EVENTS
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2024
11 – 14 june, 2024
Promoter: Poznań University of Life Sciences
Pedro Britto, a researcher from the Circular Economy and Value Chains Work Line, represented CoLAB ForestWISE at this event in Gdansk (Poland), which brought together leading experts in digitalisation, mechanisation and future trends in forestry operations and exploitation. His presentation took place within the framework of the transForm Agenda, namely the electric motorisation project in the Portuguese forestry sector, which included some of the results of the current status of the forestry machinery park in Portugal.
june 7, 2024
Promoter: CoLAB ForestWISE
This AGRI-DEM Soil Network demonstration took place in Quintã de Pero Martins (Figueira Castelo Rodrigo) and its main objective was to showcase good practices in forest soils in cork oak stands. The initiative included a field trip in which several producers took part and had the opportunity to exchange experiences and discuss good practices with specialists in soils and agroforestry systems.
june 7, 2024
Promoter: CoLAB ForestWISE and E-REDES
This (online) public presentation session took place as part of the decision-making support platform for the implementation of Compatible Occupancy areas in Fire Management Bands (FGC), developed by CoLAB ForestWISE in collaboration with its associate E-REDES. This presentation was attended by various companies, public bodies, associations and forestry producer organisations.
june 6 – 7, 2024
Promoter: Museum Nord and Gaia Vesterålen
CoLAB ForestWISE participated in this international event, which was an excellent opportunity to interact with international experts and talk about climate change in the future. This conference featured keynote speakers such as Anders Jönsson, Head of the Innovative Policy Development Section in the Economic Cooperation and Trade Division of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), Phillippe Tulkens, Head of the Climate and Planetary Boundaries unit in the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, and Andrea Liverani, from the World Bank, Europe and Central Asia Region, in the area of global practices in the field of the environment, natural resources and the blue economy.
june 5, 2024
Promoter: CHANGE – Instituto para as Alterações Globais e Sustentabilidade
As part of the World Environment Day celebrations, CHANGE organised this initiative, to which it invited our Senior Researcher João Torres to take part in the round table entitled ‘More than Carbon: Giving Credit to Biodiversity’. A discussion on emerging issues related to the voluntary carbon market legislation process in Portugal and its relationship with biodiversity.
june 5, 2024
Promoter: Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries
CoLAB ForestWISE attended the ceremony, which was attended by the Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, the Mayor of Mação, Vasco Estrela, and António Louro, President of Aflomação, as well as other public figures and organisations, companies and forestry associations, who saw the start of work with machinery to improve the forestry road network, control woody invasives and reduce the fuel load.
june 4, 2024
Promoter: ESRI Portugal
CoLAB ForestWISE was in Sertã to take part in this initiative, which organised a number of debates, including one on the requirements, technologies and impacts of the European Anti-Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) on the Portuguese forestry value chain, moderated by our Project Manager Aline Oliveira. Juliana Salvação and Ana Sá were also present at this meeting, and had the opportunity to take part in an information session with Guenter Doerffel, ESRI’s specialist in the field of imaging, to discuss strategic issues in the sector.
june 3 – 6, 2024
Promoter: RESIST Consortium
CoLAB ForestWISE was in Vesterålen (Norway) to take part in this meeting, which analysed the results achieved so far and the main challenges for the future. Of the range of presentations made, the CCDR Centre’s presentation on the work already carried out in the Intermunicipal Communities of the Coimbra and Médio Tejo Regions, in which our CoLAB participates, stands out.
may 28, 2024
Promoter: The Navigator Company
CoLAB ForestWISE participated in this forum, which aimed to debate the many challenges facing the sector. Carlos Fonseca, CTO of our CoLAB, was a guest at the first round table on ‘innovation, from the forest to bioproducts’. He first presented the Collaborative Forest and Fire Laboratory and then spoke about three major projects: the transForm Agenda, the RN21 Integrated Project and rePLANT. This initiative, in partnership with the Expresso newspaper, was opened by MEP Lídia Pereira and was attended by several leading figures, companies, academics and national and international public institutions.
may 27, 2024
Promoter: SinFAP – Forestry, Environment and Civil Protection workers, Eurocidade Tui Valença, Valença Municipality and Tui Council
CoLAB ForestWISE participated in this initiative, which brought together various experts from public and private organisations in the fields of forestry and civil protection and focused on the importance of cooperation between Portugal and Spain in nature conservation and fire prevention, and the integrated approach to dealing with these issues. Rui Pinto, Coordinator of our CoLAB’s Risk Management Working Line, took part in the debate on the use of fire in nature conservation and the recovery of burnt areas.
may 24 – 26, 2024
Promoters: Associação Florestal do Baixo Vouga, Associação Nacional de Empresas Florestais (ANEFA) and Associação Humanitária dos Bombeiros Voluntários de Albergaria-a-Velha
CoLAB ForestWISE participated in Portugal’s most important event for the forestry, agricultural and environmental industry. Aline Oliveira was a guest speaker at the workshop on the European anti-deforestation regulation, and Pedro Britto at a session as part of Agenda transForm’s ‘Boosting electric motorisation in the forestry sector’ project. During the event, visitors also had the chance to see the ‘Tram Roadmap’, with information on new technologies for decarbonisation and reducing carbon emissions in forestry operations.
may 23, 2024
Promoters: CoLAB ForestWISE and Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro
This public seminar was led by Mikael Rönnqvist, a leading expert in forestry logistics and value chains. Focused on the current challenges facing the forestry industry, seeking to find methods and approaches to overcome them, the initiative also aimed to present various industrial applications and their impacts, in which analysis methods and data sources are combined to address the challenges.
may 23, 2024
Promoters: CoLAB ForestWISE and Centro de Estudos Florestais (Instituto Superior de Agronomia)
The FIRE-RES project held this workshop at the invitation of the organisation of the XVIII International Conference on Major Issues in the European Area at FLUP. Under the theme ‘Shaping future fire-resilient landscapes and communities in Portugal’, this initiative was attended by FIRE-RES’s national partners, namely CoLAB ForestWISE, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, INESC TEC and the project’s researchers, who shared the knowledge they have acquired on topics relevant to the current context of managing resilience to rural fires.
The second part of the workshop discussed the experience gained from projects funded by the European Union, namely FIRE-RES, ResAlliance and RESIST, three projects that are closer to their local communities and are having an impact on national territories, promoting greater resilience and sustainability.
may 22, 2024
Promoters: CoLAB ForestWISE and Altri Florestal
The transForm Out Event brought together all the partners and the main public and private entities in the Portuguese forestry sector to discuss the progress of this Green and Mobilising Agenda. Organised by Altri Florestal and CoLAB ForestWISE at the Convento de São Francisco in Coimbra, the guests at this session had the opportunity to learn more about what is being done and the path that is to be taken towards the digital transformation of forestry value chains. The session was opened by José Manuel Silva, Mayor of Coimbra, and the Secretary of State for the Economy, João Rui Ferreira, and closed by the Secretary of State for Forestry, Rui Ladeira.
may 21, 2024
Promoters: CoLAB ForestWISE and Altri Florestal
Promoted as part of Agenda transForm’s Forest Knowledge Academy project, this training course was aimed at managers and technicians from the forestry sector, who contributed their knowledge and experience to the initiative. Mikael Rönnqvist, a specialist in forestry logistics from Laval University (Canada), was also present at this initiative held at the Coimbra School of Agriculture.
may 13 – 17, 2024
Promoter: Centre de Ciència i Tecnologia Forestal de Catalunya
CoLAB ForestWISE participated in the Symposium on System Analysis in Forest Resources, in Hondaribia, Basque Country. Our CoLAB was represented by Alexandra Marques, Jorge Cunha, Mariana Amaro and Pedro Britto, from the Circular Economy and Value Chains Working Line (LT3), who gave oral presentations in the thematic areas of tools and applications, efficiency, optimisation of forestry operations and planning and risk management.
may 5 – 8, 2024
Promoter: EU CAP Network
CoLAB ForestWISE was in Estoril to participate in the EU CAP Network conference ‘EIP-AGRI Operational Groups: Innovation in practice’, a conference that aimed to bring together the leading experts in agricultural and rural innovation in Europe, highlighting the successful implementation of the EPI-AGRI project. Carlos Fonseca attended this three-day networking event aimed at partners, management, coordination and funding bodies, farmers’ organisations, researchers, and thematic and consultative networks of Horizon Europe, the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, among others.
