European Forest Institute (EFI)

🔥 “There are no standard playbooks for fire where UXO is present.”
- Alexander Held

Wildfires in areas contaminated with unexploded ordnance (UXO) demand new strategies, specialized expertise, and innovative technologies. Every incident is different—and every decision matters.

As wildfires spread across Europe, EFI Senior Expert Alexander Held discusses the causes, the challenges ahead, and what can be done to prevent them.

Europe’s wildfires: How prepared are we for the next fire? • FRANCE 24 English Massive wildfires are burning across Europe, from Belgium and Greec...

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Looking for a new role? Here are some of the current Forestry Commission vacancies...

Apprenticeship Lecturer
Apply by 11:55pm on Sunday 23 August

Tree Health Pilot & Planning Officer
Apply by 11:55pm on Sunday 23 August

Landscape Recovery Woodland Officer x 2, based in the South East of England
Apply by 11:55pm on Sunday 23 August

Area Ecologist, based at our York or Newcastle office
Apply by 11:55pm on Sunday 30 August

Field Manager (Landscape Recovery), covering the North West and West Midlands
Apply by 11:55pm on Monday 31 August

Jobs with the Forestry Commission can be searched on the Civil Service Jobs website: https://www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/

Europe's wildfire challenge is growing. Watch EFI's Alexander Held discuss solutions and prevention.

From Germany to the Mediterranean: How can fires be prevented? | DW News Germany becomes the latest European country to battle the wildfires...

🌲 Join us in Växjö, Sweden, for the EFI 2026 Annual Conference!
Connect with colleagues from across Europe and beyond, take part in discussions shaping the future of forests, and explore the latest developments in forest science and policy.

📅 16-18 September 2026 📍 Växjö, Sweden

Register 👇

EFI 2026 Annual Conference This year’s Annual Conference will be held in Växjö, Sweden, on 16-18 September.

As well as drought, Europe has also been battling wildfires this summer. Firefighters this week are struggling to control a rapidly expanding wildfire in southwestern Spain that has forced the evacuation of around 800 people. For more on that topic, FRANCE 24's Nadia Massih is joined by Alexander Held, Senior Fire Management Expert at EFI.

Europe battles wildfires and braces for another summer heatwave • FRANCE 24 English As well as drought, Europe has also been battling wildfires this su...

How do we move money into nature credibly, and at scale, when nature itself resists the simplification that finance demands? That question sat at the heart of the CircHive Investor Hub Stakeholder Day last spring at the Edinburgh Futures Institute. Investors, bankers, ecologists, regulators, city officials and conservationists came together to discuss how finance and nature can work together for a more sustainable future.

Three themes stood out: there is no single "nature score" that works for every purpose; demand for nature credits, not lack of data, is the real bottleneck; and integrity in this space must be built into the system, not added as an afterthought.

CircHive is a Horizon Europe project bringing together academia, businesses and the public sector to build credible nature finance markets. EFI coordinates BeeHive, the project's community platform for people interested in using biodiversity footprinting and natural capital accounting methods to protect ecosystems, enhance biodiversity and unlock new opportunities.
Want to be part of the conversation? Join BeeHive: https://circhive.eu/beehive/how-join-beehive


🔗 Read more in the comments below 👇

As part of the implementation of its ‘Private Forestry’ component, PASSAD - Forêt organised a study visit to Benin for a delegation of 15 forestry professionals from Côte d’Ivoire from 13-18 July.

The visit provided an opportunity to learn about Benin’s new regulatory framework for forests, as it took place just as the country’s first Forestry Code was adopted on 14 July. This followed the creation of the Forest Development Company (SODEF) in November 2025, which aims to process some of the country’s timber and have the forests under its management certified to the FSC standard.

Between visits to designated forests, discussions on co-management models and the promotion of native tree species, above all the visit enabled participants to appreciate the performance of the teak sector in Benin. Supported by highly incentivising regulations and tax policies, as well as particularly attractive selling prices – far higher than those currently charged in Côte d’Ivoire – this sector is demonstrating its full potential for development and underscores the keen interest shown in it by PASSAD - Forêt since its inception.

The Beninese and Ivorian parties expressed their shared commitment to continue these exchanges in the near future, for the benefit of West Africa’s forests and their communities.

Regional actors are driving the bioeconomy transition, but they rarely get the chance to exchange experiences directly with peers facing the same challenges. On 19 October in Dublin, Ireland, EFI Bioregions and BIO2REG bring together regional policymakers, practitioners, and researchers to exchange transferable approaches and explore new collaborations at the Regional Bioeconomy in Action.

🔗 Check out the agenda and register today: https://bioregions.efi.int/regional-bioeconomy-in-action/

Applications for the 8th Edition of the European Natura 2000 Award are now open until 30. Sept. 2026.

The Award rewards excellence in the management and protection of Natura 2000 areas on land and on sea in five categories (i) marine & coastal (ii) conservation on land (iii) towns & cities (iv) community benefits (v) public engagement.

Apply now to receive recognition for your work on the EU level, and to share your experience with managing and protecting habitats and species with a EU-wide community: https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/nature-and-biodiversity/natura-2000-award_en