Forest in Poland, damaged by fire
Photo by Ewa Zin

RE-ENFORCE

Project overview

Transnational Cooperation on nature-based solutions for restoring degraded forests of Central Europe

Forests in central Europe are suffering from climate change, physical disturbances and unsustainable management. To reverse their decline requires joint restoration efforts beyond borders but there are no commonly agreed restoration definitions and guidelines, yet. The RE-ENFORCE project addresses this absence by drafting a transnational restoration strategy, based on experiences made in pilot actions with a newly developed, web-based decision support system. The partners also introduce innovative financing options like carbon markets, which will help securing a participatory, long-term approach to forest restoration.

2,60m €

Project Budget

80%

of the Budget is funded by ERDF

Layer 1

8

Countries

9

Regions

9

Partners

6

Pilots

Duration

Start date

End date

Project progress

53%

About the project

Nine partners from the CE region are taking part in a project aimed at developing a transnational strategy for the restoration of degraded forests. A strategy that will be tested in six pilot actions across the CE region in different forest types and evaluated on several levels. The pilot actions are areas damaged by climate change, increasing disturbances (droughts, bark beetles, fires and storms) or unsustainable forest management practices. They will help researchers to study the drivers of degradation and provide a testing ground for nature-based solutions. A common understanding of the drivers of degradation and possible nature-based solutions is a step forward in the harmonization of nature conservation policies in CE.

Project partnership

Project partners

Österreich (AT)

Lead partner

Austrian Research Centre for Forests

Institut für Waldwachstum, Waldbau und Genetik
Address
Seckendorff-Gudent-Weg 8
1131 Vienna
Country
Austria (AT)
Web
www. bfw.gv.at

Project partner

Croatian Forest Research Institute
Address
Cvjetno naselje 41 41
10450 Jastrebarsko
Country
Croatia (HR)
Web
www.sumins.hr
Total partner budget
268,629 €
Czech University of Life Sciences Prague
Address
Kamycká 129
165 00 Praha
Country
Czechia (CZ)
Web
www.fld.czu.cz/en
Total partner budget
234,061 €
Department of Forest Planning, Forest Research, Information Systems / Division Forest Research
Address
Zeppelinstrasse 3 3
19061 Schwerin
Country
Germany (DE)
Web
www.wald-mv.de
Total partner budget
245,086 €
Duna-Dráva National Park Directorate
Address
Tettye tér 9. 9
7625 Pécs
Country
Hungary (HU)
Web
https://ddnp.hu
Total partner budget
207,901 €
Fertő-Hanság National Park Directorate
Address
Rév-Kócsagvár 1 H-9435 Sarród 1
H-9435 Sarród
Country
Hungary (HU)
Web
www.ferto-hansag.hu
Total partner budget
200,731 €
Forest Research Institute
Address
Sękocin Stary, Braci Leśnej Stree 3
05-090 Raszyn
Country
Poland (PL)
Web
www.ibles.pl
Total partner budget
258,512 €
TESAF
Address
Viale dell’Università 16
35020 Legnaro (PD)
Country
Italy (IT)
Web
www.unipd.it
Total partner budget
215,740 €
Slovenian Forestry Institute
Address
Večna pot 2 2
1000 Ljubljana
Country
Slovenia (SI)
Web
www.gozdis.si/en/
Total partner budget
294,225 €

Roadmap

1

Step 1 — The Challenge

Prescribed burning
Ewa Zin

Forests across Central Europe are facing severe droughts, pest outbreaks, and storms. Local forest actors struggle to preserve forest health and ecosystem services under accelerating climate change.

2

Step 2 — Fragmented Responses

Forest organizations often work in isolation, employing disparate methods and datasets amid multiple drivers of forest degradation. Such fragmentation hampers knowledge exchange and undermines collective capacity to respond to regional and transboundary challenges.

3

Step 3 — The Idea

Group photo

What if forest actors could join forces across borders—sharing experiences, tools, and knowledge to strengthen the resilience of Central European forests?