april 30, 2024
Promoter: Centro de Estudos do Ambiente e do Mar
CoLAB ForestWISE participated in this workshop organised as part of the FoRES project funded by EEA Grants. Paulo Fernandes, a lecturer at the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro and our CoLAB’s Scientific Coordinator, was the guest speaker with the lecture ‘The challenges of forest research and management in the context of rural fires’. Our CoLAB was also present at the round table ‘Forest resilience to fires in a future climate’, with Rogério Rodrigues, from the Executive Coordination.
april 23, 2024
Promoter: Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade de Coimbra
CoLAB ForestWISE participated in this initiative focused on the Centre and North regions of the country and aimed to strengthen links between R&D institutions, forest management authorities, industrialists and political decision-makers. Carlos Fonseca was a guest at the session entitled ‘How can we work together to maximise the benefits and impacts of R&D?’, moderated by Joana Vieira, Senior Researcher at our CoLAB, who also helped organise the event.
april 22, 2024
Promoter: Terra Associated Laboratory
CoLAB ForestWISE was at the Instituto Superior de Agronomia for TERRA’s public presentation, which was attended by Paulo Branco, Executive Director of this LA, Cecília Rodrigues, Vice-Rector of the University of Lisbon, João Ramalho Santos, Vice-Rector of the University of Coimbra and João Rocha, Coordinator of the LA Council. The second part of the session featured a round table dedicated to Science, Sustainability and Development, moderated by Teresa Ferreira, Full Professor at the ISA.
april 16, 2024
Promoter: Collaborative Laboratories Forum
The Collaborative Laboratories Forum is an interaction platform that aims to stimulate reflection and discussion on relevant issues in the context of CoLABs. The ForestWISE CoLAB took part in this meeting, which took place at AvePark and was an opportunity to share experiences and debate and define strategies to support the Collaborative Laboratories ecosystem.
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april 9, 2024
Promoters: The Navigator Company, the Labour Conditions Authority (ACT) and the Minho-Lima Forest Certification Association
CoLAB ForestWISE attended this seminar, which aimed to promote the importance of safety in forestry operations and individual awareness in accident prevention. In this initiative, held at the Ponte de Lima School of Agriculture, participants were also informed about new technologies that help reduce the risk of accidents at work in the forestry sector. landscape scale.
april 8, 2024
Promoters: Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Universidade do Minho, Universidade de Aveiro and Instituto Superior de Agronomia
Ana Sá, a senior researcher at CoLAB ForestWISE, was one of the guest speakers at the seminar, which was attended by various experts in the field of rural fire management. Ana Sá gave a presentation on reducing the impacts of fires, namely from forest management to fire mitigation planning on a landscape scale.
march 25, 2024
Promoters: CoLAB ForestWISE, the Intermunicipal Community of the Region of Coimbra and the Municipality of Góis
CoLAB ForestWISE, the Intermunicipal Community of the Region of Coimbra and the Municipality of Góis promoted the last participatory workshop relating to the first phase of the interventions to be carried out in the Village Condominiums and AIGPs in the Coimbra region as part of the project. The session, organised with the support of the improvement committee of the village of Mestras, in Góis, was attended by residents and forest owners to discuss the future of the Village Condominium. This was also the start of the second phase of RESIST, with a presentation of the project and the approach to AIGPs and Village Condominiums in the six municipalities to be intervened in by 2025. CoLAB ForestWISE® is joining forces with the CIM Região de Coimbra and these municipalities to find, together with local communities, landscape transformation models that increase the resilience of territories to climate change.
march 23, 2024
Promoter: Local Community of the Baldios of the Places of the extinct parish of Vilarinho
CoLAB ForestWISE attended this seminar, which aimed to discuss topics such as the safety of populations in rural fire situations and the implementation of collaborative strategies for integrated forest and fire management.
The initiative was attended by various public bodies, local associations and academia, some of which are members of the FIRE-RES project’s Rural Fire Innovation Community, whose innovative actions developed in this area of the living laboratory, co-led by our CoLAB, were presented by Verónica Catarino, coordinator of the Training Centre of the National Firefighters School – Portugal.
march 22, 2024
Promoter: CoLAB ForestWISE
In Mação, CoLAB ForestWISE signed the acceptance agreement with the Environmental Fund for the B-READY4FUTURE project, part of the Mais Floresta Programme, through which our CoLAB, together with various Higher Education Entities, will develop and implement a Training Programme aimed at technicians from Forest Producers’ Organisations.
The session was opened by Vasco Estrela, Mayor of Mação, and closed by João Paulo Catarino, Secretary of State for Nature Conservation and Forests. The ceremony was also attended by Fernanda do Carmo and Ana Seixas, from the Directorate General for Territory, Daniel Feliciano, from the Environmental Fund, and António Louro, from Aflomação.
march 22, 2024
Promoter: CoLAB ForestWISE
The FoRES project, funded by the EEA Grants programme, coordinated by the University of Aveiro and with the participation of CoLAB ForestWISE, NIBIO and APATA, was at the Brigantia Ecopark in Bragança to promote discussion on Landscape Resilience in Global Change Scenarios. Throughout the day, the environmental optimisation scenarios developed for the Baixa Lombada AIGP were presented and discussed with representatives of local authorities, and the afternoon was dedicated to getting to know the respective study area.
march 21, 2024
Promoter: CoLAB ForestWISE
As part of a partnership between the RN21 Integrated Project, the Coimbra Region Intermunicipal Community and Resipinus, CoLAB ForestWISE visited the Baixo Mondego Vocational and Rural Development School in Montemor-o-Velho. In order to promote Natural Resin to young people through interactive and educational activities, this visit made it possible to sensitise the younger generations to valuing and protecting our natural resources, an important step towards a more sustainable future.
march 18, 2024
Promoter: Penafiel City Council
Senior researcher Brigite Botequim participated in the day’s celebrations and celebrated the date by planting native species in Alto da Pegadinha, in the parish of Lagares and Figueira. Taking place in one of the areas of the FIRE-RES Living Laboratory, this action aimed to highlight the importance of these ecosystems in the fight against climate change, warning of the risk of their degradation. The initiative was attended by the school community and various organisations such as Penafiel City Council, the Lagares e Figueira Parish Council, the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests, the National Republican Guard, the Tâmega e Sousa CIM, the Paço de Sousa Volunteer Fire Brigade, the Vale do Sousa Forestry Association Sappers, the Municipal Civil Protection Service and other active members of the FIRE-RES Rural Fire Innovation Community.
march 18, 2024
Promoter: CoLAB ForestWISE
The first RN21 Integrated Project workshop, which aimed to promote dialogue and collaboration between the different stakeholders in the natural resin value chain, was attended by entities from the first and second processing of natural resin who, in addition to sharing knowledge and experiences, had the opportunity to identify joint strategies that could boost the natural resin industry in Portugal, promoting more sustainable and innovative practices. The first RN21 workshop, of a cycle of four, was held at the Resinagem Building in Marinha Grande and was opened by Paulo Santos, Executive Secretary of the Intermunicipal Community of the Leiria Region, and closed by the Mayor of Marinha Grande, Aurélio Ferreira, as well as CoLAB’s CTO, Carlos Fonseca.
march 15, 2024
Promoter: Vale do Sousa Forestry Association and Forestis – Associação Florestal de Portugal
CoLAB ForestWISE participated in an awareness-raising session aimed at forest owners on the prevention of rural fires, specifically on basic procedures and means of prevention and their online platforms. Brigite Botequim presented the FIRE-RES project and the innovation actions carried out in the Portuguese living laboratory of the Sousa Valley on adaptive territorial management for the resilience of its communities and landscapes. In addition to CoLAB ForestWISE, this event, which was developed under the ‘Mais Floresta’ programme, also included the participation of the National Republican Guard and the Instituto Superior de Agronomia.
march 14, 2024
Promoter: Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development
Carlos Fonseca represented CoLAB ForestWISE at this event dedicated to forestry, wood and wood management technologies, where he spoke about our CoLAB in the session on Academia & Research. This initiative was attended by several international experts who shared their experience in various areas, including green biotechnology, plant breeding, reforestation, the use of IoT in forestry and technologies such as apps and drones.
march 13, 2024
Promoter: Altri Florestal and CoLAB ForestWISE
The transForm Showcase was held at Fravizel’s facilities in Alcanede and aimed to inform participants about the various strands of the transForm Agenda and the results and progress achieved so far. The internal event of this Green Agenda was attended by more than 80 members of the Consortium.
march 12, 2024
Promoter: European Commission and European Union Agency for the Space Programme
As a member of the Copernicus Relays network, CoLAB ForestWISE took part in the Copernicus for Forestry Thematic Workshop, promoted by the European Commission and the European Union Agency for the Space Programme, an initiative that aimed to analyse and highlight the role of Copernicus in the context of the European Union’s forestry policy.
march 12, 2024
Promoter: IAPMEI
CoLAB ForestWISE was in Santa Maria da Feira for the second annual meeting of the Mobilising Agendas – Partnerships that Transform the Economy, together with the leader of the transForm Green Agenda, Altri Florestal. The aim of this initiative was to share the main results and current status of the projects promoted under Component 5 – Capitalisation and Business Innovation of the RRP, their economic impact and future benefits for the country. Altri Florestal gave an update on the transformative agenda.
