The development of EFI Regional Offices continues. The North European Regional Office – EFINORD was the latest office to be inaugurated on 17 November 2010 in Copenhagen, Denmark. EFINORD is headed by Mr. Mika Mustonen and the two thematic issues facing EFINORD will be biomass production and ecosystem services, with cross-cutting themes of climate change, environmental economics and governance and policy.
EFINORD has been established in a region with a strong tradition in Nordic forest research networking. It has 21 partners from 12 countries. It covers the Nordic countries and the countries in the Baltic Sea region and the North Atlantic region and it remains as an open network to new partners in the area to join. The Nordic Forest Research Co-operation Committee (SNS) is one of the core partners of EFINORD and they will cooperate closely in joint projects and networking.
In the opening speech by the Secretary General for the Nordic Council of Ministers Mr. Halldór Ásgrímsson stated that, ”with the establishment of EFINORD it is my expectation that Nordic cooperation will be strengthened, by giving a much stronger possibility to interact with our neighbors in a strong European set-up”. Undeniably, EFINORD will serve as a link between the Nordic, Baltic and north Atlantic countries and European Forest Institute (EFI) and its network of Regional Offices, adding a European dimension to the well established Nordic forest research cooperation. EFI will acquire better access to the Nordic forests research networks and the high quality forest research in the region.
The inauguration event took place in the new premises of the hosting organization Forest & Landscape Denmark. There were 40 participants from 11 countries present to celebrate the occasion, and amongst the participants were the directors of forest research institutes from countries in Nordic and the Baltic Sea regions.
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