Last week, an online meeting brought together forestry experts from Ireland and Ukraine. The participants, including Viktor Melnychenko, Director General of the Ukrainian Forestry Project, John Redmond, representative of the Forestry Service of Ireland, Volker Sasse, SFI Project Manager, Andriy Shamray, Head of the Central Research Institute, Vitaliy Storozhuk, SFI National Project Coordinator, Ihor Buksha, SFI National Project Expert, Viktor Myroniuk, SFI National Project Expert, and other selected experts, discussed various aspects of the NFI.
The main topic of the meeting was the presentation of the Irish NIL by John Redmond. The presentation covered in detail the history and current state of the Irish forestry fund, the methodology of conducting the NFI and the analysis of the collected information. In particular, the use of FieldMap software and the expertise provided by IFER were of great interest as key factors in the success of the Irish NFI.
The materials presented here reflect the significant achievements made over many years of NFI in Ireland. This long-term experience of conducting NIL, which has long been recording various information about forests to monitor changes over time, started in 2004 and is an important source of knowledge for Ukrainian experts who also seek to improve their practices in this area.
Andriy Shamrai, Head of the CNIL, made a presentation on the implementation of the NIL in Ukraine and the practice of using the FieldMap complex. The participants got acquainted with the stages of NFI implementation in Ukraine, methodological and technical documentation, scope of work and challenges for NFI of Ukraine caused by the Russian aggression.
The meeting ended with an agreement on further cooperation and exchange of innovative practices to ensure the well-being of forests and ecosystems in both countries. This meeting not only enriched both sides with experience, but also laid the groundwork for the creation of a global network of forestry experts to address common challenges in this important area.