The event was opened by Amadeu Albergaria, Mayor of Santa Maria da Feira, and António Costa Silva, Minister for the Economy and the Sea, and was closed by the Prime Minister, António Costa.
february 29, 2024
Promoter: Confederation of European Paper Industries
Patrícia Enes participated remotely in this workshop, which aimed to disseminate the FIELDS project – ‘Addressing current and future skills needs for sustainability, digitalisation and the bioeconomy in agriculture: European skills strategy and agenda’ and the FIELDS training platform, with a view to strengthening skills in the field of forestry.
february 28, 2024
Promoter: The Navigator Company and CoLAB ForestWISE
This Training and Dissemination Action focused on the introduction of innovation and new technologies in the installation of forest stands, with the special participation of researchers from the Institute of Forestry Research and Studies, Saulo Guerra and Guilherme Oguri, who shared their knowledge and experience on the subject.
Aimed at employees of the transForm Agenda’s partner organisations/companies, managers, technicians in charge of forestry operations and forestry machinery operators, the main objective of this initiative was to identify and evaluate new technologies and mechanisation guidelines for the main forest stand installation operations.
february 27 , 2024
Promoter: California Prescribed Fire Monitoring Program
Paulo Fernandes, Associate Professor at the University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro and Scientific Coordinator of CoLAB ForestWISE, and Marc Castellnou, Head of the Forestry Action Support Group at the Fire Brigade of the Generalitat de Catalunya and member of CoLAB ForestWISE’s Scientific and Business Advisory Board, participated in the first session of the seminar series ‘Worldwide view of the roles, status, and future of prescribed fire’, organised by the California Prescribed Fire Monitoring Program.
This inaugural session featured fire experts who provided an overview of prescribed fire, taking into account the various perspectives, domains and regions, and on best practices and performance indicators for evaluating results.
february 21 – 23, 2024
Promoter: Centre for the Study and Protection of the Environment, of the Academic Association of the Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro
CoLAB ForestWISE was present at this congress, which discussed nature-based solutions, conservation, waste management and climate impact assessment. Susana Rodrigues took part in this congress with an oral presentation on building landscapes that are more resilient to climate change in the Coimbra region, the result of work carried out as part of the RESIST project, in partnership with the Coimbra Region Intermunicipal Community.
february 20 – 22, 2024
Promoter: Intermunicipal Community of the Region of Coimbra
CoLAB ForestWISE participated in this event, which aimed to contribute to the discussion on the development of resilient regions through its involvement and local participation. This initiative, carried out as part of the GOCORE project, funded by the Interreg Europe Programme under the ‘regional governance’ axis, was attended by various experts who shared their knowledge and ideas on development, governance and stakeholder involvement from various regions in Portugal, Denmark, Italy, Estonia and Hungary. Our CoLAB was one of the stakeholders invited by the CIM to take part in the initiative, with Carlos Fonseca taking part in the peer review session and Sandra Valente and Virgínia Rocha organising a workshop on the importance of community involvement.
january 30, 2024
Promoter: SerQ – Forest Innovation and Competence Centre
CoLAB ForestWISE participated in this workshop held at the Civil Engineering Department of the University of Coimbra, organised by SerQ in partnership with the University of Coimbra. The initiative brought together national and international experts to talk about their experience and future prospects for the sector.
january 25 – 26, 2024
Promoter: Portuguese Engineers’ Chamber
CoLAB ForestWISE attended this congress, this year dedicated to the theme of ‘Engineering for Development’. The event discussed topics such as the future of mobility, energy policies and the digital transition, among other important current issues. David Luna, Coordinator of our CoLAB’s IT Office, took part in the e-posters session in the Environment section, presenting an idea about using IoT as an incentive system for recycling.
january 25, 2024
Promoter: National RRP Monitoring Committee
The National RRP Monitoring Committee visited CoLAB ForestWISE as part of the committee’s proximity tour of the projects being carried out in the Douro region. At the meeting, we had the opportunity to present CoLAB ForestWISE and the development of the projects funded by the RRP: transForm Mobilising Agenda, of which CoLAB is the technical-scientific coordinator, RN21 Integrated Project, of which it is the consortium leader, Interface Mission, CoLAB’s core funding, and Be@t and Bioshoes4All, of which we are partners.
january 15, 2024
Promoter: AGIF and OCDE
In order to strengthen the fire risk management framework in Portugal and following the transformation of the system undertaken in 2017, AGIF is collaborating with the OECD on the project ‘Climate Adaptation: Rural Fire Prevention in Portugal’. As such, it organised this presentation event, which was opened by Tiago Antunes, Secretary of State for European Affairs, Mário Nava, Director-General of the European Commission (online), Fabrizia Lapecorella, Deputy Secretary-General of the OECD (online), and Tiago Oliveira, President of AGIF. Ana Abrunhosa, Minister for Territorial Cohesion, closed the event. The event also included round tables and the participation of various personalities from public organisations, companies and academia, including CoLAB ForestWISE, who discussed the issues of preventing and controlling the risk of rural fires.
2023
december 19, 2023
Promoter: Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education and Ministry of Internal Affairs
Developed as part of the work carried out on the main rural fires in Portugal in 2022, the results of the Final Report of the 2022 Rural Fires Expert Group were presented by the coordinators, with Elvira Fortunado, the Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education, opening and José Luís Carneiro, the Minister of Internal Administration, closing. Sandra Valente, CoLAB ForestWISE’s People and Policy Work Line Coordinator, was invited to join the panel on the research and innovation carried out in Portugal in the area of Rural Fires.
december 18, 2023
Promoters: Directorate-General for Territory, ICNF, CoLAB ForestWISE, Portuguese Space Agency – Portugal Space and Air Centre
As a member of the Copernicus Relays ambassador network, CoLAB ForestWISE co-organised the conference ‘Copernicus for Forestry and Agriculture in Portugal’. João Torres, Senior Researcher at our CoLAB, spoke about the ‘Needs of Earth Observation in the forestry sector’.
december 14, 2024
Promoter: Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Portugal (PEFC)
Jorge Cunha, Coordinator of the Circular Economy and Value Chains Work Line at CoLAB ForestWISE, attended this event aimed at sustainable construction, which brought together experts and players from different areas to learn about and debate the benefits of building with wood for people and the planet.
december 11, 2023
Promoter: Coimbra School of Agriculture and Itecons
In this initiative of the IndustForestFire project, the results and technical recommendations of the project were presented and discussed, which seek to support political decisions on the mitigation of urban-forest interface fires. Paulo Fernandes, from the Executive Coordination of CoLAB ForestWISE, took part in the first panel, in which he spoke about fuel management in this type of interface.
december 5 – 7, 2024
Promoter: RESIST Consortium
CoLAB ForestWISE travelled to Ålesund, Norway, for the 3rd meeting of the RESIST Consortium, of which it is a partner, attended by researchers and stakeholders who discussed the project’s progress and prospects.
december 5, 2023
Promoters: Green UPorto, INOV4Agro, Cerena and the School of Science and Engineering of the Universidade do Porto
Our CoLAB took part in this event, which was organised in collaboration with the Portuguese Partnership for Soils and the Portuguese Society of Soil Sciences. The aim of this event was to debate and analyse soil conservation policies in Portugal and the challenges posed by the proposed Soil Monitoring and Resilience Directive. Project technician Susana Fonseca took part in the presentation and discussion of the ‘Proposal for a European Soil Monitoring Directive’, highlighting the importance of forest soils in characterising Healthy Soils, particularly in terms of carbon stocks and preserving soil biodiversity. At the end of the session, the Portuguese Society of Soil Sciences chose the soil of the Douro Demarcated Region as the Soil of the Year 2024.
november 30, 2023
Promoters: Alex Cunningham Lmtd and Brazilian Pine Chemicals Institute
Marta Martins, CoLAB ForestWISE Project Manager, was invited to take part in this international meeting, where she presented the RN21 Integrated Project, one of the projects led by CoLAB ForestWISE. This year’s event was attended by various experts from the resin and resin processing sector, including companies, consultancies and organisations that promote the development of the forestry sector.
