Restoring forest ecosystems for the well-being of humans and ecosystems

In this project, the research team will examine how the EU restoration Law can be used to create more sustainable and resilient forested landscapes in Sweden.

Restoring forest ecosystems is both an urgent environmental necessity and an important global policy issue. The European Union’s Nature Restoration Regulation, adopted in 2024, sets ambitious targets: 30 percent of degraded forests are to be restored by 2030, 60 percent by 2040, and 90 percent by 2050.

These targets have significant potential to promote biodiversity and safeguard critical ecosystems services, but large-scale international targets may also conflict with Swedish priorities and the needs and values of local stakeholders. As the Restoration Law is now to be implemented, there is a great need for knowledge that can integrate the EU’s targets with diverse local land-use priorities.

The research group will develop the concept of ‘restoration futures’ to explore how large-scale policy interventions can support biodiversity recovery in parallel with broader human values. The core question of their work is: How can large-scale forest restoration be pursued in ways that integrate environmental goals, production needs, and a diversity of human values for thriving forest futures?

The researchers will examine how international targets can be translated into national policies that support the human and environmental goals. To study this in practice, the project group will conduct detailed case studies across diverse social and ecological contexts in northern, central and southern Sweden.

As part of the project, semi-structured interviews will be conducted with key actors, civil society actors, and forest owners. In addition, biodiversity data will be used to examine how restoration can promote well-being of both humans and ecosystems.

The project team will collaborate with the working group at the Swedish Forest Agency that is preparing the draft national restoration plan. This will provide a close look into the policy development process while enabling the project to contribute valuable perspectives to it.

The project consists of four work packages: 1) Analysis of how the development of Sweden’s national restoration policy can contribute to integrating different needs, values and interest at a national level. 2) Semi-structured interviews with key actors from the group’s case study areas to explore how national environmental and restoration targets can be adapted to different local needs and values. 3) Investigating how the Restoration Law can link EU and national objectives with local social and ecological values through more integrated landscape planning. 4) Organizing “Restoration Futures Labs” – co-creative workshops aimed at building visions for resilient and sustainable forest landscapes for the future.