The lack of economic incentives, administrative obstacles and low social acceptance leave forest management and its resilience to climate change on hold.

More than half of forest owners or forestry professionals in Europe are not implementing measures to adapt forests to climate change. In fact, despite acknowledging the urgency, most see it more feasible to do so in the future than now. A European-wide study recently published in the journal Forest Policy and Economics and coordinated by the European project RESONATE, with the participation of CREAF, concludes that, in Catalonia, the forestry sector associates this lack of adaptation with a lack of economic incentives . A consideration that is also given to other countries but that is much more limiting in Catalonia than in the rest of the European regions analyzed. Legal restrictions would be the second limiting barrier and, thirdly, the lack of support and social acceptance that entails implementing some measures, especially when it comes to cutting trees (clearing).

The study has collected the opinions of 804 people , mostly forest owners, but also administration technicians and some researchers from Germany, Catalonia, Croatia, Finland, France, Galicia, Ireland, the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom.

RESONATE has also asked the sector which forest management actions they believe would be the most effective in adapting forests to the effects of climate change. In general, the actions considered to be the most effective in Europe and Catalonia have been: introducing more drought-tolerant species, maintaining or increasing species diversity, and practicing thinning to reduce forest density and competition for water . On the other hand, reducing cutting cycles and especially the absence of management have been considered to be measures that are not very effective or not at all. Regarding those that they consider more feasible, forest owners have made it clear that introducing more drought-tolerant species is a measure that is considered more difficult to carry out, compared to forest diversification and practicing thinning; actions that are already being carried out respectively by 50% and 65% of those surveyed to adapt their forests. In all three cases, the main perceived difficulty in carrying out these actions is the lack of economic viability, while low social acceptance is also considered a significant barrier in the case of clarifications.

"Although the sector believes that the absence of management (or letting the forest grow naturally) is an ineffective practice, forest science has numerous evidences that, in some situations, leaving forests to evolve freely towards more mature structures may also be advisable for their adaptation to climate change . We clearly need more transfer of these results", comments Espelta.

The only barrier that Catalonia does not seem to present problems with, according to the respondents, is the possible lack of scientific evidence. In this case, the work carried out by the country's research centers linked to forestry issues, such as CREAF and CTFC, and the dissemination work of different agents in the sector, result in a good production and dissemination of scientific knowledge to owners and administration technicians, supporting the adaptation measures to be applied.

"Reversing this situation must be a key and urgent objective of the country's forestry policy and strategy, to which proposals for support and revitalization of forestry policy from the sector itself and research, such as training and dissemination actions towards society, can contribute," concludes Espelta.