november 23, 2023
Promoter: Municipality of Ribeira de Pena
Jorge Cunha, CoLAB ForestWISE Line 3 Co-ordinator, spoke about the Bioeconomy and Circular Economy at this forum, which was an opportunity to identify challenges and opportunities for the municipality’s forests and discuss relevant issues in the economic activity linked to the forestry sector.
november 23, 2023
Promoter: AGORA Aveiro
João Torres, Senior Researcher at CoLAB ForestWISE, was part of the round table on the future of Portuguese forests. This event, which debated the problems and challenges facing Portugal’s forests and took place in Estarreja, was also attended by Luís Sarabando, Technical Director and Coordinator of the Baixo Vouga Forestry Association and President of PEFC Portugal and Elisabete Figueiredo, Professor at the University of Aveiro and Principal Investigator on the ShareForest project.
november 23 – 24, 2023 nov.’23
Promoters: Instituto da Conservação da Natureza e das Florestas and Direção-Geral do Território
The aim of this meeting was to promote dialogue between the different players in the Portuguese forest, addressing the sector’s threats and opportunities in order to build a participatory strategy that responds to the concrete needs for the forest’s sustainable future. Carlos Fonseca took part in this initiative, talking about knowledge at the service of the forest and fire and about the projects that CoLAB ForestWISE coordinates and participates in. Duarte Cordeiro, Minister for the Environment and Climate Action, closed the event.
november 21, 2023
Promoter: INESC TEC
CoLAB ForestWISE took part in the eighth edition of the Autumn Forum, this year dedicated to innovation and the role of interface entities. The event was opened by Pedro Guedes de Oliveira, executive member of INESC TEC’s Board of Directors, José Manuel Mendonça, Chairman of INESC TEC’s Board of Directors and member of CoLAB ForestWISE’s Scientific and Business Advisory Board, Rui Calçada, Director of FEUP, António Sousa Pereira, Rector of the University of Porto and Elvira Fortunato, Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education.
november 21, 2023
Promoter: Fundação Mata do Bussaco, F.P.
The event was an opportunity to share knowledge about the propagation of native species, the fight against invasive species and the enhancement and re-naturalisation of degraded areas. Rui Pinto, Coordinator of CoLAB ForestWISE’s Risk Management Work Line, took part in this event, where he spoke about REACT GesCoMB.
november 19, 2023
Promoters: Lousamel and the Lousã National Beekeeping School
Carlos Fonseca attended this lecture, which was attended by experts from academia, research laboratories and industry associations to talk about the Serra da Lousã ecosystem, its potential and limitations.
november 17, 2023
Promoters: UTAD and Instituto Superior de Agronomia
CoLAB ForestWISE’s participation in the ResAlliance event was twofold: in addition to taking part in the working groups on solutions for a resilient landscape in northern Portugal, there was also space to present the FIRE-RES project with the presentation ‘People and landscapes resilient to extreme fire’.
november 16, 2023
Promoter: Agência Nacional de Inovação (ANI)
CoLAB ForestWISE took part in the 4th Meeting of CoLABs, an annual ANI initiative that aims to present the progress of the activities of Collaborative Laboratories, as well as promoting the discussion and sharing of knowledge and good practices between organisations. Carlos Fonseca took part in the session on ‘The role of research and technology in realising the Sustainable Development Goals: Best practices and success stories from CoLABs.
november 14 – 15, 2023
Promoters: Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education, National Innovation Agency, Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia and Technology and European Commission
Carlos Fonseca was at the Tour de Capitales, a European event that aims to bring together representatives of higher education institutions, industry, intermediary organisations and decision-makers to discuss the challenges and opportunities in valuing knowledge and explore collaborative actions and initiatives to tackle them. Taking place at the Museu do Oriente, the event was attended by various personalities from the fields of technology, science and innovation in Portugal and Europe.
november 7 – 9, 2023
Promoter: FIRE-RES Consortium
The second general meeting of this European project took place this year in Porto and Penafiel, where the partners discussed its progress and had the opportunity to get to know the reality of the Portuguese Living Laboratory (LL). On 8 November, CoLAB ForestWISE, in collaboration with ISA, organised a technical visit with CWI members, including REN, Quinta da Aveleda and the Vale do Sousa Forest Producers Association. The day was also marked by a round table with the participation of representatives from national and local organisations involved in forestry and fire.
november 7, 2023
Promoter: Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
CoLAB ForestWISE participated in the third meeting of the National Network for Advanced Computing (RNCA) 2023. David Luna, Head of our CoLAB’s IT Office, was part of the round table entitled ‘The Journey of Advanced Computing beyond academia’, which brought together experts to discuss the opportunities and challenges of Advanced Computing for companies and public administration.
november 3, 2023
Promoters: Association for the Development of Industrial Aerodynamics and FirEUrisk Consortium
CoLAB ForestWISE attended the presentation of the results of this international project, led by CEIF – ADAI, of our associate University of Coimbra, centred on the development of products related to the assessment of rural fire risk, the reduction of consequent impacts and adaptation to the predicted scenarios arising from climate change.
november 2 – 3, 2023
Promoter: Portuguese Engineers’ Chamber
CoLAB ForestWISE was at the Polytechnic Institute of Guarda for the 10th National Conference on Cartography and Geodesy, dedicated to geospatial information for sustainable development goals. Our Senior Researcher, Isabel Pôças, represented the geographic databases and applications for forest management project underway as part of the transForm Agenda.
october 31, 2023
Promoter: The Navigator Company
The 16th session of the Sustainability Forum brought together national and international experts to discuss the challenges facing the forestry sector and stimulate debate on the disruption caused by the scarcity and competitiveness of forestry raw materials. The first panel featured the CEOs of some of CoLAB ForestWISE’s member companies: António Redondo from The Navigator Company, António Rios de Amorim from Corticeira Amorim, José Soares de Pina from Altri and Rui Correia from Sonae Arauco.
october 27, 2023
Promoter: Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), Agência de Investigação Clínica e Inovação Biomédica (AICIB) and Agência Espacial Portuguesa (PTSpace)
Carlos Fonseca participated in this annual event dedicated to the Framework Programme, Horizon Europe, which aims to promote the sharing of practical and valuable guidelines for those seeking to achieve success in the various pillars of the Horizon Europe Programme.
october 26, 2023
Ana Sá, CoLAB ForestWISE Work Line 2 Co-Coordinator, was invited to moderate this seminar’s round table, the aim of which was to show that it is possible to make strategic risk management decisions based on the best national and international scientific knowledge.
october 25 – 27, 2023
Promoters: Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture Environment and Development (MED), Universidade de Évora and Institute for Global Change and Sustainability (CHANGE)
The CoLAB ForestWISE was present at the IUFRO Forest Environment DIV 8 Conference in Évora, where Joana Vieira, Sandra Valente, Susana Fonseca and Virgínia Rocha represented our CoLAB, presenting the results of the RN21, RESIST, REACT MORE and FoRES projects.
october 23, 2023
The REACT MORE project organised this itinerant day, which took place at Quinta da Moreirola, owned by Florestgal. In this awareness-raising event, organised by Floresgtal, CoLAB ForestWISE and APATA, participants were able to discuss examples of forestry practices that can help mitigate the effects of desertification. The guests included academics, forestry associations, local and regional government representatives and forestry producers.
october 21, 2023
Promoter: Resipinus
CoLAB ForestWISE participated in the second edition of Resin Day at the Chaves Cultural Centre, which focused on the theme of sustainable resin production and its challenges and solutions. Rogério Rodrigues took part in the round table of the II Panel, in which he spoke about the RN21 Integrated Project and its importance for the resin sector in Portugal, through the valorisation of the entire value chain, with initiatives that support sustainable forest management.
october 17, 2023
Promoter: ESRI Portugal
Juliana Salvação, from our CoLAB, was part of the panel of guest speakers at this landmark event in the field of Geographic Information Systems in Portugal, with a presentation on the use of aerial images, applied to the projects developed by CoLAB ForestWISE, for integrated forest management. In addition, CoLAB ForestWISE signed a protocol with ESRI, which aims to promote the transfer of knowledge about technology and innovation between players in the forestry and fire sectors, focusing on the creation of programmes and activities that promote entrepreneurship and innovation in the primary and secondary sectors.
october 12, 2023
Promoters: Waldbrand Team, Wageningen University and Firefighters of Catalonia
CoLAB ForestWISE was in Walsrode to take part in the Integrated Living With Fire Training. Brigite Botequim was the guest speaker at the opening of the dynamic session, which focussed on sharing knowledge between Living Labs over the 22 months of the FIRE-RES project.
