New publication: “Assessment of Climate Risks and Adaptation Options for Carpathian Forest Ecosystems and Their Services”

Developed through an extensive, multi-year consultation process with nominated experts from across the Carpathian countries, the assessment was led by Dr. William Keeton (University of Vermont) in partnership with the UNEP Secretariat of the Carpathian Convention. Serving as a milestone scientific and policy resource, the report delivers a comprehensive analysis of climate-related risks and vulnerabilities facing one of Europe’s most ecologically important mountain regions, while identifying evidence-based strategies to strengthen the resilience and adaptive capacity of Carpathian forests.

Since its establishment in 2003, the Carpathian Convention has provided a cooperative framework uniting seven countries—the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, and Ukraine—in a shared commitment to the conservation and sustainable management of the Carpathian region. The Carpathian forests are a cornerstone of Europe’s natural heritage, encompassing the continent’s largest remaining expanse of primary and old-growth forests and underpinning exceptional biodiversity, rural economies, and longstanding cultural traditions.

In recognition of the accelerating impacts of climate change on forest ecosystems and the services they provide, the Convention’s sixth Conference of the Parties (COP6) in 2020 mandated the development of a dedicated assessment of climate change impacts on Carpathian forests and their ecosystem services. This mandate was operationalized through the Convention’s Implementation Framework 2030 and integrated into the work programme of the Working Group on Sustainable Forest Management, in close coordination with the Working Group on Climate Change. The completed assessment, together with its policy-relevant recommendations, was formally endorsed and welcomed by the seventh Conference of the Parties (COP7), held in Belgrade, Serbia, in 2023.