The kick-off conference of the REBIOFORESTS project was held on Wednesday, February 19, 2025, at the Grand County Hall in Vinkovci. The conference gathered representatives of public authorities, project partners, and forestry experts to discuss the importance of adapting forests to climate change and explore innovative solutions for the restoration of the Spačva-Bosut Basin.
The conference program began with a moderator'sintruction , followed by welcome speeches of the project partners, forestry experts, and policy authorities . The project manager and representative of Croatian Forests, Danijel Cestarić presented the project, highlighting its key objectives and activities aimed at strengthening the resilience of forest ecosystems to climate change.
A key part of the conference was the panel discussion titled "Preservation and Restoration of Floodplain Forests in the Spačva-Bosut Basin: Challenges, Opportunities, and New Solutions for Enhancing Climate Resilience". Experts and stakeholders from the forestry sector engaged in discussions on current challenges and potential strategies for a sustainable restoration action.
During the conference the Steering Committee of the project was established. After the official part of the conference, a field trip to the pilot location was organised with a visit to the Forestry Museum in Bošnjaci.
The following day, on February 20, 2025, a meeting of the project partners was held at Croatian Forests Department in Vinkovci, where future activities and project implementation plans were agreed upon.
The REBIOFORESTSproject, co-financed by the „Interreg VI-A IPA Cross-border Cooperation Program Croatia – Serbia 2021–2027“, aims to enhance forest resilience to climate change through innovative restoration methods, including seed collection and conservation processes, the establishment of a plant gene bank, and soil preparation for planting.
The project is led by Croatian Forests Ltd., while the Competence Centre Ltd. contributes to the stakeholders involvement, baseline assessment, and strong linkage between science and forest-managing sector. The other partners are Vojvodina Forests, Croatian Forest Research Institute, and the Institute of Lowland Forestry and Environment.
For more information about the project, visit: https://www.hrsume.hr/gradjani/eu-projekti/rebioforests/