october 10, 2023
Promoter: CoLAB ForestWISE
The public presentation of this Integrated Project took place at the United Resins facilities in Figueira da Foz and was attended by the Minister for the Environment and Climate Action, Duarte Cordeiro, the Secretary of State for the Economy, Pedro Cilínio, and partners from companies, industries, academia and organisations from the resin territories.
october 4, 2023
The Animal Day was celebrated with the launch of the documentary ‘Fauna Ibérica’, a series directed by Alberto Redondo in partnership with RTP and TVE and featuring Portuguese and Spanish scientists. Carlos Fonseca, CTO of CoLAB ForestWISE, was one of the expert speakers who took part in the event’s opening and discussion panel.
september 29, 2023
CoLAB ForestWISE celebrated five years of existence and brought together various personalities committed to the valorisation of the forest. At a ceremony held at the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, CoLAB took stock of the work it has done over the last five years, focussing on innovation, sustainability, knowledge transfer, forest enhancement, sustainable development of rural areas and the reduction of major forest fires.
september 28, 2023
Esri Portugal launched the challenge and CoLAB ForestWISE responded. Our Project Manager, Juliana Salvação, was part of the group of experts invited to the webinar ‘The Power of Imagery in Your Hands’, in which she shared some of the potential of using images captured by drones as a tool to support decision-making in the forestry sector.
september 27 – 28, 2023
CoLAB ForestWISE participated in the ‘Forest for the Future’ workshop, organised by SerQ-Forest Innovation and Competence Centre, which aimed to address the main forestry issues, namely forest management, the forest-based industry and future challenges, with an eye on technology and innovation. Held at the Casa da Cultura in Sertã, this event was aimed at companies, academia, research centres, associations and other forestry entities and featured a panel discussion on the Forest-based Industry, moderated by Carlos Fonseca, the CTO of our CoLAB.
september 22 – 23, 2023
We were at CONFAGRI’s headquarters for the 1st National Meeting of FENAFLORESTA Technicians, attended by the sector’s leading experts, to discuss forestry policy by presenting inspiring projects and public policies for land use planning and forests.
The meeting was closed by the participation of João Paulo Catarino, Secretary of State for Nature Conservation and Forests, and Maria do Céu Antunes, Minister for Agriculture and Food.
september 20 – 22, 2023
Pedro Britto, Senior Researcher at CoLAB ForestWISE, represented our CoLAB at this international symposium in Florence, where he presented three projects from the transForm Agenda, within the scope of digitalisation and Forest 4.0 for the decarbonisation of the sector. The first project was on the ‘Challenges and opportunities of using digital technologies in forestry operations in Portugal’, followed by a ‘Roadmap to boost electric motorisation in the Portuguese forestry sector’ and a ‘New methodological approach to facilitate the measurement of wood piles using smartphone applications’.
(Project/Investment supported by the PRR – Recovery and Resilience Plan and the NextGeneration EU European Funds)
september 20, 2023
At this meeting, co-organised by IAPMEI and ANI and attended by the Prime Minister, António Costa, the Minister for the Economy and the Sea, António Costa Silva and the Minister for Science, Technology and Higher Education, Elvira Fortunato, the progress of the implementation of each of the 53 Agendas was presented. Carlos Fonseca, CTO of CoLAB ForestWISE, took part in the event on behalf of the transForm Agenda, presenting the figures for this Green Agenda.
(Project/Investment supported by the PRR – Recovery and Resilience Plan and the NextGeneration EU European Funds)
september 14 – 15, 2023
The CoLAB ForestWISE team, with the support of the Vale do Sousa Forestry Association, together with CEABN InBIO and the Centre for Forestry Studies, held the 2nd demonstration session in Penafiel of the FIRE-RES Geo-catch application, a way of capturing the forest. The session was attended by Rodrigo Lopes, a councillor from Penafiel Town Council, and various organisations, including the municipality’s Forestry Technical Office, the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests, Altri Florestal, 2bForest, CIM do Tâmega e Sousa and the Parque das Serras do Porto Association, as well as various forest owners and technicians from Forestry Producers’ Associations.
september 5, 2023
Senior researcher Pedro Britto took part in the panel on the ‘Forest of the future’, in which he spoke about new technologies for more productive, resilient and sustainable forests, some of which are under development in the projects in which CoLAB ForestWISE participates.
august 9 – 11, 2023
CoLAB ForestWISE was at Expo Forest 2023, the world’s largest dynamic forestry fair. The 5th edition of this Brazilian Forestry Fair, which took place in Guatapará (Brazil), was a unique opportunity to find out about the best of the world’s technology dedicated to the production of wood from planted forests, boosting intelligent management. CoLAB ForestWISE was present at this great event on the other side of the ocean and brought with it many projects and initiatives that we have been developing with the aim of stimulating collaboration between Portugal and Brazil.
august 10, 2023
CoLAB ForestWISE was invited to Ribeirão Preto to take part in the 15th Meeting of Affiliates of the Cooperative Programme on Forest Mechanisation and Automation (PCMAF) of the Institute for Forest Research and Studies (IPEF), an institutional and international partner of our CoLAB.
august 8, 2023
CoLAB ForestWISE participated in the 5th Brazilian Silviculture Meeting in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil, an event that preceded Expo Forest 2023. At this meeting, which aimed to promote technical-scientific exchange between professionals and institutions working in the forestry sector, various topics related to the silviculture of cultivated forests in Brazil were discussed.
(Photo: Municipality of Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo)
august 3, 2023
CoLAB ForestWISE participated in this technical visit, together with the REACT MORE project partners, Florestgal and APATA, which was attended by the Secretary of State for Nature Conservation and Forests, João Paulo Catarino, the Mayor of Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo, Carlos Condesso, the ICNF Regional Directors for the North and Centre, Sandra Sarmento and Fátima Reis, and the National Focal Point for the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, Dr Isabel Santos.
july 7, 2023
The CoLAB ForestWISE team and the Instituto Superior de Agronomia, with the support of the Escola Nacional de Bombeiros, were in Lousã to demonstrate this application, which aims to capture and store georeferenced photographs of the forest, which will be stored and analysed by artificial intelligence to create a pan-European fuel map. The session was attended by various organisations, including Lousã City Council, ICNF, AGIF, ANEPC, The Navigator Company and other local and operational strategic players.
june 28 – 29, 2023
RESIST’s partners, including CoLAB ForestWISE, will meet in Turku, Finland, for the second meeting of the project’s consortium. The meeting will act as a platform for collaboration and knowledge exchange.
june 21, 2023
CoLAB ForestWISE participated in this event, which took place at the Creative Science Park – PCI, in Aveiro, with the aim of debating and identifying the main capacity-building needs of intermediary organisations in Portugal and presenting the results of the capacity-building actions for technological infrastructures promoted by ANI. As well as Collaborative Laboratories, the initiative was attended by Technology and Innovation Centres, Technology Transfer Offices and other R&D Development Infrastructures.
june 20, 2023
Invited by Forestis, CoLAB ForestWISE attended the seminar ‘Forest Bioeconomy in Challenging Times – Technologies, Markets and Policies’ at the Cupertino de Miranda Foundation (Porto) to talk about the importance of technologies applied to the forestry sector, integrating the entire value chain, some of which were developed in the rePLANT project.
june 7, 2023
This seminar organised by the University of Minho and the APCMD aimed to explore the possibilities and challenges of building with wood, while also discussing the latest technological advances and best practices in terms of sustainability. Alexandra Marques, Coordinator of the Circular Economy and Value Chains Work Line, will take part in this seminar with a presentation on the national forest and the availability of wood to boost sustainable construction.
june 5 – 6, 2023
Promoted by the CIM Região de Coimbra and the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, this event took place in the Auditorium of the Instituto Superior de Contabilidade e Administração de Coimbra, as part of the IndustForest Fire project. Ana Sá, Co-coordinator of the Risk Management Work Line at CoLAB ForestWISE, was invited to moderate one of the conference panels.
june 5, 2023
The second transForm Agenda workshop for project coordinators and work package leaders took place at RAIZ’s headquarters in Eixo (Aveiro). Dedicated to collaboration, communication and intellectual property, this workshop aimed to inform and train project coordinators in the tools available for valorising and exploiting the results of this Agenda.
june 1st, 2023
rePLANt, one of the projects with the CoLAB ForestWISE label, showcased at Central Tejo the three years of collaborative work between the 20 business and academic partners that made up this unprecedented consortium. The event brought together more than 120 people, including the directors of The Navigator Company, REN, E-REDES and Altri, and was closed by Pedro Cilínio, Secretary of State for the Economy.