4

Step 4 — The RE-ENFORCE Solution

Myszyniec
Marcin Klisz

RE-ENFORCE connects forest administrations, research institutions, and practitioners to co-create and test solutions for forest resilience. It promotes integrated adaptation strategies and builds a shared framework for monitoring and decision-making.

5

Step 5 — How It Works

Through pilot actions in diverse Central European regions, RE-ENFORCE tests innovative tools, modelling approaches, and adaptive practices, drafting a transnational restoration strategy, based on experiences made in pilot actions. It develops a web-based decision support system.

6

Step 6 — Results in Motion

Rytel
Ewa Zin

In RE-ENFORCE pilot regions, partners test resilience assessment tools and adaptive measures directly in the field. They involve forest managers and local stakeholders to co-develop practical guidelines that support evidence-based decisions for more resilient and multifunctional forests.

7

Step 7 — Lasting Impact

Katja Sonnenschein

RE-ENFORCE will deliver a tested Forest Resilience Toolbox and a transferable framework for assessing and strengthening forest resilience. These outcomes will enhance regional governance, support data-driven decision-making, and empower Central European actors to manage forests adaptively in a changing climate.

News

Events

Pilot actions

Outputs

Transnational strategy for the restoration of degraded forest ecosystems

The jointly developed forest restoration strategy will develop a roadmap for the restoration of six types of degraded forests in CE. The strategy will be realized via the final version of the transnational strategy. This strategy will be taken up by all PPs and APs and is expected to be utilized by forest managers, forest enterprises, conservation authorities, and scientists across CE.
Type of output: Strategies and action plans
In development

Transnational cooperation for demonstrating Nature based solutions for restoring degraded forests

20 organizations will formally cooperate in the project. This includes nine project partners from eight CE countries and 11 Associated Partners will cooperate to implement the project. The cooperation is formalized with the Subsidy contract and Partnership agreement.
Type of output: Strategies and action plans
In development

Transnational guidelines for restoring degraded forests through Nature-Based Solutions

This output compiles 6 jointly developed solutions for restoring forests affected by specific drivers of degradation addressed by each pilot action. The solution is a set of six guidelines for restoring degraded forests through NBS.
Type of output: Strategies and action plans
In development

Project videos

Project documents

🚀🌲 RE-ENFORCE UAV mission update: Monitoring forest recovery from above – now on film!

Monitoring forest recovery from above – now on film! 🌳 How do Central European forests recover, adapt, and rebuild after disturbance? Within the RE-ENFORCE project, our teams are combining ground-based measurements with UAV (drone) monitoring to better understand forest recovery, resilience, and restoration. By linking detailed field physiology with high-resolution aerial data, we are building a holistic picture of how forests respond to both natural disturbances and management interventions. 🎥 The University of Padova team has created a video that showcases all our pilot plots—illustrating the drivers of degradation at each site and the restoration or recovery actions underway. This visual story weaves together our fieldwork and UAV missions into one coherent overview of forest adaptation under diverse challenges. 📽️ Video author: Dr. Flavio Taccaliti, University of Padova 🎼 Music credit: Classical works from IMSLP (CC BY 4.0) + track from Pixabay (free license) 📸 Photo credit: Filip Andrejevic (Unsplash License) 🗺️ Map credit: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 🔗 Watch the video here: https://lnkd.in/dmHf3uup ℹ️ This video was produced within the RE-ENFORCE project, co-funded by the European Union through the Interreg CENTRAL EUROPE Programme. The content reflects only the authors’ views; programme authorities are not responsible for any use of the information contained.

RE-ENFORCE

The project lead partner is responsible for the content of this project website.

Project on social media

Project Contacts

Project Manager

Debojyoti Chakraborty
Phone: +436605086480

Finance Manager

Eszter Buchert
Phone: +43 664 780 311 42

Communication Manager

Katja Kavčič Sonnenschein
Phone: +386 1 200 7802