A team of researchers from The James Hutton Institute has contributed to a major international study showing that productive forestry and biodiversity conservation can go hand in hand.
Woodland at Lochcarron in the Highlands. Image Credit: The James Hutton Institute
Researchers from The James Hutton Institute - Professor Maria Nijnik, Dr Simone Martino and Professor David Miller – examined how environmental, economic and social benefits from forests can be balanced to support multifunctional forestry. In their chapter of the study, they demonstrated how supportive institutional frameworks, incentives, and science-driven knowledge sharing can help forest owners and managers deliver timber production alongside biodiversity, climate resilience and wider societal benefits.
Their work forms part of the study Productive and Biodiverse: Managing Europe's Forests for Economic and Ecological Outcomes, developed under the platform Teaming Up 4 Forests and published by the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO). The report examines how forest management can support both economic and ecological goals as forests face growing pressure to meet society's needs and adapt to climate change. It provides evidence that productive forestry and biodiversity conservation are not competing objectives but complementary goals that reinforce the long-term resilience, productivity and societal value of forests. Biodiversity helps forests withstand and recover from disturbances such as droughts, storms, pests and wildfires, making it a core component of sustainable forest management.
The study also emphasizes that forests are expected to deliver a growing range of benefits, from providing renewable resources and storing carbon to protecting water and soils, supporting recreation and enhancing climate resilience. As no single forest can maximize all these benefits simultaneously, the report stresses the importance of managing trade-offs through science-based decision-making.
Dr Nijnik said: “No single policy instrument can deliver sustainable multifunctional forestry objectives. Effective implementation requires coherent combinations of well-targeted regulatory, economic and capacity-building instruments that reflect local ecological conditions, governance arrangements, land tenure, market development and societal values.”
The study was presented at a IUFRO webinar, the Committee on Forestry (COFO) and 10th World Forest Week at FAO, in Rome.