mai 30, 2023
CoLAB ForestWISE participated in the second edition of this meeting organised by ANI at Quinta das Lágrimas in Coimbra, which aimed to promote the transfer of technology and knowledge between companies and the different entities of the National Scientific and Technological System.
may 24, 2023
Held for the fifth year running, this conference aimed to contribute to the debate on best practices in terms of fuel management and making it compatible with biodiversity. João Torres took part in the event, where he gave an update on the progress of the study on compatible occupations.
may 23 – 25, 2023
CoLAB ForestWISE was at the Forest Plantations Congress in Piracicaba (São Paulo, Brazil), where Carlos Fonseca presented our CoLAB in a plenary session at the invitation of the Institute of Forest Research and Studies (IPEF). Researcher Pedro Britto gave an oral presentation on the ‘Challenges and opportunities of using new digital technologies in forest harvesting operations in Portugal’. The congress also saw the signing of an agreement between the IPEF and CoLAB ForestWISE, which will provide a framework for future partnerships and exchanges between these institutions.
may 16 – 19, 2023
CoLAB ForestWISE participated in this conference, which brought together the world’s leading experts in the field of rural fires. In addition to the space dedicated to the rePLANT mobilising project, our CoLAB also contributed to knowledge transfer in various sessions. Risk communication for reducing ignitions, innovative technologies and socio-economic solutions for more resilient territories in Europe (FIRE-RES project), preparedness and prevention, stakeholder involvement, strategies for maximising the impact of rural fire research and measures for forest resilience through projects such as RN21 were some of the topics covered by the entire ForestWISE CoLAB team.
may 15, 2023
One of the technical visits to the 8th International Wildland Fire Conference took place at Parque das Serras do Porto and was hosted by REN and CoLAB ForestWISE. In this session, the company presented its vegetation management strategy and a forest monitoring system that simulates and predicts fire behaviour (a project involving the University of Coimbra and whereness) and our CoLAB a study on Resilience Networks carried out in the same Park.
may 15, 2023
rePLANT, CoLAB ForestWISE’s first initiative and operationalisation project, held its second demonstration event at Parque das Serras do Porto. Around 150 people, including companies from the forestry sector, academia and forest owners, took part in this major event focussed on innovative technologies for enhancing the value of forests and fire.
may 12, 2023
As partners in the be@at consortium, CoLAB ForestWISE was present at the launch event at the Cruise Terminal in the Port of Leixões, where it had the opportunity to interact with all the ambassadors and professionals involved in the project.
may 12, 2023
João Torres, Senior Researcher at CoLAB ForestWISE, was part of the group of trainers for this course organised by the Instituto Superior de Agronomia. The session on products from the Copernicus programme with potential use in methodologies for calculating carbon and quantifying Ecosystem Services was held by ForestWISE in its capacity as Copernicus Relays.
may 10 – 13, 2023
Joana Vieira, Senior Researcher at CoLAB ForestWISE, took part in this conference in Coimbra with a poster on the influence of drought and high temperatures on the slowdown in the growth of Pinus halepensis in the High Atlas region of Morocco.
may 4, 2023
The working sessions at this workshop made it possible to contextualise the challenges posed by climate change, future forecasts and their estimated impacts on water resources and agroforestry systems, coastal erosion and fires. CoLAB ForestWISE took part in this workshop, which resulted in proposals for measures to mitigate and adapt to climate change.
may 2, 2023
Ana Sá, Senior Researcher at ForestWISE, represented our CoLAB at this conference, which debated the importance of forests as a generator of value and their relevant role in decarbonising industry, energy efficiency, innovation and circular technologies.
april 28, 2023
Brigite Botequim, Senior Researcher at CoLAB ForestWISE, attended in this technical-scientific seminar, whose themes were directly related to WP5 – FIRE-RES, namely the Innovation Actions that our CoLAB leads.
april 18, 2023
The public presentation of the Red Book of Mammals of Portugal Mainland took place at the National Museum of Natural History and Science in Lisbon. João Paulo Catarino, Secretary of State for Nature Conservation and Forests, opened the launch ceremony for this important work, which publicises the current status of each mammal that occurs in our country. Carlos Fonseca, co-editor of the book, took part in the round table as a member of the Technical-Scientific Commission and Coordinator of the actions aimed at carnivores and artiodactyls.
More information (PT)
april 17 – 19, 2023
rePLANt, CoLAB ForestWISE’s first initiative and operationalisation project, was presented in Frankfurt by three of the consortium’s partners: REN, whereness and the University of Coimbra, who presented support systems for the management and resilience of gas and electricity infrastructures in the face of forest fire risk.
april 17, 2023
CoLAB ForestWISE was represented by Project Manager Marta Martins at this event organised by CCDR-NORTE at the Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, which was attended by António Cunha, President of CCDR-NORTE, Ana Abrunhosa, Minister for Territorial Cohesion, and Isabel Ferreira, Secretary of State for Regional Development.
march 29, 2023
Organised by ANI, TECH4INNOV is an initiative that aims to showcase new technologies and discuss new perspectives and solutions, with discussion panels made up of national and international guests. It also aims to showcase success stories from various organisations in the National Innovation System, such as Collaborative Laboratories. CoLAB ForestWISE took part in this event with a demonstration of the rePLANT fire surveillance system and fire propagation simulator, developed by REN, the University of Coimbra and whereness.
march 28, 2023
Rogério Rodrigues, from CoLAB ForestWISE, took part in Agriculture Week at the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, where he presented our activities, with an emphasis on the major collaborative forestry projects that have the ForestWISE ‘seal’: rePLANT, RN21 and transForm. He also took part in the round table discussion on ‘Agroforestry as a central system in land use planning.
march 28, 2023
Rui Pinto attended the launch event for the International Year of Pastures and Shepherds, declared by the UN for 2026. Various public, private, national and international organisations and entities associated with the LIFE Maronesa project, the Terra Maronesa Association, Rebanhos + and the PASTOpraxis project were in Serra do Alvão to take part in this initiative and pave the way for 2026 by boosting pastoral activity in Portugal and participating in such sensitive issues as rural fire management.
march 23, 2023
rePLANT, CoLAB ForestWISE’s first major initiative and operationalisation project, had its first demonstration action in Mata do Braçal, Lousã, the result of almost three years of collaborative work between the consortium’s 20 partners.
Image caption: AIGP delimitation map produced by the DGT
march 22, 2023
CoLAB ForestWISE took part in this debate organised by Quercus and the Municipality of Penacova, which aims to discuss the need to change the criteria for Fuel Management Bands. Carlos Fonseca was part of the round table which, together with other guests, debated these issues from the perspective of academia, public organisations and civil society.
march 21, 2023
APATA organised the participatory workshop ‘AIGP in a Natural Park – Visions and Opportunities’ in Bragança. This initiative was part of the celebration of International Forestry Day, as part of the FoRES project, and was attended by the Secretary of State for Regional Development, Isabel Ferreira, the President of APATA, Armando Pacheco, the Mayor of Bragança, Hernâni Dias, the President of CONFAGRI, Idalino Leão and the FoRES project coordinator, David Carvalho, from the University of Aveiro and CESAM. CoLAB ForestWISE, with Sandra Valente, Virgínia Rocha and Carlos Fonseca, attended this workshop as a FoRES partner.
march 17, 2023
Prime Minister António Costa and a government delegation were received by Altri at the Caima plant in Constância to learn about the developments of the transForm Agenda. This visit was part of the PRR Roadmap initiative that is touring the whole country in the first few months of this year, with the aim of verifying on the ground the implementation of projects underway with PRR funds, within the scope of the Mobilising Agendas and Green Agendas for Business Innovation. CoLAB ForestWISE took part in this visit as the consortium’s technical and scientific coordinator.
march 17, 2023
Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro organised the convention ‘Agricultural Education in Portugal. What future?’, an initiative under the patronage of the President of the Republic and attended by the Minister of Agriculture and Food, Maria do Céu Antunes, and the Secretary of State for Higher Education, Pedro Nuno Teixeira. For this meeting, students, teachers, researchers, associations and companies from the agricultural sector were challenged to find solutions for making agricultural and forestry-based courses more attractive. Carlos Fonseca was part of the thematic group debating the needs of the agricultural and forestry business sector.
march 8, 2023
The IGnacia project, coordinated by AGIF and the CIG, is marking International Women’s Day with the first edition of À conversa com a IGnacia – Mulheres do Fogo, a meeting with various women involved in the professional areas of the Integrated Rural Fire Management System who will share their stories about what it’s like to be a woman in this sector. Sandra Valente is one of the AGIF guests who will share her story.
february 28, 2023
Hosted by Dueceira, with the support of the Vila Nova de Poiares Municipality, these technical days were part of the closure of the LIFE Lignobio project. The event aimed to present the main results of this project and reflect on its applicability in rural areas. CoLAB ForestWISE was invited to take part in Panel II, in which Carlos Fonseca presented the projects that CoLAB has been developing for a more resilient forest.
february 22, 2023
The RN21 Integrated Project Supervisory Board, the highest body in the consortium’s structure, met at UTAD to discuss various issues relating to the management of the integrated project. CoLAB ForestWISE hosted this enriching and collaborative meeting attended by the project’s partners.
