, Germany voices a hope for growth. Steven D\u00f6rr from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Regional Identity<\/a> underlines the potential:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cWe can create an impact at the European and maybe even international level, to showcase in a mostly practical manner the benefits of integrative forest management.\u201d<\/em> <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

For the European Commission, the view aligns. As Stefanie Schmidt, Policy Officer for Forests in the Directorate General for Environment<\/a> notes, the Integrate Network shows how biodiversity-friendly practices become real on the ground \u2013 and why showcasing good examples matters so much for forest owners and practitioners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next step, from this perspective, is to strengthen training for foresters and managers. Just as important is spreading good practice more widely \u2013 because this transition is key to resilient forests that can meet society\u2019s needs, even in a changing climate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cIt\u2019s the exchange of experience in many different ways \u2013 to learn from each other, and even to build friendships,\u201d reflects Johannes Shima, Deputy Director General of the Forest Section…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":745,"featured_media":18613,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[80,2,150],"tags":[24,25,26,23,33],"class_list":["post-18601","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-biodiversity","category-environment","category-forestry","tag-forest-management","tag-forest-policy","tag-integrated-forest-management","tag-nature-conservation","tag-network-integrate"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/integratenetwork.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18601","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/integratenetwork.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/integratenetwork.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/integratenetwork.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/745"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/integratenetwork.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18601"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/integratenetwork.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18601\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18806,"href":"https:\/\/integratenetwork.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18601\/revisions\/18806"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/integratenetwork.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18613"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/integratenetwork.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18601"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/integratenetwork.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18601"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/integratenetwork.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18601"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}