(Source: Youtube Portuguese Republic)
february 16, 2023
The opening session of the event, held at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, was attended by the Minister for the Economy and the Sea, António Costa Silva, and closed by the Minister for the Environment and Climate Action, Duarte Cordeiro. At the event, the Boston Consulting Group presented the study ‘Prospects for Valuing Portuguese Forests’. The session also included an intervention by Tiago Oliveira, from AGIF, and a round table made up of Carlos Moreira da Silva, Fernando Oliveira Batista, João Ferreira do Amaral and Helena Freitas, moderated by journalist Ana Fernandes. CoLAB ForestWISE was present at this session, as were various stakeholders in the Portuguese forest.
february 9, 2023
The CTO of CoLAB ForestWISE was a guest speaker at the 5th edition of Alto Minho Firecamp, a biennial cross-border event organised by CIM Alto Minho that focuses on forest fires in the context of the issue of risks and climate change. Carlos Fonseca took part in panel I, on ‘The Role of Public Administration in Preventing and Extinguishing Forest Fires’, where he presented CoLAB and some of the activities we carry out in the field of Risk Management.
february 1, 2023
The transForm partners met at this workshop to consolidate and identify opportunities for collaboration between the Agenda’s projects. To this end, CoLAB ForestWISE and Altri Florestal created group dynamics in which participants identified synergies, ambitions and challenges, thus contributing to their better implementation.
february 1, 2023
CoLAB ForestWISE was invited by REN to take part in a reforestation project with 600 oak trees in the Serras do Porto Park. This action involved municipalities, companies such as The Navigator Company, and organisations such as the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests and AGIF. The event also involved around 150 children and teachers from schools in the municipalities surrounding the Park, who helped plant native species.
january 18, 2023
The European RESIST project was launched in Coimbra, in the presence of all the partners, namely CoLAB ForestWISE. Coordinated by SINTEF, in collaboration with INOVA+, the project also includes the participation of the Centre’s Regional Coordination and Development Commission, the Coimbra Region CIM and the Médio Tejo Intermunicipal Community, among other partners.
2022
december 14, 2022
The launch event was held at the Dr António Cupertino de Miranda Foundation in Porto, and was attended by the authors, editors, the ForestWISE executive team and a number of relevant guests from the forestry and fire sectors in Portugal.
december 6, 2022
The Intermunicipal Community of Tâmega e Sousa hosted this FIRE-RES workshop, organised by ForestWISE in collaboration with INESC TEC. As part of the advanced technologies, equipment and decision support systems work package, the session was attended by participants from the forestry sapper teams and local fire brigades, as well as the ICNF and ANEPC, who organised activities to co-create the ‘Firefighter of the Future’, which involves improving the monitoring of the physiological conditions of the teams and the environment, as well as vehicle monitoring for more effective, safer and optimised combat and decision support in the field.
december 6 e 7, 2022
Organised by ANI, the third edition of this annual meeting was attended by Collaborative Laboratories from all over the country who presented the progress and results of their activities, as well as their integration into regional ecosystems. ForestWISE was present and gave its presentation on the second day of the meeting, on the panel dedicated to the sustainable use of natural resources.
More information (PT)
november 28, 2022
At the first FIRE-RES General Assembly, at Wageningen University & Research (Netherlands), Brigite Botequim presented the progress of the tasks that integrate innovation actions in the Portuguese ‘Living Lab’, highlighting the creation of the CWI and its strong involvement in the activities to be implemented in the second year of FIRE-RES.
november 24, 2022
CESAM, from the University of Aveiro, and Fábrica Centro Ciência Viva de Aveiro organised the cycle of science cafés ‘Our Planet, Our Health’ during the month of November, with the aim of addressing issues such as health for people, animals and the environment. Carlos Fonseca was one of the guests this evening to discuss the sustainability of terrestrial ecosystems, particularly forest ecosystems, in co-authorship with Henrique A. Pereira.
november 24, 2022
Promoted by E-REDES and co-organised by ForestWISE, the High Tec rePLANt Breakfast, which took place in Lisbon at Leap Amoreiras, was designed to present the technological innovations of this mobilising project for the enhancement and defence of the Portuguese forest to public bodies, the government and SGIFR entities.
november 19 – 23, 2022
As part of the celebrations for National Native Forest Day and with the aim of presenting and discussing the actions carried out to preserve nature and biodiversity, the Sement Event 2022 was held at Espaço Inovação in Mealhada. Organised by the Mata do Bussaco Foundation, this seminar focused on national forest conservation issues, namely the ‘propagation of native species, the enhancement and re-naturalisation of degraded areas and the control of invasive exotic species’. Our CoLAB was present with a presentation by Carlos Fonseca and Henrique A. Pereira. The CTO and the Senior Researcher of the ForestWISE Risk Management Line, respectively, gave a presentation on ‘Forests: sustainability and threats’.
november 11 – 18, 2022
This international conference covered the main topics in forest fire management and the latest developments in science and technology in this area. ForestWISE was present at this event organised by CEIF – ADAI, at the University of Coimbra, with Rui Pinto, Co-Coordinator of the ForestWISE Risk Management Line, who was at the opening session, and Brigite Botequim, Senior Researcher of the same line, who will be Co-Chairperson of a session on risk reduction and who will also represent our CoLAB, within the scope of FIRE-RES, a European project of which we are partners and co-leaders of the Portuguese Living Lab.
november 14, 2022
INIAV organised the first edition of the CoLABs/INIAV Meeting at the Fonte Boa Research Centre in the Santarém Valley. The aim of this meeting was to promote the sharing of knowledge, synergies and networking between the various CoLABs and this institution, under the motto of research and co-operation between the two and the promotion of synergies, opportunities and present and future challenges. ForestWISE was present at this meeting as one of the CoLABs involved with INIAV.
november 4, 2022
The first FIRE-RES workshop was held at the Lousã Ecomuseum, a consortium coordinated by the CTFC and of which CoLAB ForestWISE is a partner and leader of the Portuguese Living Lab demonstration area, located in Serra da Lousã. As part of this European project, ForestWISE and the ISA organised this workshop, which was attended by various public and private entities linked to the forestry sector, who worked together on challenges and solutions for their area of intervention.
october 22, 2024
The Resin Day was held in Arganil, an event organised by Resipinus. Under the motto ‘Resin in the sustainability and future of the forest’, the event was attended by the Secretary of State for Nature Conservation, Forests and Spatial Planning, João Paulo Catarino, and various organisations from the resin sector and the Pinhal Interior territory contributed to the event, which was an opportunity to discuss the sector’s main opportunities. ForestWISE was present at the meeting, where it emphasised the role of the RN21 integrated project in enhancing the sector and the national forest.
october 10 – 14, 2022
The 9th National Forestry Congress aimed to debate the current state of the Portuguese forest, its challenges and the models that are desired for the future. Organised by the Portuguese Society of Forest Sciences, and under the motto ‘Sustainability of the Portuguese forest: valuing to overcome challenges’, the 9th edition of this congress was sponsored by ForestWISE. Our CoLAB was also part of the Organising Committee and the Scientific Committee of this national event, held in Funchal, which placed a strong emphasis on science, research, innovation and knowledge transfer in the forestry sector.
october 11 – 12, 2022
This year’s summit, whose theme was innovation as the driving force behind the sector, focused on technologies as a solution for agribusiness. ForestWISE was represented by our associate INIAV, who displayed a poster about our CoLAB.
september 15 – 16, 2022
In collaboration with the Spanish foundation CESEFOR and More CoLAB, ForestWISE organised INBEC for the future, a workshop aimed at improving the competitiveness of SMEs in the Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro region in the field of agroforestry bioeconomy and the circular economy.
june 27 – july 1, 2022
CoLAB ForestWISE and the ISA presented a poster on ‘Estimating the height of the fuel complex in scrub communities without tree cover from low-density LiDAR data’. The study demonstrated the usefulness of LiDAR metrics from the Plan Nacional de Ortofotografía Aérea (PNOA) flight in fuel mapping and the accuracy of the information to be integrated into fire behaviour simulators.
june 23, 2022
The sixth scientific conference of the FCT’s 25th anniversary celebrations, held at UTAD, was dedicated to ‘R&D Programmes and Projects’. Carlos Fonseca was invited to take part in the panel discussion on ‘The role of R&D projects in science and development’.
june 17, 2022
Sandra Valente and Carlos Fonseca attended
at this event, which aimed to debate the issue of combating desertification and mitigating the effects of drought. On this day, the contract for the FoRES project, led by the University of Aveiro and with NIBIO (Norway) and ForestWISE as partners, was signed.
june 14 – 15, 2022
Paulo Fernandes, Senior Researcher at ForestWISE, spoke as a keynote on ecological bases for fire-resilient landscapes. Brigite Botequim, also a Senior Researcher at our CoLAB, gave a presentation on participatory mechanisms for risk awareness and communication.
june 2, 2022
At this conference about sustainability in industry, Joana Vieira, Senior Researcher at ForestWISE, was one of the guest speakers in a plenary session on the potential of forest products for sustainability.
may 31, 2022
The aim of this conference was to discuss best practices in fuel management and contribute to the correct coexistence of power lines with the forest. João Torres, Senior Researcher at ForestWISE, gave a presentation on ‘Compatible Occupations’ as part of a collaboration between our CoLAB and E-REDES.
may 20, 2022
The aim of the meeting was to emphasise the importance of creating and adapting mechanisms that contribute to the competitiveness and sustainability of the forest environment. João Torres and Carlos Fonseca attended the event, with the latter taking part in the round table on ‘The potential of Ecosystem Services to create value in territories’.
may 17, 2022
The purpose of the event was to present this study, which ForestWISE collaborated on as part of the National Scientific and Technological System in the area of forestry and fire. The document addresses the issue of finding technology and innovative solutions to tackle the problem of fires, solutions that raise important questions such as protection through patents.
may 6, 2022
At this meeting dedicated to Forest Firefighters and all Civil Protection forces, the theme ‘The Past, Present and Future of Forest Firefighters’ was debated. Sandra Valente, Senior Researcher at ForestWISE, and Rui Pinto, Project Manager at this CoLAB, attended the event in Vila Nova de Paiva.
may 5 – 6, 2022
At this annual meeting, which debated ‘Pastoralism as an activity to enhance territories’, Carlos Fonseca was invited to give a keynote speech on the project to revitalise the forestry sector in Pinhal Interior and the role of extensive grazing and transhumance.
may 4, 2022
The aim of this conference was to discuss the future of Portuguese forests, their territorial relevance and the strategies to be implemented to promote a more sustainable future for the various forestry sectors and their contribution to the economic, social, environmental and climate domains. This event, which brought together the most important players in the Portuguese forestry sector, featured the participation of Carlos Fonseca as a guest for the first panel on: ‘2030 – A forest and a territory with a future’.
april 29, 2022
At these working sessions, which were attended by the Secretary of State for Regional Development, Prof. Isabel Ferreira, and the President of the CCDR-C, Dr Isabel Damasceno, representatives of the
Development, Prof. Isabel Ferreira, and the President of the CCDR-C, Dr Isabel Damasceno, representatives of
various institutions from the Centre Region contributed to the participatory construction of the PROT-Centro. ForestWISE was present at these sessions, analysing the themes of Forest, Environment, Territory and Natural Resources and the region’s strategy for responding to the challenges of the next 10 years.
april 6 – 9, 2022
The event was attended by around 40 national and international
national and international speakers who shared on Nature Tourism, Health and Wellness Tourism and the consequent economic valorisation and sustainable development of the natural heritage. Carlos Fonseca, CTO of ForestWISE, was one of the guest speakers, addressing a topic developed at CoLAB on the forestry strategy in the Pinhal Interior.
april 5 – 6, 2022
The event brought together seven European projects funded by the Green Deal, Horizon 2020 and Cost Action on forest fire management. One of the projects is FIRE-RES, in which ForestWISE is a partner. Brigite Botequim, a senior researcher at our CoLAB, took part in a working group in which case studies from the countries involved were presented in order to subsequently prepare a plan for collaboration and synergies between the various projects.
march 25 – 26, 2022
ForestWISE was one of the organisations invited to attend the meeting, which was marked by a visit to the Serra do Alvão to showcase the projects that promote the region’s indigenous cattle and goat breeds. The event also included a seminar in Braga, where the importance of pastoralism for the development and sustainability of territories was debated.
march 24, 2022
The seminar looked at the National Sapper Programme and what it can do to improve the performance of Forest Sapper Teams. Sandra Valente, Coordinator of Work Line 4, and Virginia Rocha, Project Manager of the same line, attended the event as the people responsible for evaluating the Forest Sapper Programme in collaboration with the ICNF.
march 21, 2022
To celebrate this day, the Municipality of Arganil organised an educational event in the Serra do Açor to take care of the trees planted there. ForestWISE was one of the organisations invited to attend.
march 16, 2022
In this session, Jorge Cunha, ForestWISE’s Project Manager, presented rePLANt, namely its mission and activities for integrated forest and fire management.
february 25, 2022
Carlos Fonseca attended the event to present the fifth volume of the journal Lucanus – Ambiente e Sociedade. As founder and editor of the journal, he told the guests how challenging and rewarding it is to contribute to this publication, which features increasingly diverse articles by national and international authors.
february 23, 2022
ANI held a set of six sessions across the country, in which it had the opportunity to clarify questions about the recognition of Technology and Innovation Centres (CTI) and the funding of Collaborative Laboratories (CoLAB). Carlos Fonseca and Alexandra Marques took part in one of these sessions on behalf of ForestWISE.
january 18 – 20, 2022
ForestWISE was remotely present at this initial event, which took place in Solsona and was attended by all the consortium’s partners. During these three days, the various activities of this European project were presented, with interventions from external experts and a visit to burnt areas in Catalonia.
2021
november 9 – 10, 2021
Carlos Fonseca, CTO of ForestWISE, represented the CoLab at this annual meeting, taking part in the ‘Parallel Session: Agri-food, Energy and Sustainability; Biodiversity and Forestry, Social Services and Tourism’.
november 3, 2021
Carlos Fonseca attended this first meeting in Zamora, where he spoke on the topic of ‘Sustainable raw materials based on the natural resources of the border’.
july 15, 2021
Carlos Fonseca, CTO of ForestWISE, took part in Dialogue II of this debate on Economy & Sustainability: an outside view.
july 14 – 15, 2021
This ANI initiative brought together the best business ideas stemming from the scientific and/or technological knowledge of students and researchers. ForestWISE’s CTO was part of the panel of judges in the thematic area: Tourism, Cultural and Creative Industries and Resources for Valorising the Interior.
june 1st, 2021
Alexandra Marques, Coordinator of Line 3 (Circular Economy and Value Chains) and member of the ForestWISE Executive Committee, took part in the panel discussion at this event.
may 14, 2021
At this event, ForestWISE presented the áGiL.TerForus project, namely the preliminary results of the LiDAR flight in seven pilot territories and the first phase of the SGIFR (Integrated Rural Fire Management System) Interoperable Platform.
may 13, 2021
Carlos Fonseca, CTO of ForestWISE, was invited to participate in the Q&A panel of invited experts at this conference where best practices in fuel management were debated.
april 19, 2021
Carlos Fonseca participated in this conference, addressing the importance of innovation for the revitalisation of the forestry sector in Pinhal Interior.
2020
july 7, 2020
ForestWISE aims to contribute to the major challenge caused by COVID-19 in the areas of forestry and fire. To this end, it organised this initiative, which featured a panel of experts who reflected on issues such as the impacts of the pandemic and what will change in the forest and fire sectors.
2019
january 17, 2019
This workshop was attended by 30 stakeholders who reflected on the priority projects in the area of rural fires and forest and fire governance.
2018
december 4, 2018
This workshop brought together various stakeholders to reflect on research topics and priority projects for the Portuguese forest.
march 16, 2018
This meeting, held in the centre of the country, resulted in the creation of CoLAB ForestWISE with the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Foundation for Science and Technology and this Collaborative Laboratory.
march 6, 2018
INESC TEC hosted Canadian expert Kelvin Hirsch for this workshop, which focused on the strategic concerns of rural fire management and governance, taking into account the situation and the approach adopted by Canada.